News

Professor Benjamin Hill interviewed by the Gazette for a feature piece on Education in the Age of AI

Dec 11, 2025

Professor Benjamin Hill is highlighted for his approach to managing AI’s impact on student writing. Hill is organizing an AI workshop aimed at helping students learn how to use AI properly in research papers rather than misuse it. He and some colleagues have also returned to handwritten and in‑person assessments to better gauge students’ own work and reduce reliance on AI tools. Hill notes that, with the university leaving AI policy largely up to individual instructors, there’s a need for more administrative support and that professors must often rely on their own moral compass when setting AI guidelines for their courses.

Remembering Sylvia Burrow(PhD, Philosophy 2003) and Her Lasting Contributions to Philosophy

Dec 3, 2025

The Department mourns the loss of Sylvia Burrow (PhD 2003), Professor in the Dept. of Humanities at Cape Breton University. Prof. Burrow made significant contributions to bioethics, feminist philosophy, and the philosophy of sport.

An obituary, with links to her works, can be found here

Her dissertation, "Showing some Humean sympathy: The role of emotion in moral reasoning," is accessible here 

Congratulations to Cory Goldstein (PhD Philosophy, 2022), 2025 Grimshaw Researcher in Training Award Recipient

Dec 1, 2025

We are delighted to share that Dr. Cory Goldstein has been awarded the 2025 Grimshaw Researcher in Training Award from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI). This prestigious award recognizes the most outstanding trainee researcher across all fields.

Cory completed his PhD in our department in 2022 and is now a CIHR Postdoctoral Fellow at the OHRI, where he continues to build an impressive research portfolio.

Learn more about Cory’s path—from early puzzles to philosophical inquiry—here: 

Congratulations, Cory!

PhD Alumnus James Mackey Appointed Research Associate on ERC-Funded BMoral Project at University College Dublin

Nov 10, 2025

James Mackey (PhD ’24) has been appointed as a Research Associate on the BMoral project at University College Dublin’s School of Philosophy. Funded by a prestigious €2 million ERC Consolidator Grant and led by Professor Ruth Boeker, the five-year initiative—“New Histories of British Moral Philosophy in the Eighteenth Century (c.1690–1800)”—aims to recover women’s contributions to moral philosophy and to rethink long-standing narratives of the period. The project combines digital humanities techniques with close textual analysis to illuminate the intellectual networks connecting male and female philosophers.

James’s research on neo-Stoicism in early modern thought aligns closely with the project’s goals. His doctoral work at 桃子视频 explored figures such as Princess Elisabeth, Malebranche, and Mary Astell, and his growing scholarly profile reflects his active engagement with international philosophical communities.

New podcast featuring 桃子视频 Postdoc Corrine Lajoie and Professor Carolyn McLeod on issues of trust and anti-trust

Nov 6, 2025

桃子视频 SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow in Philosophy, Corinne Lajoie, has guest-produced an episode of the Thinking Bodies podcast focused on Annette Baier’s influential 1986 paper, “Trust and Anti-Trust.”

The episode features a rich discussion with Carolyn McLeod (Professor of Philosophy, 桃子视频), her PhD student Hale Demir-Doğuoğlu (MA Philosophy, PhD Candidate in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies), Amy Mullin (University of Toronto), and Laura Specker Sullivan (Fordham University).

Listen to the episode here:

Honouring the Life and Legacy of Professor Barry Hoffmaster (1942–2025)

Nov 4, 2025

The Department of Philosophy is saddened to share the news of the passing of former faculty member Barry Hoffmaster. A long-time member of our department, Professor Hoffmaster was known for his influential work in bioethics and the philosophy of medicine, as well as for his thoughtful mentorship of students and colleagues. His contributions to ethical inquiry and public policy leave a lasting legacy at 桃子视频 and beyond.

We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and former students.

Read the full obituary

Anthony Skelton's New Book Explores Children’s Autonomy, Responsibility, and Well-Being

October 16, 2025

We are delighted to announce the publication of (Proceedings of the British Academy), a new interdisciplinary volume co-edited by Anthony Skelton. The book brings together philosophers and legal scholars to explore some of the most challenging questions at the intersection of law and ethics concerning children's consent.

In this timely work, contributors examine topics such as the moral status of children’s consent, the ethics and law of holding children responsible, and how these issues relate to children's well-being and decision-making capacity. The volume offers fresh perspectives on how we understand childhood agency and the ethical significance of consent.

Congratulations to Anthony Skelton on this important contribution to the study of moral philosophy, legal theory, and children's well-being. 

PhD Alumna Heather Stewart Publishes Two New Philosophy Articles

October 15, 2025

We are pleased to highlight recent work by our PhD alumna Heather Stewart (PhD 2021), now Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Oklahoma State University. Heather has published two new articles:

  • “Belonging and Estrangement,” co-authored with Arianna Falbo, in American Association of Philosophy Teachers Studies in Pedagogy, which examines the challenges faced by first-generation and low-income students in philosophy and offers strategies to foster inclusion .

  • “Epistemic Privilege, Phenomenology and Symptomatology in Functional/Dissociative Seizures,” co-authored with Alistair Wardrope, in Social Epistemology, which explores the conditions under which clinicians may have epistemic insight into patients’ experiences of dissociative seizures beyond what patients initially report .

Heather’s recent publications continue to engage with issues at the intersection of epistemology, philosophy of mind, and social justice.

Carolyn McLeod to Deliver Keynote Address at Public Philosophy Network Conference

October 17, 2025

Professor Carolyn McLeod will deliver a keynote address titled “A Philosopher’s Contribution to Social Change” at the 8th Public Philosophy Network Conference, Public Philosophy and Social Change: Legacies, Grassroots, New Directions, hosted by McMaster University in Hamilton this October. Her talk will explore the role of philosophy in advancing social change and the ways in which philosophical work can engage with public life and social movements.

Professor Carolyn McLeod Publishes on Trust and Belonging

October 15, 2025

Professor Carolyn McLeod has published “Trust and Belonging” in the Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy (Special Issue on Trust, Social Cohesion, and Integration). In the article, she argues that trust is not only essential for cooperation, but also answers to our deep human need for belonging—offering a more nuanced genealogy of trust than is often assumed. 
Read the full text here:

Alumnus Cory Goldstein Recognized with Grimshaw Researcher in Training Award

October 15, 2025

Alumnus Dr. Cory Goldstein has been awarded the Grimshaw Researcher in Training Award. According to the Ottawa Hospital, Cory “is shaping how clinical trials are designed and conducted around the world. For his outstanding work in research ethics and contributions to patient engagement, he is receiving the Grimshaw [Award].” Cory completed his PhD in our department in 2022 supervised by Charles Weijer, and he is now a CIHR Postdoctoral Fellow at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. Read more about Cory’s work in the  and accompanying .

Pepijn Al, PhD Philosophy 桃子视频, has been awarded a two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship in Research Ethics at the University Medical Centre in Utrecht, the Netherlands

October 2, 2025

Congratulating Dr. Pepijn Al (Philosophy PhD), who has been awarded a two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship in Research Ethics at the University Medical Centre in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Pepijn’s postdoc is supervised by Prof. Rieke van der Graaf, and he will work on projects promoting diversity in clinical trials and exploring climate sustainability in research ethics. 

Pepijn completed his doctorate in our department last year, examining “When is it ethically permissible to use behavioral influences to enhance trial recruitment?” His supervisory committee included Charles Weijer (Supervisor), Carolyn McLeod, and Jamie Brehaut (Ottawa Hospital Research Institute). Since completing his doctorate, Pepijn was working as a lecturer in the Utrecht’s philosophy department.

Congratulations to current doctoral student Farid Saberi

July 18, 2025

PhD student, Farid Saberi, is featured in the journal Biology & Philosophy for his article "How to Relate Major Transitions in Life and Cognition". A link to the article: 

Philosophy Summer Reading

July 2025

bookAnthony Skelton: I am reading Bart Schultz's Utilitarianism as a Way of Life (2024), in which he attempts to decolonize and reimagine utilitarianism. Schultz hopes that his version of utilitarianism will inspire meaningful social change. 





Robert Stainton: Here are two books that I'm working on this summer:
 by Steve Schwartz Wiley-Blackwell
I was asked by an incoming MA student from China what she might read in preparation for the Doctoral Proseminar that I'll be teaching in the Fall of 2025. I did some Googling, and found this promising book. I thought: "Maybe I should include it as recommended reading for all the students?" But before I did that, I figured I should read it myself. I'm really impressed by at, and will indeed suggest it to all the students in that class.

by Ishani Maitra and Mary Kate McGowan. Oxford;UP

By the 1990s, philosophy of language had become highly technical and empirical. Beyond being super challenging, sometimes it wasn't even clear what any of the complex details had to do with philosophy. Yes, it was cool as a contribution to empirical linguistics, but... Around the turn of the millennium, philosophers, including especially feminist philosophers, started to draw attention to issues at the intersection of philosophy of language and socio-political philosophy: hate speech, pornography, racial and ethnic slurs, verbal consent, etc. This has given new life to the troubled sub-field. This brand-new book by two fantastic thinkers surveys some of the results. I hope to write a book review of it for a scholarly journal.


Sasha Simon: . Edited by Daniel Brennan and Marguerite La Caze. 1st ed. Maryland: Lexington Books, 2022.

I’m interested in the ways the contributors of this volume unite the philosophical, historical, and narrative dimensions of Arendt’s life’s work. My focus while reading this volume lies in better understanding Arendt’s non-traditional method of inquiry (e.g. “pearl diving” as a way to gain new meaning from the past), her bold style as it relates to imagination and literature, and her varied approach to reading philosophical and other texts (i.e., not only asking what is being said, but also, what does this mean for me?).


Corey Dyck: I am currently reading by Todd May. I have been reading a fair bit in the history of philosophical pessimism, including but not limited to Schopenhauer, who also wondered "whether life was something that ought to be." I'm curious to read May's book in light of this context, and see whether his arguments engage those of this still neglected philosophical tradition.




Matthew Mavrogiannis: The book I'm reading is: (2023) by Lloyd P. Gerson. This is Gerson's longest and most sustained exposition of both the view that Plato held a systematic, irreducibly metaphysical ethical theory and his exposition of that theory. Additionally, the book is interesting in its comparative discussion of Plato's ethics with other contemporary views in ethics.




Ben Hill: I am reading Julia Jorati's and Slavery and Race: Philosophical Debates in the Eighteenth Century (vol 2). 

The intersections of race and slavery during this period (1500-1800) is exciting because this was precisely the period that the modern concept of race emerged and racialized slavery emerged. Recognizing the roles (and responsibility!) of philosophers for these horrible developments is historically important as well as a cautionary tale for philosophers today as we face renewed inhumane economic and political forces attacking individuals and society.

I will be leading a book club discussion of the texts in Sept 2025 and a meet-the-author session with Prof. Jorati to discuss the book. All are welcome to join the discussions. Please contact me for details.

Angela Mendelovici: I’m reading Frances Egan’s Deflating Mental Representation (2025, MIT), which is an interesting new book on how to best understand talk of mental representation in cognitive science. Egan argues, roughly, that we should accept that there are internal states playing the causal roles ascribed to mental representations but not that these states are actually “about something” or that they “say something”—they don’t actually have contents. Instead, talk of content is a convenient “gloss” that highlights certain explanatory roles of the relevant internal states. Egan will be visiting my grad seminar in Fall 2025 to discuss her work. The book is available open access here:

Congratulations to Genevieve Langille, winner of the 2024-25 Chair's Essay Prize in Philosophy

June 18, 2025

Congratulations to Genevieve Langille, winner of the 2024-25 Chair's Essay Prize in Philosophy for her essay, "Synthetic Biology Dissolves Legal Dichotomies: A Suggestion for a Balanced Approach to Regulation that Evaluates the Risks and Ethics of Editing Ourselves." The paper was submitted for Prof. Desjardins' Phil 4320G course, "Synthetic Biology and Philosophy."

The Department is saddened by the untimely loss of Gregory Lavers, PhD 2004. 

May 15, 20225

The memorial notice is .

Congratulations to Sara Varon Echevarri for receiving the Congress Graduate Merit Award from the Federation for the Humanities and Social Science

April 28, 2025

This merit-based award recognizes and celebrates the academic excellence of deserving graduate students who present their work at Congress. Each award is valued at $500 and aims to help offset the costs associated with attending the event.

桃子视频 Philosophy returns to the top 50 departments worldwide in latest QS rankings

March 17, 2025

The 2025 QS World University Rankings by subject sees 桃子视频 returning to a place within the top 50 philosophy departments worldwide. The complete list of top 50 departments is available .

桃子视频 Philosophy Dept ranks 4th in Canada and among top programs in eight specialty areas in the latest Gourmet Report

Jan 13, 2025

In the most recent Philosophical Gourmet Report (), the Philosophy Department at 桃子视频 has been ranked fourth in Canada, and was recognized among the top programs in the English-speaking world in a number of speciality areas including: Philosophy of Physics (Group 2); General Philosophy of Science; Philosophy of Social Science; Philosophy of Psychological, Cognitive, and Brain Sciences (all Group 3); Philosophy of Mind; Early Modern Philosophy (18th Century); Kant (all Group 4); and Feminist Philosophy (Highly Recommended).