![Anneli Jefferson](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/1787?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr Anneli Jefferson
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Teams and roles for Anneli Jefferson
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy
Overview
I am interested in questions surrounding moral responsibility, human self-perception and its effect on decision making, and the nature of mental disorder.
For example, I have discussed the following questions in published work:
How does mental illness affect moral responsibility?
How does the way people understand mental health conditions affect their self perception and behaviour?
Is humans' tendency to be unrealistically optimistic beneficial or harmful to them?
What justifies blaming and punishing people in ways that are painful to them?
For a detailed list of published research, please see the publication tab.
I regularly teach topics in the philosophy of psychology, philosophy of psychiatry, moral philosophy and critical thinking.
Publication
2026
- Jefferson, A. 2026. Working out how blame works. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society aoag024. (10.1093/arisoc/aoag024)
2025
- Jefferson, A. 2025. How we do things with concepts – review of Nicholas Shea’s Concepts at the Interface [Book Review]. Philosophical Psychology (10.1080/09515089.2025.2605153)
2024
- Jefferson, A. 2024. “Terminal Anorexia”, treatment refusal and decision-making capacity. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 33 (4), pp.558-569. (10.1017/S0963180124000367)
- Jefferson, A. 2024. Blaming the dead. European Journal of Philosophy 32 (2), pp.548-559. (10.1111/ejop.12947)
- Jefferson, A. 2024. Are mental disorders brain disorders? -A precis. Philosophical Psychology 37 (3), pp.552-557. (10.1080/09515089.2023.2166822)
- Jefferson, A. 2024. Brain disorders reconsidered – a response to commentaries. Philosophical Psychology 37 (3), pp.644-657. (10.1080/09515089.2024.2313523)
- Jefferson, A. , Heinrichs, J. and Sifferd, K. 2024. Scaffolding bad moral agents. Topoi (10.1007/s11245-024-10110-2)
2023
- Jefferson, A. and Sifferd, K. 2023. Responsible agency and the importance of moral audience. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 26 , pp.361-375. (10.1007/s10677-023-10385-1)
- Jefferson, A. and Bortolotti, L. 2023. On the moral psychology of the pandemic agent. In: Barbosa, E. ed. Moral Challenges in a Pandemic Age. Routledge Research in Applied Ethics Routledge. , pp.11-33.
- Jefferson, A. et al. 2023. Values and virtues for a challenging world. Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements Cambridge and London: Cambridge University Press/Royal Institute of Philosophy.
2022
- Sifferd, K. and Jefferson, A. 2022. Responsibility for reckless rape. Humana.Mente: Journal of Philosophical Studies 15 (42), pp.119-143.
- Jefferson, A. and Sifferd, K. 2022. Practical wisdom and the value of cognitive diversity. Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement 92 , pp.149-166. (10.1017/S1358246122000182)
- Jefferson, A. 2022. Are mental disorders brain disorders?. Routledge Focus on Philosophy Abingdon and New York: Routledge.
- Jefferson, A. 2022. Brain pathology and moral responsibility. In: King, M. and May, J. eds. Agency in Mental Disorder: Philosophical Dimensions. Oxford University Press. , pp.63-85.
2021
- Jefferson, A. 2021. On mental illness and broken brains. Think 20 (Summer), pp.103-112. (10.1017/S1477175621000099)
2020
- Jefferson, A. 2020. Confabulation, rationalisation and morality. Topoi 39 (1), pp.219-227. (10.1007/s11245-018-9608-7)
- Jefferson, A. 2020. What does it take to be a brain disorder?. Synthese 197 , pp.249-262. (10.1007/s11229-018-1784-x)
2019
- Jefferson, A. 2019. Instrumentalism about moral responsibility revisited. Philosophical Quarterly 69 (276), pp.555-573. (10.1093/pq/pqy062)
- Bortolotti, L. and Jefferson, A. 2019. The power of stories: Responsibility for the use of autobiographical stories in mental health debates. Diametros 16 (60), pp.18-33. (10.33392/diam.1319)
2018
- Jefferson, A. and Bortolotti, L. 2018. Commentary: What aspects of good practice in early interventions in psychosis can be codified in guidelines? – A commentary on Corsico et al. (2018). Child and Adolescent Mental Health 23 (3), pp.194-195. (10.1111/camh.12265)
- Jefferson, A. and Bortolotti, L. 2018. Why (some) unrealistic optimism is permissible in patient decision making. American Journal of Bioethics 18 (9), pp.27--29. (10.1080/15265161.2018.1498940)
2017
- Jefferson, A. 2017. Born to be biased? Unrealistic optimism and error management theory. Philosophical Psychology 30 (8), pp.1159-1175. (10.1080/09515089.2017.1370085)
- Jefferson, A. , Bortolotti, L. and Kuzmanovic, B. 2017. Unrealistic optimism – Its nature, causes and effects. Consciousness and Cognition 50 , pp.1--2. (10.1016/j.concog.2016.11.008)
- Jefferson, A. , Bortolotti, L. and Kuzmanovic, B. 2017. What is unrealistic optimism?. Consciousness and Cognition 50 , pp.3--11. (10.1016/j.concog.2016.10.005)
- Godman, M. and Jefferson, A. 2017. On blaming and punishing psychopaths. Criminal Law and Philosophy 11 , pp.127--142. (10.1007/s11572-014-9340-3)
2016
- Jefferson, A. 2016. David Shoemaker: Responsibility from the margins [Book Review]. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 20 (2), pp.433--435. (10.1007/s10677-016-9760-3)
- Kuzmanovic, B. , Jefferson, A. and Vogeley, K. 2016. The role of the neural reward circuitry in self-referential optimistic belief updates. NeuroImage 133 , pp.151--162. (10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.02.014)
- Bortolotti, L. and Jefferson, A. 2016. Moral preferences. Society 53 (3), pp.269--272. (10.1007/s12115-016-0027-3)
- Heinrichs, J. and Jefferson, A. 2016. Moralischer Zufall. In: Kühler, M. ed. Handbuch Handlungstheorie. J.B. Metzler. , pp.228--236. (10.1007/978-3-476-05359-6_26)
2015
- Kuzmanovic, B. , Jefferson, A. and Vogeley, K. 2015. Self-specific optimism bias in belief updating is associated with high trait optimism. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 28 (3), pp.281-293. (10.1002/bdm.1849)
2014
- Jefferson, A. 2014. Slippery slopearguments. Philosophy Compass 9 (10), pp.672--680. (10.1111/phc3.12161)
- Jefferson, A. 2014. Mental disorders, brain disorders and values. Frontiers in Psychology 5 130. (10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00130)
2013
- Kuzmanovic, B. et al., 2013. Affective and motivational influences in person perception. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 7 266. (10.3389/fnhum.2013.00266)
Articles
- Jefferson, A. 2026. Working out how blame works. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society aoag024. (10.1093/arisoc/aoag024)
- Jefferson, A. 2025. How we do things with concepts – review of Nicholas Shea’s Concepts at the Interface [Book Review]. Philosophical Psychology (10.1080/09515089.2025.2605153)
- Jefferson, A. 2024. “Terminal Anorexia”, treatment refusal and decision-making capacity. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 33 (4), pp.558-569. (10.1017/S0963180124000367)
- Jefferson, A. 2024. Blaming the dead. European Journal of Philosophy 32 (2), pp.548-559. (10.1111/ejop.12947)
- Jefferson, A. 2024. Are mental disorders brain disorders? -A precis. Philosophical Psychology 37 (3), pp.552-557. (10.1080/09515089.2023.2166822)
- Jefferson, A. 2024. Brain disorders reconsidered – a response to commentaries. Philosophical Psychology 37 (3), pp.644-657. (10.1080/09515089.2024.2313523)
- Jefferson, A. , Heinrichs, J. and Sifferd, K. 2024. Scaffolding bad moral agents. Topoi (10.1007/s11245-024-10110-2)
- Jefferson, A. and Sifferd, K. 2023. Responsible agency and the importance of moral audience. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 26 , pp.361-375. (10.1007/s10677-023-10385-1)
- Sifferd, K. and Jefferson, A. 2022. Responsibility for reckless rape. Humana.Mente: Journal of Philosophical Studies 15 (42), pp.119-143.
- Jefferson, A. and Sifferd, K. 2022. Practical wisdom and the value of cognitive diversity. Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement 92 , pp.149-166. (10.1017/S1358246122000182)
- Jefferson, A. 2021. On mental illness and broken brains. Think 20 (Summer), pp.103-112. (10.1017/S1477175621000099)
- Jefferson, A. 2020. Confabulation, rationalisation and morality. Topoi 39 (1), pp.219-227. (10.1007/s11245-018-9608-7)
- Jefferson, A. 2020. What does it take to be a brain disorder?. Synthese 197 , pp.249-262. (10.1007/s11229-018-1784-x)
- Jefferson, A. 2019. Instrumentalism about moral responsibility revisited. Philosophical Quarterly 69 (276), pp.555-573. (10.1093/pq/pqy062)
- Bortolotti, L. and Jefferson, A. 2019. The power of stories: Responsibility for the use of autobiographical stories in mental health debates. Diametros 16 (60), pp.18-33. (10.33392/diam.1319)
- Jefferson, A. and Bortolotti, L. 2018. Commentary: What aspects of good practice in early interventions in psychosis can be codified in guidelines? – A commentary on Corsico et al. (2018). Child and Adolescent Mental Health 23 (3), pp.194-195. (10.1111/camh.12265)
- Jefferson, A. and Bortolotti, L. 2018. Why (some) unrealistic optimism is permissible in patient decision making. American Journal of Bioethics 18 (9), pp.27--29. (10.1080/15265161.2018.1498940)
- Jefferson, A. 2017. Born to be biased? Unrealistic optimism and error management theory. Philosophical Psychology 30 (8), pp.1159-1175. (10.1080/09515089.2017.1370085)
- Jefferson, A. , Bortolotti, L. and Kuzmanovic, B. 2017. Unrealistic optimism – Its nature, causes and effects. Consciousness and Cognition 50 , pp.1--2. (10.1016/j.concog.2016.11.008)
- Jefferson, A. , Bortolotti, L. and Kuzmanovic, B. 2017. What is unrealistic optimism?. Consciousness and Cognition 50 , pp.3--11. (10.1016/j.concog.2016.10.005)
- Godman, M. and Jefferson, A. 2017. On blaming and punishing psychopaths. Criminal Law and Philosophy 11 , pp.127--142. (10.1007/s11572-014-9340-3)
- Jefferson, A. 2016. David Shoemaker: Responsibility from the margins [Book Review]. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 20 (2), pp.433--435. (10.1007/s10677-016-9760-3)
- Kuzmanovic, B. , Jefferson, A. and Vogeley, K. 2016. The role of the neural reward circuitry in self-referential optimistic belief updates. NeuroImage 133 , pp.151--162. (10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.02.014)
- Bortolotti, L. and Jefferson, A. 2016. Moral preferences. Society 53 (3), pp.269--272. (10.1007/s12115-016-0027-3)
- Kuzmanovic, B. , Jefferson, A. and Vogeley, K. 2015. Self-specific optimism bias in belief updating is associated with high trait optimism. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 28 (3), pp.281-293. (10.1002/bdm.1849)
- Jefferson, A. 2014. Slippery slopearguments. Philosophy Compass 9 (10), pp.672--680. (10.1111/phc3.12161)
- Jefferson, A. 2014. Mental disorders, brain disorders and values. Frontiers in Psychology 5 130. (10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00130)
- Kuzmanovic, B. et al., 2013. Affective and motivational influences in person perception. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 7 266. (10.3389/fnhum.2013.00266)
Book sections
- Jefferson, A. and Bortolotti, L. 2023. On the moral psychology of the pandemic agent. In: Barbosa, E. ed. Moral Challenges in a Pandemic Age. Routledge Research in Applied Ethics Routledge. , pp.11-33.
- Jefferson, A. 2022. Brain pathology and moral responsibility. In: King, M. and May, J. eds. Agency in Mental Disorder: Philosophical Dimensions. Oxford University Press. , pp.63-85.
- Heinrichs, J. and Jefferson, A. 2016. Moralischer Zufall. In: Kühler, M. ed. Handbuch Handlungstheorie. J.B. Metzler. , pp.228--236. (10.1007/978-3-476-05359-6_26)
Books
- Jefferson, A. et al. 2023. Values and virtues for a challenging world. Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements Cambridge and London: Cambridge University Press/Royal Institute of Philosophy.
- Jefferson, A. 2022. Are mental disorders brain disorders?. Routledge Focus on Philosophy Abingdon and New York: Routledge.
Research
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For a list of my publications, please see the publications tab.
I am currently working on a monograph, Responsibility through the Lifespan, which looks at how responsible agency and our practices of holding each other to account change over the human lifespan.
Further research interests concern issues in the philosophy of psychiatry, particularly the relationship between mental disorders and brain disorders. My monograph Are Mental Disorders Brain Disorders? gives a detailed defence of my own position. Recently, I have also published two papers which focus on anorexia and how decision making is affected by that condition.
Other research interests include topics around self perception and its effect on agency in the philosophy of psychology and moral psychology.
Biography
Before starting at Cardiff University in September 2019, I worked at the University of Birmingham, first on the ,Costs and Benefits of Optimism' project with Lisa Bortolotti, then as a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow. My project during the Early Career Fellowship was entitled 'Mental Disorders, Brain Disorders and Moral Responsibility'.
After completing my PhD, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the institute of Neuroscience and Medicine at the Research Centre Jülich, Germany.
I received my MPhil and PhD from King's College London.
I gained my Magister Artium from the Heinrich Heine Universitaet Duesseldorf and completed training as secondary school teacher for Philosophy and English in Duesseldorf, Germany.
News articles
Contact Details
[email protected]
+44 29208 75622
John Percival Building, Room Room 2.64, Colum Drive, Cardiff, CF10 3EU
+44 29208 75622
John Percival Building, Room Room 2.64, Colum Drive, Cardiff, CF10 3EU
