I am very happy to inform you that Canadian Journal of Disability Studies (CJDS) has published a special issue on the theme “Medical Assistance in Dying; Resistance in Canada”. The issue comprises testimonials of many of the leading theorists and activists who publicly organize against MAiD and the very real dangers that the eugenic policies […]
How Canadian Philosophy Plays a Vital Role in the Project of Eugenics: Or, Gender, Schafer, and Other Nondisabled White Male Bioethicists
I’m always disappointed when I see Canadian feminist philosophers contribute to and reproduce the significant role that philosophy in Canada and Canadian bioethicists in particular play in the legacy of eugenics in Canada and the exclusion of disabled philosophers and philosophy of disability that this legacy requires and sustains. Given the systemic and structural character […]
Quote of the Week (and It’s Only Thursday): Joe Stramondo on Trans Athletes and Id*ots
The quote of the week for this week (though it’s only Thursday) aims to further expose ableist language and its political histories, as well as underscore the contested status that the notion of intelligence should hold for philosophers. Indeed, an anti-ableist conceptualization of disability—viz. philosophy of disability—should assume that neither the notion of intelligence nor […]
Picard, Propaganda, and How the Mainstream Media Helps Bioethicists Help Shape the Eugenic Agenda in Canada
In the week following the publication of his book (his only book), Neglected No More, journalist André Picard was interviewed by co-host Adrienne Arsenault on a segment of The National, a nightly news program of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). During the course of the interview, Arsenault asked Picard why he wrote a book about […]
Bioethics and the Reproduction of Power
During the question period following my presentation at Syracuse University, one interlocutor asserted that I had confused the direction of causation between prenatal testing and bioethics. Prospective parents, he said, do not, as he understood me to suggest, avail themselves of prenatal testing because bioethicists tell them to do so. Rather, the technology has developed, […]
Disabling Bioethics: An Abolitionist Genealogy
Two weeks from today, that is, January 14, I leave for the Eastern APA in New York. I will present in an APA symposium on my work in philosophy of disability on Tuesday, January 16, and then travel to Syracuse on Thursday, January 18, to present at the Central New York Humanities Corridor on Friday, […]
Some of Our Favourite Posts of 2023
As the year comes to a close, a review of some of our favourite posts from the year seems apropos. I have catalogued these posts according to the month in which they were initially posted. The list below is by no means exhaustive of the fantastic posts made at BIOPOLITICAL PHILOSOPHY, especially insofar as the […]
Reproducing Eugenic Injustice: Virtual Presentation to Hypatia 40th Anniversary Conference, Sept. 9, 2023
Hello! I’d like to begin by giving a description of what appears on the screen. I’m a white woman with short hair. I’m wearing large plastic glasses and long earrings. Behind me, to my right, there’s a clock on the wall and a window with curtains. Behind me, to my left, there’s a ceiling fan. […]
CFP: In the Shadow of Eugenic Thinking: Legacies of Eugenics in the UK, Hybrid, May 3, 2023 (deadline: Apr. 14, 2023)
A one-day symposium jointly hosted by the Centre for Applied Philosophy, Politics and Ethics and the Centre for Memory Narrative and History, University of Brighton Wednesday 3rd May, 10am-5pm, Online and in-person This symposium will bring together activists, academics, practitioners, educators and artists to explore the legacy of eugenics in the UK. Although overt forms of eugenic thinking […]
Toward an Abolitionist Genealogy of Bioethics
In recent years, philosophers have increasingly engaged with each other in passionate discussions about academic freedom in the discipline of philosophy and academia more widely, as well as participated in heated debates with members of the broader public about freedom of speech in society generally. The topics around which the most impassioned discussions and debates […]
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