The seventh recipient of the Lauener Prize for an Outstanding Oeuvre in Analytical Philosophy is Thomas M. Scanlon, Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy, and Civil Polity, Emeritus at Harvard University. The Lauener Prize is given for Scanlon's body of philosophical work.

Professor Scanlon is outstanding among contemporary representatives of practical philosophy for his clear-sightedness, awareness of problems and the instructiveness and cogency of his pioneering work in ethics and political philosophy. Scanlon's pathbreakingdevelopment of an original new version of Contractualism – devised to consistently account for that core part of morality which deals with "what we owe to each other" – has shaped ongoing philosophical debates about, e.g., the reason-giving force and the objectivity of moral judgements, the human ideal of mutual recognition (or of respect for the distinctive value of persons), the tension between individual liberties, rights, and the general good, the ability to justify our conduct to reasonable others, and the relation between contractualism and utilitarianism (or consequentialism) as well as between contractualism and constructivism. With his original, clear ideas, illustrated with revealing, thought-provoking examples, Scanlon has been giving renewed impetus to significant issues in moral, political and legal philosophy concerning, e.g., justice, equality, free will, responsibility, blame, permissibility, liberty, libertarianism, the evil of death, welfare, contract law, tolerance, and human rights. What is more, the alertness, lucidity, and calm, unpretentious openness of Scanlon’s characteristic style of philosophizing has left a lasting impression on many a young thinker.