Bioethics & Philosophy of Medicine

Medicine raises a number of questions that can benefit from philosophical inquiry. We strive to understand what health and health care are (medical epistemology) and what they ought to be (medical ethics). In doing so, we engage with scholars from multiple disciplines in health and medical humanities, with patients, and with other community members to advance ethics in health care.

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Environmental Philosophy & Ethics

We are a community of graduate students and faculty in the Department of Philosophy at Michigan State University (MSU) who are engaged in research, teaching and outreach in environmental philosophy and ethics. Our work covers topics such as agricultural ethics, environmental justice, values in environmental sciences, food sovereignty, ecofeminism, environmental education, animal ethics, ecological restoration, climate justice, epistemic integration in environmental sciences, sustainability ethics and environmental pragmatism.

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Socially Engaged Philosophy of Science

Because of the important roles that science plays in contemporary society, we use tools from the philosophy of science to understand both descriptive and normative (epistemic, ethical, and political) aspects of science. We explore the nature of science, the reliability of its methods and practices, and its role in democratic societies while working in partnership with natural and social scientists, policy makers, and communities outside the academy.

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Social & Political Thought

Several faculty in the Department of Philosophy at Michigan State are working in an area in which traditional debates over justice, freedom, and political obligation are increasingly joined in contemporary philosophy by concerns with inequality, power, identity, and the rationalization of institutions and practices. 

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