School of Social and Political Science

Dr Tom O'Shea

Lecturer in Political Theory

Photo of Tom
tom.oshea@ed.ac.uk
Academic website
2.14
Chrystal Macmillan Building

Research interests

Political Theory Research Group Work & Economy
  • Freedom
  • Civic republicanism
  • Socialism and radical political traditions

The main focus of my research is human freedom and its relationship to social power. Most recently, I have been developing a socialist republican approach to the problem of economic domination. This builds on my earlier work on freedom and power in the legal regulation of disability.

As well as publishing in political theory, I have also written on topics in social philosophy, feminism, metaethics, the history of moral and political thought, philosophy of religion, medical ethics, and the study of autonomy.

Background

I joined the university in 2022 after having held posts at the Universities of Essex, York, and Roehampton. During 2025, I spent some time as a visiting researcher at the Universitat de Barcelona.

My own academic education has been in philosophy (including a doctorate from the University of Sheffield). But I now work largely at the intersection of political theory and the history of political thought.

At Edinburgh, I lead courses on Freedom and Slavery in Political Thought and Political Thinkers. Currently, I am Co-Director of the CRITIQUE Centre for Ethics and Critical Thought. For the next few years, I am also the external examiner on a cluster of philosophy and PPE undergraduate programmes at the University of Swansea.

 

Works within

Please get in touch by email if you would like to arrange a meeting.

Publications by user content

Publication Research Explorer link
O'Shea T. Radical feminism and the politics of desire. Hypatia. 2025 Sept 16.
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O'Shea T. [Review of] Bruno Leipold, Citizen Marx: Republicanism and the Formation of Karl Marx’s Social and Political Thought. Contemporary Political Theory. 2025 Feb 4. Epub 2025 Feb 4. doi: 10.1057/s41296-025-00746-z
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O'Shea T. Wage slavery: A neo-Roman account. European Journal of Political Theory. 2024 Oct 17;1-23. Epub 2024 Oct 17. doi: 10.1177/14748851241289254
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O'Shea T. The limits of self-legislation. In Herbert D, Cardenas P, editors, Theoretical and Practical Reason in Modern Philosophy. 1 ed. London: Vernon Press. 2024. (Series in Philosophy).
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O'Shea T. Republican global economic justice. In Lovett F, Sellers T, editors, The Oxford Handbook of Republicanism. Oxford University Press. 2024 Epub 2024 Jan 23. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197754115.001.0001
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O'Shea T. In the interests of all. 2023.
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O’Shea T. Eugene Debs and the socialist republic. Political Theory. 2022 Dec;50(6):861-888. Epub 2022 Jun 29. doi: 10.1177/00905917221095084
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O'Shea T. Godless conscience. European Journal for Philosophy of Religion. 2022 Oct 16;14(3):95-114. doi: 10.24204/ejpr.2022.3447
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O'Shea T. The future of work: Radical republican perspectives. Athens: ENA Institute for Alternative Policies. 2022 Jun 27.
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O’Shea T. Sexual desire and structural injustice. Journal of Social Philosophy. 2021 Dec 1;52(4):587-600. Epub 2020 Nov 10. doi: 10.1111/josp.12385
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O'Shea T. Radical republicanism and the future of work. Theory and Event. 2021 Oct 1;24(4):1050-1067. doi: 10.1353/tae.2021.0058
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O'Shea T. What is economic liberty? Philosophical Topics. 2020 Oct 31;48(2):203-222. doi: 10.5840/philtopics202048220
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O’Shea T. In defence of public ownership: A reply to Frye. Political Theory. 2020 Oct 1;48(5):581-587. Epub 2020 Jul 4. doi: 10.1177/0090591720936609
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O’Shea T. Socialist republicanism. Political Theory. 2020 Oct 1;48(5):548-572. Epub 2019 Sept 20. doi: 10.1177/0090591719876889
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O'Shea T. Civic republican disability justice. In Cureton A, Wasserman D, editors, The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Disability. Oxford University Press. 2020. p. 212-228
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O'Shea T. Are workers dominated? Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy. 2019 Sept;16(1):1-24. Epub 2019 Jul 1. doi: 10.26556/jesp.v16i1.631
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O’Shea T. Modern moral conscience. International Journal of Philosophical Studies. 2018 Aug 8;26(4):582-600. Epub 2018 Jul 26. doi: 10.1080/09672559.2018.1497074
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O'Shea T. Consent: Historical perspectives in medical ethics. In Schaber P, Müller A, editors, The Routledge Handbook of the Ethics of Consent. Routledge. 2018. p. 261-271
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O'Shea T. A civic republican analysis of mental capacity law. Legal Studies. 2018 Mar 1;38(1):147-163. doi: 10.1017/lst.2017.7
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O’Shea T. Disability and domination: Lessons from republican political philosophy. Journal of Applied Philosophy. 2018 Feb 5;35(1):133-148. Epub 2015 Aug 10. doi: 10.1111/japp.12149
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O'Shea T. Freedom yet to come. In Gann T, editor, Labour's New Economics. London: New Socialist. 2018. p. 149-153
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O'Shea T. [Review of] Autonomy and Mental Disorder, edited by Lubomira Radoilska. European Journal of Philosophy. 2017 Jul 19;25(2):564-569.
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O'Shea T. Civic republican medical ethics. Journal of Medical Ethics. 2016 Dec 14;43(1):56-59. Epub 2016 Sept 29. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2016-103697
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O'Shea T. A law of one's own: Self-legislation and radical Kantian constructivism. European Journal of Philosophy. 2015 Dec 20;23(4):1153-1173. Epub 2013 Aug 25. doi: 10.1111/ejop.12044
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O'Shea T. Autonomy and orthonomy. Journal of Moral Philosophy. 2015 Sept;12(5):619-637. Epub 2015 Sept 10. doi: 10.1163/17455243-4681051
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Freyenhagen F, O'Shea T. Hidden substance: Mental disorder as a challenge to normatively neutral accounts of autonomy. International Journal of Law in Context. 2013 Mar 1;9(1):53-70.
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Martin W, Freyenhagen F, Hall E, O'Shea T, Szerletics A, Ashley V. An unblinkered view of best interests. British Medical Journal (BMJ). 2012 Dec 15;345:22-24.
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O'Shea T. German idealism: Contemporary perspectives. British Journal for the History of Philosophy. 2009 Apr 24;17(2):440-444.
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O'Shea T. Practically free. Philosophers' Magazine. 2009 Apr 1;(45):110-111.
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Tom O'shea's Research Explorer profile