Meena Krishnamurthy's New Book: The Emotions of Nonviolence
Meena Krishnamurthy's new book, The Emotions of Nonviolence: Revisiting Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail", published by Oxford University Press, is now available.
Nancy Salay's New Book: How Words Help Us Think: An Externalist Account of Representational Intentionality
Nancy Salay, Associate Professor of Philosophy and School of Computing, has published a new book: How Words Help Us Think: An Externalist Account of Representational Intentionality, published by Bloomsbury Publishing, is now available.
Virginie Simoneau-Gilbert
Virginie Simoneau-Gilbert
Postdoctoral Guest
Philosophy
Arts and Science
Education
DPhil in Philosophy (University of Oxford)
MA and BA in Philosophy (Université de Montréal)
Research Interests
Animal ethics, practical ethics, philosophy of emotion, moral theory, political theory
About
Virginie began a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Philosophy at Queen’s University in 2025. During her stay at Queen’s, she will be working with Will Kymlicka on reciprocity in nonhuman animals and its implications for theories of justice. Her research project is funded by Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Fonds de recherche du Québec Société et Culture (FRQSC). For the academic year 2025-2026, she is also a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Oxford’s Philosophy Faculty. In 2025, Virginie completed a DPhil in Philosophy at the University of Oxford with the support of a Rhodes Scholarship and a doctoral scholarship from the Fonds de recherche du Québec Société et Culture (FRQSC). Her thesis explored the possibility of recognizing some animals as moral agents. She is also the author or co-author of two books on the history and philosophy of animal advocacy: Que veulent les véganes? La cause animale, de Platon au mouvement antispéciste (Fides, 2021, co-written with Alexia Renard) and Au nom des animaux : l'histoire de la SPCA de Montréal (1869-2019) (Somme toute, 2019). You can find out more about her research here: https://en.virginiesimoneaugilbert.com
Publications
Books
Que veulent les véganes ? L’histoire de la cause animale, de Platon au mouvement antispéciste, co-written with Alexia Renard, Montréal, Éditions Fides, 2021, 200 pages
Au nom des animaux. L’histoire de la SPCA de Montréal (1869-2019), Montréal, Éditions Somme toute, 2019, 374 pages.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
Forthcoming: “Capacitisme, traitement inégal et discrimination positive : quelles implications pour le spécisme ?”, Dialogue, book symposium on Le pire des maux by François Jaquet, Paris, Éditions Éliott, 2025.
Book Chapters
“Can Animals Be Moral Agents? Why the Debate Matters for Animal Ethics”, The Plant-based and Vegan Handbook, New York, Springer, 2024.
King Charles III Coronation Medal Recipient - Will Kymlicka
Introduced to mark the ascension of King Charles III on May 6, 2023, the Coronation Medal recognizes significant contributions, whether in public service, arts, education, science, or other areas that have advanced Canadian society or brought international recognition to the country.
A Golden Philosophical Opportunity
Recently, the Department of Philosophy hosted one of the regional qualifiers of the Ontario High School Ethics Bowl.
The Ethics Bowl brings together teams from local high schools to debate difficult ethical questions involving moral dilemmas. It is an opportunity for students to hone their critical thinking and verbal skills, and to meet other students interested in discussing complex ethical questions.
Read the article here:
Equity and Austerity: A Panel Discussion
Date
Monday March 3, 20252:00 pm - 3:20 pm
Location
Queen's University, Jeffrey Hall, Room 115The Equity Committee of the Queen’s Philosophy Department invites everyone to a panel discussion on equity and austerity, featuring Sangeetha Saravanan (Equity and Wellness Commissioner Society of Graduate and Professional Students), Jana Amer (AMS Commissioner of Social Issues), and Arunima Khanna (Psychologist, Cross-Cultural and Diversity Affairs, Student Wellness).
Udo Schüklenk in Social Philosophy & Policy, on Health Policy
Udo Schüklenk, Professor of Philosophy and Ontario Research Chair in Bioethics, has published a new article in Social Philosophy & Policy on Rethinking Assisted Dying. This article is open access.
Udo Schüklenk's New Book: Rethinking Conscientious Objection in Health Care
Udo Schüklenk, Professor of Philosophy and Ontario Research Chair in Bioethics, has a published a new book: Rethinking Conscientious Objection in Health Care. The book is co-authored with Alberto Giubilini, Francesca Minerva, and Julian Savulescu, published by Oxford University Press, and is open access.
Owen Clifton on Human Extinction, in The Philosophical Quarterly
Owen Clifton, who successfully defended his PhD this fall, has a paper in The Philosophical Quarterly, which asks the question, and is titled, “Does the value of rational activity explain the badness of human extinction?” The abstract and a link to the open-access article are below.
Political Philosophy Reading Group: Avigail Eisenberg (Victoria)
Date
Wednesday March 5, 202511:30 am - 1:00 pm
Location
Queen's University, Watson 517Faculty and graduate students are invited to join the upcoming meeting of the Political Philosophy Reading Group, to discuss a paper by Avigail Eisenberg (Victoria).
For more information, contact Christine Sypnowich (christine.sypnowich@queensu.ca).