Samantha J. Brennan is a British-born

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

and scholar of

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...

who is currently dean of the College of Arts and faculty member in the Department of Philosophy at the

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

. She was previously a professor in the Department of Women's Studies and Feminist Research at

Western University, Canada The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

. She remains a member of Western's Rotman Institute of Philosophy and the graduate faculty of the Departments of Political Science and of Philosophy. Brennan was Department Chair of Philosophy at Western from 2002 to 2007, and 2008–2011. She is a past president of the

Canadian Philosophical Association The Canadian Philosophical Association (CPA; french: Association canadienne de philosophie []) was founded in 1958 as a bilingual non-profit organization to promote philosophical scholarship and education across Canada, and to represent the inter ...

(2017–18).

Education and career

Brennan received her BA in philosophy from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and her

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

from the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a Public university, public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus esta ...

, where she wrote her dissertation, ''Thresholds for Rights'', under the supervision of

Shelly Kagan Shelly Kagan () (born 1956) is Clark Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, where he has taught since 1995. He is best known for his writings about moral philosophy and normative ethics. In 2007, Kagan's course about death was offered for fr ...

. Brennan grew up on the east coast of Canada, living in Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. She was born in Lancashire, England. Brennan has been a Visiting Faculty Fellow in Philosophy, RSSS, the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

and a Taylor Fellow in Philosophy and a visiting fellow in

bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, med ...

at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

in Dunedin, New Zealand. Brennan co-founded '' Feminist Philosophical Quarterly'', an

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...

open access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre op ...

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

dedicated to promoting feminist philosophical scholarship. In 2018 Brennan began a new position as Dean of the College of Arts at the

Research interests

Brennan's research focuses on contemporary normative

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...

applied ethics Applied ethics refers to the practical aspect of moral considerations. It is ethics with respect to real-world actions and their moral considerations in the areas of private and public life, the professions, health, technology, law, and leadersh ...

political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...

, and

feminist philosophy Feminist philosophy is an approach to philosophy from a feminist perspective and also the employment of philosophical methods to feminist topics and questions. Feminist philosophy involves both reinterpreting philosophical texts and methods in ...

. In work on

children's rights Children's rights are a subset of human rights with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to minors.

and family justice, Brennan argues that adults should enter into parenting contracts rather than marriage contracts. In normative ethics, Brennan has developed a moderate deontological account according to which rights can be overridden on the basis of the amount of good that can be brought about by doing so. Brennan has also published on the topics of

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...

and

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

, bioethics,

philosophy of sport Philosophy of sport is an area of philosophy that seeks to conceptually analyze issues of sport as human activity. These issues cover many areas, but fall primarily into five philosophical categories: metaphysics, ethics and moral philosophy, philo ...

, the moral significance of death, and on feminist approaches to fitness.

References

External links

*
Samantha Brennan on Microinequalities
, Public Ethics Radio, Episode 16.
Thinking Philosophically about the Family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Samantha 20th-century British philosophers 21st-century Canadian philosophers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Writers from Lancashire Political philosophers Feminist philosophers Canadian ethicists Academic staff of the University of Western Ontario Dalhousie University alumni University of Illinois Chicago alumni Philosophy academics Women's studies academics Canadian women philosophers British emigrants to Canada Philosophers of sport