Position Title
Assistant Professor
Position Title
Assistant Professor
2297 Social Science and Humanities
Bio
My research lies at the intersection of normative ethics, the philosophy of well-being, moral psychology, and comparative philosophy. I am particularly interested in questions about what makes a life go well, how social structures shape human flourishing—especially our emotional lives—and how early Chinese and Western philosophical traditions can illuminate one another on these questions.
Extending these questions to emerging technologies, my work in AI ethics examines how AI reshapes the social and emotional conditions under which human flourishing becomes possible. Current projects explore griefbots, interesting experiences with AI companions, and affective AI in healthcare.
Education and Degree(s)
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Research Interests & Expertise
- Normative Ethics
- Early Chinese Philosophy
- Value Theory
- Social and Political Philosophy
- AI Ethics
Publications
- Jacobs, J., Lau, A., Gilbarg, D., Zhang, H., & Li, Q.* Beyond Comfort: Interesting Experiences and the Measurement of Well-Being in AI Care Companions. Philosophy & Technology (forthcoming). (*Corresponding author)
- Li, Q., “From Appeasement to Virtue: A Confucian Response to the Evolutionary Origins of Shame”, in Dale, M. and Wiegman, I. (Eds.) Philosophy and the Evolution of Virtue and Vice. (2026)
- Li, Q. From Emotion Regulation to the Cultivation of Existential Feelings: A Zhuangzi-Inspired Perspective on Flourishing as an Affective Being. Asian Philosophy (2026).
- Li, Q. A Zhuangist Analysis of Transformative Agency and Adaptive Preference. Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy (2025).
- Li, Q., with Valerie Tiberius. Adaptive Values and Subjective Ill-Being. In Ill-Being: Philosophical Perspectives. Oxford University Press (2025).
- Li, Q. Clueless Loneliness: Loneliness Beyond Frustrated Pro-Attitudes. The Southern Journal of Philosophy (2024).
- Li, Q. A Kantian Account of Political Hopes as Fundamental Hopes. Kantian Review (2023).
- Li, Q. ‘Having Respect for’ and ‘Being Respectful’: A Comparison Between the Kantian and Confucian Conceptions of Respect. Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy (2023).
- Li, Q. Choosing Freedom: A Kantian Guide to Life, by Karen Stohr. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022. International Journal of Philosophical Studies 31(1): 94–98 (2023).
- Tiberius, V., and Li, Q. Happiness. In International Encyclopedia of Ethics. Wiley-Blackwell.