Yuan Yuan

What excites you most about joining our School of Arts and Humanities community?

“The diverse student body, the enthusiastic graduate students, the excellent colleagues and the collegial culture.”

Why did you choose your field? Why should students consider studying the arts and humanities?

“I chose philosophy because it allows me to explore humanity's most profound questions alongside great thinkers, with clarity, rigor and creativity.”         

What research or project are you working on currently?

“The nature of political authority, the interplay between legal and moral rights and just war theory, which inquires into questions regarding what makes a war just or unjust and how to fight a war justly.”

What’s your favorite class to teach and why?

“It is the introduction to political philosophy, which explores how people with diverse beliefs and desires can live in peace and justice. Students bring their own lived experiences and deeply held convictions into the conversation. While they may still have profound disagreements by the end of the class, they often better appreciate others’ positions and are more reflective about their own beliefs, which gives me great gratification.”

What is something about yourself that is not typically included in your bio?

“I still feel nervous when I teach, but my students' genuine desire to learn and their thought-provoking insights consistently help me overcome my anxiety, allowing me to enter a flow state in class where we all perform at our best!”

Yuan Yuan is an assistant professor of philosophy. Prior to joining UC San Diego, she taught at New York University Shanghai and Virginia Commonwealth University. She earned a Ph.D. in philosophy from Yale University in 2020. Yuan specializes in ethics, political philosophy and philosophy of law, emphasizing the interface between them.