Liam Murphy, Herbert Peterfreund Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy, works in legal, moral, and political philosophy and the application of these inquiries to law and legal theory.

Subjects of his publications range from abstract questions of moral philosophy (for example, Moral Demands in Nonideal Theory) to concrete issues of legal and economic policy (for example, The Myth of Ownership: Taxes and Justice). A central theme of all Murphy's work is that legal, moral, and political theory cannot be pursued independently of each other; they are, in fact, different dimensions of a single subject. This theme is most prominent in "Institutions and the Demands of Justice," and his forthcoming new book, What Makes Law.

Most recently Murphy has been working on a book-length project on contract theory; one theme in this work is the link between contract theory and philosophical discussions of the obligation to keep promises.

Professor Murphy has been awarded fellowships at Columbia's Society of Fellows in the Humanities, Harvard's Society of Fellows, and the National Humanities Center. He has been an associate editor and now is a member of the Editorial Board of Philosophy & Public Affairs. He was vice dean of NYU School of Law from 2007 to 2010.