School of Law

I studied Philosophy at the University of Leeds, receiving my PhD in 2001. I previously taught philosophy at Leeds, York and Manchester Universities before taking up a post at Keele in 2002. Initially I was part of the Philosophy programme, teaching Logic, Metaphysics and Ethics. This combination of subjects soon led to an interest in problems linking issues in metaphysics and ethics, questions surrounding moral authority, and the nature and force of moral arguments, resulting in my joining Professional Ethics in 2004.

My work divides into three main areas:

Ethics and Metaphysics: Many of the ethical issues I am interested in link closely to key areas of metaphysical enquiry. Much of my research focuses on questions of personal identity and modality and their relevance to areas of ethics. I am particularly interested in issues on the margins of life such as the Non-Identity Problem, genetic essentialism, advance directives, and questions of harm. My work has covered aspects of reproductive ethics and genetic selection; our ethical obligations to future generations; the limits and scope of advance statements for medical treatment; the philosophical and ethical limitations on proxy consent; autonomy and moral authority in relation to personhood. Another area of interest involves the metaphysical foundations of disease and illness, especially realism and error-theory about mental illness and the moral implications of mental health diagnoses such as psychopathy.

Ethics and Law: Ethical appraisals of legislation governing medicine, in particular advance directives and mental health. Philosophical underpinnings of harm claims and torts.

Logic and Ontology: The nature and existence of abstract objects such as propositions and numbers. Realism and anti-realism debates in metaphysics. Developing abstraction techniques used in the neo-Fregean programme in arithmetic as a means of abstracting propositions. Critical examination of the applicability of neo-logicist methodology to areas outside arithmetic and the suitability of abstraction techniques for establishing a wide range of abstract objects.

Journal Articles

• “Abstracting Propositions” (2006) Synthese, 151.2: 157-176.
• “Genetic Selection and Modal Harms” (2006) The Monist, 89.4: 505-525.
• “Personal Identity, Autonomy and Advance Statements” (2007) The Journal of Applied Philosophy, 24.4: 381-396.
• “Proxy Consent: Moral Authority Misconceived” (2007) The Journal of Medical Ethics, 33: 527-531.
• “Realism and Anti-Realism about Mental Illness” (2007) Philosophical Papers, 36.3: 371-397.
• “Hope and Terminal Illness: False Hope versus Absolute Hope” with Eve Garrard (2008) Clinical Ethics, 4.1: 38-43
• “A Dead Proposal: Levi and Green on Advance Directives” with Angus Dawson (2010) American Journal of Bioethics, 10.4: 23-24.
• "The Problem of Counterfactuals in Substituted Judgement Decision-Making” (2011) The Journal of Applied Philosophy (forthcoming).

Books:

• European Textbook on Ethics in Research (Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2010). Jointly authored book with J. Hughes, D. Hunter, M. Sheehan and S. Wilkinson
• Syllabus on Ethics in Research: Addendum to the European Textbook on Ethics in Research (Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2010). Jointly authored book with J. Hughes, D. Hunter, M. Sheehan and S. Wilkinson.

Edited Books:

• Ethics, Law and Society, Vol. V: Ethics of Care, Theorising the Ethical, and Body Politics, (Ashgate, 2011, forthcoming) edited with Nicky Priaulx.

Chapters in books:

• “Vulnerable and Non-Competent Subjects” in European Textbook on Ethics in Research (2010) pp. 49-74.
• “Privacy and Confidentiality” in European Textbook on Ethics in Research (2010) pp. 75-93.

Review Articles

• “Review of Ontology by Dale Jacquette” (2004) Philosophical Books 45.1:56-58.
• “Review of The Cambridge Companion to Bertrand Russell, N. Griffin (ed.)”(2005) The British Journal for the History of Philosophy 13.1:193-196.
• “Review of Why there is Something rather than Nothing by Bede Rundle” (2006) Philosophical Books 47.1: 78-9.
• “Review of Intensionality, R. Kahle (ed.)” (2007) The History and Philosophy of Logic 28.2: 176-178.
• “Review of The Metaphysics of Everyday Life by Lynne Rudder Baker” (2009) Analysis 69.2: 370-372

Postgraduate Research

I currently supervise 1 PhD student and 7 DMedEth students.

I am able to supervise students on a wide range of applied ethics topics. I particularly welcome proposals relating to foundational issues in bioethics and law, such as questions of harm, personal identity, genetics and reproductive ethics, matters relating to extended decision making (e.g. autonomy, advance directives, proxy consent) and the conceptual foundations of illness.

I am Programme Director of the Professional Doctorate in Medical Ethics (DMedEth)
I teach on years 1 and 2 of the DMedEth

Postgraduate PgDip/MA
I am Programme Director of the PgDip/MA in the Ethics of Cancer and Palliative Care.

I teach and am able to supervise MA dissertations on the following programmes:

Medical Ethics and Law                                   PG/Dip and MA
Ethics of Social Welfare                                   PG/Dip and MA
The Ethics of Cancer and Palliative Care         PG/Dip and MA
The Ethics of Policing and Criminal Justice       PG/Dip and MA

Knowledge Transfer
I provide training for our knowledge transfer programme in research ethics to the NHS, Higher Education institutions, and hospitals in the UK and Eire.

Undergraduate
I am the module leader and lecturer for: ETH-10002 Life, Sex and Death: An Introduction to Practical Ethics.

I have also taught:

Year 3 

Philosophy of Language                        
Contemporary Metaphysics              

Year 2
    Hume’s Enquiry                           
    Pursuit of the Good (Aristotle’s and Kant’s Ethics)       

Year 1
    Introductory Logic                           
    Human and Moral Agency                   
    Critical Thinking Skills

I am currently a committee member of the Centre for Law, Ethics and Society within the Research Institute of Law, Politics and Justice.

I am co-editor (with Nicky Priaulx, Cardiff University) of Ethics, Law and Society series (2010-ongoing) published by Ashgate.

I was the Reviews Editor for the British Journal for the History of Philosophy (2003 - 04).

I have reviewed numerous papers for academic journals, including: The Australasian Journal of Philosophy; Synthese; Theoria; The Journal of Applied Philosophy; The Journal of Medical Ethics; Medicine, Healthcare and Philosophy; Ethical Theory and Moral Practice.

I have also reviewed philosophy texts for Blackwell and Routledge publishers and reviewed grant applications for the Wellcome Trust.