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Samantha Brennan

I'm a professor of philosophy with research interests in moral and political philosophy and feminist ethics.

Recent Activity

Philosophy in an Inclusive Key Summer Institute (PIKSI) needs our help

If, like me, you've been frustrated with all that's going on in Philosophy (or not going on as the case may be) and want to do something positive to help our profession, here's an opportunity. Philosophy in an Inclusive Key... Continue reading

Posted Oct 2, 2014 at PEA Soup

1

Moral Worth, Relationalism and Transhumanism

Gregor Wolbring, multidisciplinary scholar of disability rights and ableism ethics, calls for the widespread acceptance of diversity amongst humans, especially in light of potential human rights challenges of transhumanistic disableism.[1] In his article, Wolbring unveils a number of different sciences and technologies that can, or soon will be able to,... Continue reading

Posted Dec 10, 2012 at Equality Matters

0

Ableist Examples in Egalitarian Thought

The literature on egalitarianism loves to use the example of disability. However these examples all heavily draw on the assumption that disability is intrinsically a suboptimal feature. Furthermore, a very brief examination of a few authors who appeal to the example of disability demonstrates that their arguments could be made... Continue reading

Posted Dec 10, 2012 at Equality Matters

3

Why Disney Needs a Gay Love Story

From Haslanger’s discussion of schemas (mental constructs), it appears that schemas can ultimately contribute to perpetuating inequalities between groups of individuals. I wonder if perhaps the general schemas of romance and romantic love may be strongly associated with the schema for heterosexuality, and if this could contribute to unequal treatment... Continue reading

Posted Dec 10, 2012 at Equality Matters

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The Equality Song

I thought this cute but satirical little video might be a fun way of ending off our course blog. Particularly, I think, it makes an interesting statement about the issue of financial inequality. One of the arguments made through the satire in this song seems to be that redistributive measures... Continue reading

Posted Dec 10, 2012 at Equality Matters

0

Cochlear Implants

If your child was born deaf, and you had the option to give them the sense of sound through a relatively safe and successful surgical procedure, would you do it? To some, the answer to the above question may initially seem completely obvious (perhaps dependent mostly on the safety and... Continue reading

Posted Dec 4, 2012 at Equality Matters

367

Romeo Dallaire and Humanitarian Intervention

On November 23, Senator Romeo Dallaire presented a public lecture at Western University titled “The Will to Intervene”. Romeo Dallaire is a retired Lieutenant-General of the Canadian Armed Forces and a Liberal Canadian Senator from Quebec. Senator Dallaire is most well-known for his command of the UN mission in Rwanda.... Continue reading

Posted Dec 4, 2012 at Equality Matters

0

Equal Pay for Equal Work (if you can get it)

I recently noticed the following sign posted at my workplace (I apologize for the poor quality of my photographs) the heirarchy at at Chapters/Indigo is as follows (from most senior to junior position): Regional Manager General Manager CEM ACEM CER- Cahier/Customer Experience Representative/Recieving As someone whose feminist sensibilities have seen... Continue reading

Posted Dec 4, 2012 at Equality Matters

21

Are Children Really Equally Deserving?

In most philosophical discussions, philosophers deal with adult moral agents. Specifically, theories of desert are concerned with ascribing different levels of desert to moral agents who have a past history and character that can be assessed. Thus, they deal with scenarios involving adult moral agents. The level of desert that... Continue reading

Posted Dec 4, 2012 at Equality Matters

8

Technological advantage, choice and equality

A recent post on this blog has raised the question about technological enhancement of human and concerns over equality. This post will follow a similar theme with two differences. First, while the original post was dealing with cognitive augmentations, I want to consider human enhancements and the advantages of technology... Continue reading

Posted Dec 4, 2012 at Equality Matters

4

“Fat-Shaming” and Weight Bias: A Micro-Inequity Case Study

In discussing micro-inequities, one area that came to mind was discrimination against overweight or obese individuals. This type of discrimination is a prime example of how many small harms can add up over time and across various aspects of individuals’ lives to result in large harms. Feminist blogs like Jezebel... Continue reading

Posted Dec 4, 2012 at Equality Matters

2

Equity as a Western University TA

This fall, the contracts for Western University TAs were due for renewal, and underwent negotiations with the employer. The union negotiation team decided that their main focus would be on problems of equality. As reported in the November 2nd e-mail to union members, three of the most important items needing... Continue reading

Posted Dec 4, 2012 at Equality Matters

1

Discrimination in Philosophy

In Sally Haslanger’s paper “Changing the Ideology and Culture of Philosophy: Not by Reason (Alone)” she discusses the ways in which women (and minorities) are treated within the discipline of philosophy. She maintains that even in this generation, there is a lot of discrimination that occurs in philosophy departments against... Continue reading

Posted Nov 26, 2012 at Equality Matters

3

Does sexist satirical humor contribute to a discourse that perpetuates women's inequality?

When researching material for an upcoming tutorial a few weeks ago, google spat out this 'sexist' gem: WARNING: CLIP CONTAINS SEXIST LANGUAGE (AND DANCING) THAT MAY OFFEND. I watched Jon Lajoie's 'song for the ladies' and laughed at the absurdity of the lyrics and Lajoie's terrible, terrible dance moves. However,... Continue reading

Posted Nov 26, 2012 at Equality Matters

334

Numbers from the PSA Women’s Caucus

Last week (November 15-17th) approximately 410 philosophers (myself included) attended the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) in San Diego, California. On Sunday morning, the PSA Women’s Caucus met to discuss items relevant to equity for women in philosophy ranging from statistics on the number feminist topics... Continue reading

Posted Nov 26, 2012 at Equality Matters

0

Exploring Wage Inequality in Professional Sports

Wage inequality in professional sports is something that has interested me for a while. It seems strange to me that female athletes aren’t paid as well as male athletes. Females are able to play the same sports as males, so it seems odd that they aren’t compensated nearly as well... Continue reading

Posted Nov 26, 2012 at Equality Matters

8

Extended Cognition and Enhancement-Related Inequalities

In "What Next for the Human Species?",[1] Gregor Wolbring highlights some of the problems that we will face once human enhancement technologies become widely employed. According to Wolbring, more widespread use of such technologies will give rise to "a new underclass of people--the 'unenhanced;, or... 'techno-poor impaired and disabled' people"... Continue reading

Posted Nov 26, 2012 at Equality Matters

2

Equality and the Changing American Electorate

American President Barack Obama was re-elected on November 6. He was re-elected with the support of a broad coalition of voters, including women, youth and minorities. These voting blocs, women, youth, African Americans and Latinos, have historically voted for the Democratic Party. In the 2012 U.S. Election, the exit poles... Continue reading

Posted Nov 22, 2012 at Equality Matters

97

Self-esteem for $10/hour

It has often been a source of personal frustration that I have only ever been hired for jobs that pay minimum wage. I admit to feeling a certain amount of inferiority to someone like my sister, who at only three years older than me is a successful accountant and makes... Continue reading

Posted Nov 22, 2012 at Equality Matters

5

Women Who Do Logic

Sally Haslanger, philosopher at MIT, contributes to the growing and important literature about women’s experiences in Philosophy departments. She voices anger about the discrimination of women and minorities in the male-dominated profession, noting that, although the situation for minority groups may be improving, it is still unacceptable and needs to... Continue reading

Posted Nov 22, 2012 at Equality Matters

1

Poor children of America: some numbers

This isn't going to be a full post, but not for lack of potential material to talk about. There just isn't enough time at this very moment to elaborate, and I was not able to view the program. Nonetheless, I thought it worthwhile to share an intersting article (By the... Continue reading

Posted Nov 22, 2012 at Equality Matters

0

Video - What Happens When You Pay Monkeys Unequally

I thought this was a cute and relevant video: http://www.upworthy.com/2-monkeys-were-paid-unequally-see-what-happens-next Continue reading

Posted Nov 22, 2012 at Equality Matters

0

Micro-Inequities and “Irrelevant” Harms

Blog Post #4 – Micro-Inequities and “Irrelevant” Harms In “Rethinking the Significance of Micro-inequities: The Case of Women in Philosophy,” Samantha Brennan discusses the problem of how we are to factor small harms or small benefits into our moral decision-making. She states, “Consider the case of a very small slight... Continue reading

Posted Nov 22, 2012 at Equality Matters

4

Which Natural Inequalities Matter?

While I was reading Ingrid Robeyns’s essays I was struck by something she said about what disadvantages should be compensated for. She says, “The difficulty for a government is how to demarcate those natural endowments and functionings that are a legitimate concern for government intervention, such as being paralyzed and... Continue reading

Posted Nov 18, 2012 at Equality Matters

1

Artificial pregnancy and equality

This will be a slight departure from what is currently covered in the course, although there are (as always) connections that could be made. In this focus I want to bring our attention back to gender equality. To get right to it, one of the biggest barriers to equality between... Continue reading

Posted Nov 18, 2012 at Equality Matters

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