James Otteson

Dr. James R. Otteson serves as the John T. Ryan Jr. Professor of Business Ethics and Rex and Alice E. Martin Faculty Director of the Notre Dame Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. After earning his BA from Notre Dame and PhD in Philosophy from the University of Chicago, he has established himself as a leading authority on business ethics, political economy, and eighteenth-century moral philosophy. His academic career includes positions at the University of Alabama, Yeshiva University, and Wake Forest University before returning to his alma mater. He has authored numerous influential books, including "Adam Smith's Marketplace of Life," "Honorable Business," and "Seven Deadly Economic Sins," contributing significantly to contemporary discussions of business ethics and economic thought. Through his Coursera course "Why Business? What is the Role of Business in a Just and Humane Society," he explores the ethical dimensions of business in modern society. His expertise spans business ethics, classical liberalism, and the moral foundations of capitalism, with particular emphasis on Adam Smith's philosophical and economic theories