Quassim Cassam
In brief: I'm a Professor in the Department of Philosophy at 海角社区, a , and an of , Oxford. I was born in , Kenya, and have lived in the UK since I was a teenager. I have published eight books on a range of subjects, including terrorism, extremism, self-knowledge, perception, intellectual vices, and conspiracy theories. My current research is on extremism, the philosophy of terrorism, and the philosophy of general practice. I also write about the nature and purpose of philosophy. You can read more about me and listen to a range of podcasts and interviews on my .
My books: My latest book (published in 2026 and co-authored with ) is . I'm currently co-editing a book on extremism and subjectivity with and I'm also working on a new edition of , which was originally published in 2021. I published two books in 2019: (Oxford University Press) and . (Polity Press) A review of Vices of the Mind in the describes it as 'superb' and 'icily furious'. The journal describes it as 'a landmark in the study of epistemic vices'. An extract from the book is available . An extract from Conspiracy Theories is available . My previous books were (Oxford 2014), (Oxford 2014, written with John Campbell), (Oxford 2007), and (Oxford 1997). The 20th anniversary of the publication of Self and World was marked by this eventLink opens in a new window at Senate House, London, in 2017. There have also been conferences on my work in Frankfurt, Cologne, Konstanz, Padua, and Amsterdam. You will find a full list of my publications in my CVLink opens in a new window.
My teaching: In the 2026/27 academic year I'll be teaching a 1st year module on Philosophy for the Real World: Knowledge, Ignorance, and Bullshit (PH148) in term 1. Topics to be covered include misinformation, bullshit, conspiracy theories, ideology, the relationship between knowledge and identity, woke epistemology, vice epistemology, post-truth, anti-expertism, and vaccine hesitancy. In term 2 I will teach an honours module on the Philosophy of Terrorism and Counterterrorism (PH379). Topics to be covered include the definition of terrorism, terrorism and horrorism, terrorism and rationality, the (im)morality of terrorism, terrorism and gender, genocidal terrorism, the psychology of terrorism, how people become terrorists, torture and enhanced interrogation, and ethical issues in counterterrorism. I'm also open to supervising PhD theses on extremism, terrorism, vice epistemology, political epistemology, and the philosophy of politics.
My impact: In September 2026 I will be giving an expert seminar on (VFIs) at the start of phase 2 of the . Also in 2026, I discussed the Southport attack in a speech at the annual meeting of the Police Foundation. I have collaborated with Jonathan Hall KC, the UK's Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation on a range of subjects, including the Southport attack, state-sponsored terrorism, and the legal definitions of terrorism and foreign interference. In December 2025 we wrote a joint paper on in the definition of terrorism in the Terrorism Act 2000. Also in 2025, I participated in an Academic Roundtable for the . In 2024, I participated in an expert roundtable as part of the . Apart from terrorism, extremism, and foreign interference, my other main impact work has focused on the idea of excellence in general practice. Since 2017 I have been running annual training sessions for resident doctors and GP trainers at the Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester. These sessions are based on my website A version of this website is a Royal College of GPs
My career: I've been at 海角社区 since 2009. In 2021 I was elected to an Honorary Fellowship of Keble College, Oxford and I became an FBA (a Fellow of the British Academy) in 2022. I have been the at Cambridge, a Professorial Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, and Professor of Philosophy at UCL. I got my first job in philosophy in 1985 as a Fixed-Term Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. I moved to Wadham College, Oxford, in 1986 and spent 18 years there as Fellow and Tutor and CUF Lecturer in Philosophy before moving to UCL in 2005, Cambridge in 2007, and 海角社区 in 2009. In 1993, I was a Visiting Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and in 2004 I was the John Evans Distinguished Visiting Professor in Moral and Intellectual Philosophy at Northwestern University, Illinois. In 2022, I was the Distinguished Philosopher-in-Residence at New York University in Abu Dhabi. In 2025, I was an Invited Professor at the
My education: As an undergraduate I read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at Keble College, Oxford (1979-1982). I had the great good fortune to be taught at Keble by (Philosophy), (Politics), (Politics), and (Economics). My tutors from other colleges were , , and . I went on to do a B.Phil. in Philosophy (1982-1984) and then a D.Phil. (1984-1985) on transcendental arguments, supervised for the most part by and briefly by . My examiners were and .
My grants: I was awarded a Mind Senior Research Fellowship for 2012-3. The resulting book was Self-Knowledge for Humans. In 2016 I was awarded a Leadership Fellowship by the Arts and Humanities Research Council for an 18 month project on intellectual vices ('Vice Epistemology'). The resulting book was . I discuss some of the book's main ideas in for the Philosophers' Magazine, in with Sean Carroll, and also in with Robert Talisse on the New Books Network. An edited volume called , co-edited with Heather Battaly (University of Connecticut) and Ian James Kidd (University of Nottingham), was published in 2020. The Vice Epistemology project also gave rise workshops on professional vices and virtues in modern medicine, the epistemology of counterterrorism, and resistance to change. You can hear me discussing resistance to change in this . My most recent grant was an AHRC Research Networking grant for a project called 'Rethinking the Philosophy of Terrorism'. My co-investigator was .
My media: I summarized my ideas about conspiracy theories in for the New Statesman. I was also about conspiracy theories on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sky News, and ABC Radio, Australia. My talk on conspiracy theories, which I gave in 2017, has been viewed over 250,000 times on YouTube. I have written about self-knowledge for the New York Times, about for Aeon, about for CNN, and for The Guardian. I have appeared on Newsnight (BBC2), Sky News, The Moral Maze (BBC Radio 4), The World Tonight (BBC Radio 4), Sunday (BBC radio 4) and Free Thinking (BBC Radio 4). My work has been cited by The Guardian, The Financial Times, the Irish Times, and The Economist. I am also on X ().
There is more about my life and career in episode of Talking to Thinkers with Johnny Lyons, this interview with the , and this one with the .
