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15Miracles as Evidence Against the Existence of GodIn Robert A. Larmer (ed.), Questions of Miracle, Carleton University Press. pp. 132-139. 1996.
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13Unanswered PrayersIn Russell Blackford & Udo Schüklenk (eds.), 50 Voices of Disbelief, Wiley‐blackwell. 2009-09-10.This chapter contains sections titled: Notes.
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11The role of careGlobal Bioethics 33 (1): 38-40. 2022.“The Role of Care” is a commentary on “Towards a Feminist Global Ethics,” by Rosemarie Tong.
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56My Children, Their Children, and Benatar’s Anti-NatalismJournal of Value Inquiry 56 (1): 51-66. 2022.
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27Justice Back and Forth: Duties to the Past and Future, written by Richard VernonJournal of Moral Philosophy 16 (3): 371-374. 2019.
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27Book Reviews : Allen E. Buchanan and Dan W. Brock, Deciding for Others: The Ethics of Surrogate Decision Making. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1989. Pp. 422 + xv, $49.50 (cloth), $16.95 (paper (review)Philosophy of the Social Sciences 23 (1): 120-125. 1993.
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56Précis of Aging, Death, and Human Longevity: A Philosophical Inquiry*: DialogueDialogue 45 (3): 537-548. 2006.
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520BOOK REVIEW: Christine Overall. AGING, DEATH, AND HUMAN LONGEVITY: A PHILOSOPHICAL INQUIRY. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2003 (review)Hypatia 20 (3): 226-229. 2005.
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30Pets and People: The Ethics of our Relationships with Companion Animals (edited book)Oxford University Press. 2017.Animal ethics is generating growing interest both within academia and outside it. This book focuses on ethical issues connected to animals who play an extremely important role in human lives: companion animals, with a special emphasis on dogs and cats, the animals most often chosen as pets. Companion animals are both vulnerable to and dependent upon us. What responsibilities do we owe to them, especially since we have the power and authority to make literal life-and-death decisions about them? W…Read more
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17Heterosexuality and Feminist TheoryCanadian Journal of Philosophy 20 (1): 1-17. 1990.Heterosexuality, which I define as a romantic and sexual orientation toward persons not of one's own sex, is apparently a very general, though not entirely universal, characteristic of the human condition. In fact, it is so ubiquitous a part of human interactions and relations as to be almost invisible, and so natural-seeming as to appear unquestionable. Indeed, the 1970 edition of The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘heterosexual’ as ‘pertaining to or characterized by the normal relat…Read more
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67Miracles and LarmerDialogue 42 (1): 123-136. 2003.As this article is published, Robert Larmer and I have been engaged in a debate that is now eighteen years long, often with gaps of many years between ripostes, about the nature and significance of miracles. The Larmer/overall oeuvre now includes six works, including the two published here. I am grateful to the editors of Dialogue for giving me the opportunity to respond to Larmer’s most recent entry in the debate.
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40Staying Alive: A Reply to the Commentators on Aging, Death, and Human Longevity: A Philosophical InquiryDialogue 45 (3): 577-590. 2006.
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3Book Reviews : Allen E. Buchanan and Dan W. Brock, Deciding for Others: The Ethics of Surrogate Decision Making. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1989. Pp. 422 + xv, $49.50 (cloth), $16.95 (paper (review)Philosophy of the Social Sciences 23 (1): 120-125. 1993.
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17Critical Notice of "The Rejected Body" (review)Canadian Journal of Philosophy 28 (3): 435-452. 1998.
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14Old Age and Ageism, Impairment and Ableism: Exploring the Conceptual and Material ConnectionsNational Women’s Studies Association Journal 18 (1): 207-217. 2006.Much can be learned about (old) age-identity and age-related oppression by noting their similarities to, respectively, impairment and ableism. Drawing upon the work of Shelley Tremain, I show that old age, like impairment, is not a biological given but is socially constructed, both conceptually and materially. I also describe the striking similarities and connections between ableism and ageism as systems of oppression. That disability and aging both rest upon a biological given is a fiction that…Read more
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134Aging, Death, and Human Longevity: A Philosophical InquiryUniversity of California Press. 2003.With the help of medicine and technology we are living longer than ever before. As human life spans have increased, the moral and political issues surrounding longevity have become more complex. Should we desire to live as long as possible? What are the social ramifications of longer lives? How does a longer life span change the way we think about the value of our lives and about death and dying? Christine Overall offers a clear and intelligent discussion of the philosophical and cultural issues…Read more
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683Transsexualism and “Transracialism”Social Philosophy Today 20 183-193. 2004.This paper explores, from a feminist perspective, the justification of major surgical reshaping of the body. I define “transracialism” as the use of surgery to assist individuals to “cross” from being a member of one race to being a member of another. If transsexualism, involving the use of surgery to assist individuals to “cross” from female to male or from male to female, is morally acceptable, and if providing the medical and social resources to enable sex crossing is not morally problematic,…Read more
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1Into the Mouths of Babes: The Moral Responsibility to BreastfeedIn Sheila Lintott & Maureen Sander-Staudt (eds.), Philosophical Inquiry into Pregnancy, Childbirth and Mothering: Maternal Subjects, Routledge. 2012.
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The Case Against the Legalization of Contract MotherhoodIn Simon Rosenblum & Peter Findlay (eds.), Debating Canada’s Future: Views From the Left, James Lorimer. 1991.
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156Public toilets: Sex segregation revisitedEthics and the Environment 12 (2): 71-91. 2007.: Public toilets are a key part of the urban environment. This paper examines and evaluates the pervasive sex segregation, throughout North America, of public toilets. The issue is situated within a larger context—the design and management of the urban environment; larger assumptions about sexuality, reproduction, and privacy that govern that environment; and continuing compulsory sex identification and segregation which still define key areas of "public" space. I examine seven groups of argumen…Read more
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7‘From Here to Eternity’: Is It Good to Live Forever?In David Benatar (ed.), Life, Death, and Meaning: Key Philosophical Readings on the Big Questions, 2nd edition, Rowman & Littlefield. 2010.
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Reproductive Technology and the Future of the FamilyIn Greta Hofman Nemiroff (ed.), Women and Men: Interdisciplinary Readings on Gender, Fitzhenry & Whiteside. 1987.
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77Miracles and God: A Reply to Robert A. H. LarmerDialogue 36 (4): 741. 1997.RésuméJ'ai soutenu dans un article de 1985 que s'il y avait des miracles, cela parlerait contre l'existence du Dieu judéo-chrétien. Dans son livre de 1988 sur le concept de miracle, Robert Larmer propose une critique de mes arguments. J'évalue ici la force de cette critique. Je montre que la redéfinition de «miracle» que propose Larmer est circulaire; que sa distinction est spécieuse entre violer une hi naturelle et la surmonter grâce à la création ou la destruction d'énergie par Dieu; et que sa…Read more
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Do New Reproductive Technologies Benefit or Harm Children?In Donna L. Dickenson (ed.), Ethical Issues in Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Cambridge University Press. 2002.
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8Perspectives on AIDS: Ethical and Social Issues (edited book)Oxford University Press. 1991.Aimed at undergraduate courses dealing with contemporary and/or sexual ethics, this collection of essays examines the culture and context of AIDS, as well as specific ethical and social issues. Topics include HIV testing and confidentiality, ethics and religion, and individual rights.
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Introduction: Philosophy All Through the DayEidos: The Canadian Graduate Journal of Philosophy 19 3-17. 2005.
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8Critical Notice of The Rejected Body: Feminist Philosophical Reflections on Disability (review)Canadian Journal of Philosophy 28 (3): 435-452. 1998.
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47The Nature of Mystical ExperienceReligious Studies 18 (1). 1982.In the philosophy of mysticism, an important and foundational problem concerns the nature of mystical experience. The problem is both significant and basic because an understanding of the nature of mystical experience is a necessary precondition for the evaluation of its epistemological, ontological, and ethical significance, and will in fact influence that evaluation. In other words, our ideas about the nature of mystical experience are premises for our conclusions about the role of mystical ex…Read more
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Areas of Specialization
Applied Ethics |
Philosophy of Religion |
Social and Political Philosophy |
Areas of Interest
Animal Ethics |
Reproductive Ethics |
Aging |
Death and Dying |