Department of Philosophy
Queen's University-
People
- Faculty
- Graduate Students
- Staff
- Post-Doctoral Fellows
Graduate Students
François Boucher
Social and Political Philosophy François obtained his B.A. and M.A. at Laval University and was a visiting student at Université Lyon 3-Jean Moulin and at the University of Victoria. He is mainly interested in contemporary political philosophy. After writing his M.A. thesis on cosmopolitanism and global distributive justice, he became more and more concerned with issues of multiculturalism. His current research focuses on liberal egalitarian theories of the rights of ethnocultural minorities. Since the beginning of his Ph.D., he has worked on minority nationalism and aboriginal rights. He is also interested in secularism and the accommodation of religious minorities.
E-mail: 6fb4@queensu.caClaire Bremner
Political Philosophy
Having spent nearly 20 years in the Australian finance and investment sector (MBA, University of Sydney, 1990), Claire is interested in developing a better understanding of the nature and role of economic risktaking with regard to distributive outcomes and justice. In particular, she is interested in how such an understanding could inform policy decisions which affect the incentives for and the regulation of economic risktaking
E-mail: 6cab3@queensu.ca
Octavian A. Busuioc
Moral Philosophy, Epistemology, Philosophy of LanguageOctavian's current philosophical interests lie at the intersection of moral philosophy, epistemology, and the philosophy of language - more specifically, he is interested in the relationship between normativity and self-knowledge. He sometimes dabbles in metaphysics, even against sage advice, especially by reflecting upon the nature of mass and plural terms and their relations to logical categories of thought. He has an unhealthy predilection towards the work of John McDowell and Gareth Evans, and can often be found holding Wilfrid Sellars in high regard. He is told there exists a Quinean pill for the former predilection, but the doctors have never been able to convince him to take it. On many occasions, he wishes he could spend more time on Kantian and post-Kantian philosophy, especially Kant, Fichte, and Hegel.
E-mail: octavian.busuioc@queensu.ca
Elaine Cheng
Bioethics, Research Ethics, Epistemology, Symbolic Logic, Philosophy of Literature, Descartes
Elaine loves animals, especially dogs. Meet Plato and Didi, as shown in her profile picture. Further description coming soon.
E-mail: 5eyc@queensu.ca
Yual Chiek
Early-modern, Metaphysics
Yual's core interests lie in the areas of Early-Modern Metaphysics (with a concentration on the systematic metaphysics of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz), Epistemology, contemporary Analytic Metaphysics, and Philosophy of Religion. He is also developing interest in Logic (particularly modal logic), the Philosophy of Language, and Social and Political Philosophy. In contemporary metaphysics, his research centres on the metaphysics of objects. His own musings on this topic have led him to the crazy view that there are, strictly speaking, no composite objects!
For more, see: http://sites.google.com/site/myphilosophysite/
E-mail: 7yc12@queensu.ca
Lana De Gasperis
Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Psychology
Prior to entering the graduate programme at Queen's, Lana studied at University of Toronto. Her research interests are, principally, philosophy of the mind, especially philosophy of psychology, and theories of deception and self-deception. In her spare time, Lana does pilates, reads Russian literature, and enjoys hanging out with her loved ones, especially her cat, Justice.
Torin Doppelt
Early Modern (Spinoza), Causal and Explanatory Rationalism, Metaphysics
Torin completed his honours BA in Philosophy and German at the University of Toronto, and his MA in Philosophy at Queen's with a thesis on Spinoza's causal axiom. He is currently in his first year of PhD studies at Queen's and intends to continue thinking about and working on Spinoza and causes. His philosophical interests generally revolve around Spinoza and philosophical systems, as well as the connection between concepts, causes, consciousness, and explanations. He secretly fears that determinism isn't true and that therefore he's actually responsible for all of this, even though his absolute certainty in the universal applicability of the PSR assures him that this cannot be the case.
Bryan Elliott
Moral Philosophy, Political Philosophy
E-mail: bryan.elliott@queensu.ca
Christine Esselmont
Moral Philosophy, Moral Psychology, Ancient Philosophy
Christine is interested in questions concerning moral responsibility and the grounds of moral criticism. Her doctoral work focuses on the extent to which constraints on moral deliberation and moral action ought to influence blame.
E-mail: christine.esselmont@queensu.ca
Omid Hejazi
Political Philosophy and Logic
Omid completed his undergraduate degree at University of Tehran. He has started his graduate study at Queen's University since 2006. His main philosophical interests lie in contemporary political philosophy. In particular his PhD research focuses on contemporary liberal theories of multiculturalism and national minority rights. He is also developing interest in issues such as neutrality/perfectionism and egalitarian justice. Other areas of interest include philosophy of logic, modality and possible worlds.
E-mail: 5oh1@queensu.ca
Kory Jeffrey
Moral Philosophy, Personal Identity Theory, Political Philosophy
Description coming soon.
Kyle Johannsen
Political Philosophy and Applied Ethics
Kyle has both a BA and an MA in philosophy from York University. He's primarily interested in political philosophy, especially methodological questions and their implications for substantive issues in distributive justice.
E-Mail: 9kj29@queensu.ca
Jason Millar
Applied Ethics, Bioethics, Science and Technology Studies
Jason Miller's interests lie at the intersection of ethics, technology and society. His current research focuses on applied ethics and science and technology studies, with particular interests in the democratization of science and technology and the (bio)ethical issues surrounding transhumanism and the human-machine merger. Jason earned a B.Sc. in Engineering Physics from Queen's University and worked as an engineer for several years prior to earning a B.A. and M.A. in Philosophy at the University of Ottawa. While at the University of Ottawa he worked for several years on On the Identity Trail, a multidisciplinary SSHRC funded project, researching the legal and philosophical issues surrounding privacy in the digital age. While completing his M.A. Jason also worked as a technology policy analyst at the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and published a book chapter on privacy (in the first ever Oxford University Press publication licensed under the Creative Commonts). He maintains the Ethics, Technology and Society blog at jasonmillar.ca.
E-mail: 7jm55@queensu.ca
Dimitrios (Jim) Molos
Social and Political PhilosophyDescription Coming Soon
E-mail: jmolos@hotmail.com
Nikoo Najand
Bioethics, feminist philosophy, reproductive technology, applied ethics, ethical theory
Description coming soon
E-mail: n.najand@queensu.ca
Josephine Nielsen
Social and Political Philosophy, Multiculturalism, Reproductive Ethics
Josephine completed her honours BA in Philosophy at Acadia University, and her MA in Philosophy at Carleton University with a thesis focusing on the role group mobilization plays in multicultural societies. Her core interests remain in the area of multiculturalism generally, but for her PhD dissertation she hopes to focus on the intersection of liberal multicultural theories and feminist theories. She has recently also become interested in reproductive ethics.
Celeste Orr
Identity Theory, Feminist Philosophy
Celeste completed her Honours B.A. in Philosophy and English at McMaster University. Her current interests focus primarily on identity and self-narrative construction, intersecting with gender and feminist theories.
E-mail: 11co8@queensu.ca
Christopher A. Riddle
Egalitarian Justice, Disability Studies, Bioethics, Medical Jurisprudence
Christopher is a PhD candidate who specializes in social and political philosophy with an emphasis on egalitarian theory and the accommodation of people with disabilities. Other areas of interest include biomedical ethics, the philosophy of law, health policy, and research methodologies.
E-mail: 9car@queensu.ca
Nolan Ritcey
Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
Description Coming Soon
E-mail: 6nr6@queensu.ca
Website: web.me.com/delicious_monsters/N.Ritcey
Mark Rosner
Moral Philosophy, Social and Political PhilosophyDescription Coming Soon
E-mail: 6mr29@queensu.ca
Andrew D.F. Ross
Ethics, Epistemology, Philosophy of ScienceDescription Coming Soon
E-mail: 7adfr@queensu.ca
Andrew P. Ross
Moral Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Aesthetics Andrew is primarily interested in contemporary moral theory. In particular, he is interested in deontic constraints, rights, and the authority of morality. Additional interests include aesthetics and self-knowledge.
E-mail: 5apr2@queensu.ca
Philip Shadd
Social and Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Law, Political Theology
Phil arrived at Queen’s after completing his M.A. in philosophy at The University of Western Ontario. His dissertation research explores the question of political legitimacy by seeking to supplement the political liberal answer with insights from the Christian Reformed tradition of political theory. In other words, he’s endeavouring to bring the likes of Rawls and Habermas into deeper dialogue with the likes of Abraham Kuyper and Nicholas Wolterstorff. His M.A. research project critically examined Rawls’ claim that the doctrine of Rawlsian public reason is implicit in liberal democratic institutions, and he remains unsure of what to make of this sort of public reason. In addition to political theory, Phil finds himself routinely engaged in philosophy of law and democratic theory, and also has a burgeoning interest in the philosophy of religion. When he’s not at work, he enjoys sports (both as a fan and participant), going to church, and spending time with his wife.
E-mail: 8pds@queensu.ca
Ayesha Shah
Social and Political Philosophy, and Ethics
Ayesha obtained her B.A. in Public Policy Management and B.A. Hons. in Philosophy at York University in Toronto. She is mainly interested in contemporary political philosophy, especially in cosmopolitan and global distributive justice. She is planning on writing her MA thesis on this topic. She is also interested in biomedical ethics and global health ethics.
E-mail: ayesha.shah@queensu.ca
Kijin Sung
Science and Technology Studies, Political PhilosophyDescription Coming Soon
E-mail: kijin.sung@queensu.ca
Jennifer Szende
Political Philosophy, Philosophy of LawJennifer is a doctoral candidate completing her dissertation on human rights and their role in liberal theories of international relations, including debates on global justice and humanitarian intervention. She completed her Master's degree at the University of Sheffield (UK) with a thesis on multiculturalism and feminism, and completed her undergraduate degree at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Her research interests include political theory, feminist theory, philosophy of law, and, when she has time, the infinite. She is kept sane in this endeavour by a close community of fellow rock climbers.
E-mail: 4js6@queensu.ca
Radhika Tikku
Feminist Epistemology, Bioethics, Social and Political PhilosophyDescription Coming Soon
E-mail: 5rt13@queensu.ca
David Trochanowski
Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mathematics
E-mail: david.trochanowski@queensu.ca
Katherine Wayne
Moral Philosophy, Social and Political Philosophy, reproductive ethics, animal ethicsKatherine received her Master’s degree in Philosophy with Specialization in Biomedical Ethics from McGill University in 2008. Her primary philosophical interests are in ethics, both theoretical and applied, and social/ political philosophy. Her doctoral dissertation examines the morality of childbearing; in particular she wishes to understand the nature and role of beneficence in the context of deciding whether to bear children. She is also currently interested in the ethics of the relationship between humans and domestic animals, and how that relationship is improperly conceptualized within the welfarist-abolitionist debate.
Melaina Weiss
Ethics, Feminist Philosophy, Social and Political Philosophy
I am interested in developing ideas revolving around our possible responsibilities towards others and animals and the environment and how developing respectful relationships between these areas would vastly improve our lives.
E-mail: 9mmw4@queensu.ca