Karen J. Warren
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Karen J. Warren (September 10, 1947 – August 21, 2020) was an author, scholar, and former Professor and Chair of Philosophy at Macalester College.


Biography

Karen Warren received her B.A. in philosophy from the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
(1970) and her Ph.D. from the
University of Massachusetts-Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, i ...
in 1978. Before her long tenure at Macalester College, which began in 1985, Warren was Professor of Philosophy at
St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf ...
in the early 1980s. Warren was the Ecofeminist-Scholar-in-Residence at Murdoch University in Australi
SelectedWorks - Karen Warren, Retired
In 2003, she served as an Oxford University Round Table Scholar and as Women's Chair in Humanistic Studies at Marquette University in 2004. She has spoken widely on environmental issues, feminism, critical thinking skills and peace studies in many international locations including Buenos Aires,
Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
, Helsinki, Oslo, Manitoba, Melbourne, Moscow, Perth, the U.N. Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (1992), and San Jose. Karen was diagnosed with
Multiple System Atrophy Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder characterized by autonomic dysfunction, tremors, slow movement, muscle rigidity, and postural instability (collectively known as parkinsonism) and ataxia. This is caused by progr ...
(MSA) in 2016. Since that time, she worked to promote end of life options for individuals with terminal illnesses. Using ethics as a philosophical framework, Karen argued that humans should have the right to choose when it is time to die when faced with an untreatable fatal illness. Karen articulated her arguments in public forums, including speaking in front of the Minnesota State Senate and writing articles for Compassion & Choices and Psychology Today. Karen loved gardening, painting, being in nature, and cheering for her beloved MN Vikings. She loved animals—particularly her most recent cats Hypatia and Colfax. She is survived by a daughter (Cortney), son-in-law (Cal), two grandchildren (Isabella and Kane), two sisters (Janice and Barbara), a brother (Roger) and their respective families. Karen donated her body to the University of Minnesota Anatomy Bequest Program for medical education and research. She was also a supporter of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Research and their work to understand Parkinson's disease and MSA.


Public philosophy

Warren was a believer in allowing public access into the academic field of philosophy and described herself as a "street philosophe
Warren's Web Page
"I believe philosophy is relevant to people of all ages, in all cultural, geographical, and socioeconomic contexts

she said. Warren has taught philosophy in the Berkshire County House of Correction (MA), The Wilderness Society, Eco-Education, Pheasants Forever, Minnesota Naturalists Association and other organizations. As part of her commitment to public philosophy she has spoken for lay audiences and served as critical thinking consultant to the Science Museum of Minnesota and facilitator of a Women's Issues Book Group at
Barnes & Noble Booksellers Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...
.


Publications

Warren has written extensively in the fields of
critical thinking Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgement. The subject is complex; several different definitions exist, which generally include the rational, skeptical, and unbiased analysis ...
, environmental ethics and
ecofeminism Ecofeminism is a branch of feminism and political ecology. Ecofeminist thinkers draw on the concept of gender to analyse the relationships between humans and the natural world. The term was coined by the French writer Françoise d'Eaubonne in h ...
. She has written more than 40 articles and edited or co-edited five anthologies, authored ''Ecofeminist Philosophy: A Western Perspective on What It Is and Why It Matters'' (2000). She is the author of a groundbreaking anthology, ''An Unconventional History of Western Philosophy: Conversations Between Men and Women Philosophers'' (Rowman & Littlefield, 2009). The anthology explores 2600 years of Western philosophy, juxtaposing leading men and women philosophers' writing on ethics, metaphysics and other topics. Her work has been translated into Spanish, Mandarin, French, Japanese and Persian.


References


External links


Wilderness SocietyAmazon Book List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warren, Karen J. 1947 births 2020 deaths University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni American feminists American non-fiction environmental writers Ecofeminists Macalester College faculty 21st-century American philosophers 21st-century American women writers University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni American women academics