I am a French-Iranian-American Assistant Professor of Philosophy (with tenure) at the University of Twente in the Netherlands and an Associate Senior Scholar at The Millennium Project: Global Futures Studies and Research, a DC-based global think-tank. From 2013 till 2018 I worked at the Berman Institute of Bioethics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. I hold a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Georgetown University (2012) and graduate degrees in History of Philosophy and Medical Ethics from the University of Paris in my native city.
Areas of Specialization:
Philosophy of futures studies/foresight/anticipation with a focus on socio-techno-ecological futures
Applied ethics and political philosophy with a focus on:
anticipatory technology ethics
ethics and philosophy of psychology
public health ethics and bioethics
food and agricultural ethics
Areas of Competence:
American pragmatism
Argumentation theory
Epistemology
History of modern philosophy (Spinoza and Radical Enlightenment)
History of psychology
Philosophical methodology from a cosmopolitan philosophy perspective (Chinese, Indian, Iranian, Western)
Besides my academic work, I am dedicated to mind-body practices (Qi Gong, Tai Chi, mindfulness meditation), enjoy training bonsai trees (inspired by miniature landscapes called “Penjing” in Chinese), appreciate Persian and Chinese painting and calligraphy, and love cooking delicious French recipes.
Representative publications:
Leon Rossmaier, Yashar Saghai, and Philip Brey. "Commercial mHealth Apps and the Providers’ Responsibility for Hope." Digital Society 2, 39 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44206-023-00071-1
Gross, Jonathan, Tine Davids, Anneke Sools, and Yashar Saghai. “Covid-19 and the Politics of Hope: A Comparative Analysis of Greek and Ecuadorian Letters from a Desired Post-Pandemic Future." Futures (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2023.103115
Andrade, Stefan B., Anneke Sools, and Yashar Saghai. "Writing styles and modes of engagement with the future." Futures (2022): 102986.
Wieczorek, Michał, Fiachra O’Brolchain, Yashar Saghai, and Bert Gordijn. "The ethics of self-tracking. A comprehensive review of the literature." Ethics & Behavior (2022): 1-33.
Saghai, Y. 2021. "Subversive future seeks like-minded model: On the mismatch between visions of food sovereignty futures and quantified scenarios of global food futures." Ethics and International Affairs: 51-67.
van Dijk, Michiel, Tom Morley, Marie Luise Rau, Saghai Yashar. 2021. "A meta-analysis of global food demand and population at risk of hunger projections for the period 2010-2050." Nature Food 2(494–501). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00322-9.
Saghai, Yashar. 2018. "Theorizing justice in health research contexts." In Beyond Consent: Seeking Justice in Research, edited by J. Kahn, A. Mastroianni, and J. Sugarman. Second edition, pp. 187-207. Oxford University Press: New York, NY.
Saghai, Yashar. 2013. "Salvaging the concept of nudge." Journal of Medical Ethics 39(8): 487-493. Doi:10.1136/medethics-2012-100727. Editor's pick; featured article; selected #1 among the most highly-cited papers that contributed to the Journal's latest Impact Factor of 1.764 (2015 Journal Citation Reports® Science Edition (Thomson Reuters, 2016).
Powers, Madison, Ruth Faden, and Yashar Saghai. 2012. "Liberty, Mill, and the framework of public health ethics." Public Health Ethics 5 (1): 6-15. DOI:10.1093/phe/phs002.
Beauchamp, Tom, and Yashar Saghai. 2012. "The historical foundations of the research-practice distinction in bioethics." Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 33 (1): 45-56. DOI 10.1007/s11017-011-9207-8.
To download my CV, please click here.
Email: y.saghai@utwente.nl