Janet Radcliffe Richards (born 1944) is a British philosopher specialising 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, me ...

and

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

and Professor of

Practical Philosophy Practical philosophy concerns itself mainly with subjects that have applications in life, like the study of values, norms, politics, art, etc. The modern division of philosophy into theoretical philosophy and practical philosophyImmanuel Kant, ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. She is the author of ''The Sceptical Feminist'' (1980), ''Philosophical Problems of Equality'' (1995), ''Human Nature after Darwin'' (2000), and ''The Ethics of Transplants'' (2012). __TOC__

Biography

Richards earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Keele University Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...

, a B.Phil from the

, and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from the

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

. Richards was lecturer in Philosophy at the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

1979–1999, and Director of the Centre for Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

until 2007. Since 2008, she has been Professor of Practical Philosophy at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. She was in a relationship with philosopher

Derek Parfit Derek Antony Parfit (; 11 December 1942 – 2 January 2017) was a British philosopher who specialised in personal identity, rationality, and ethics. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential moral philosophers of the lat ...

from 1982, and they were married from 2010 until his death in 2017.

Work

Richards is the author of several books, papers and articles, and has sat on a variety of advisory and working committees in areas of philosophy and bioethics. She is also a Distinguished Research Fellow at the

Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics The Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford was founded in 2001. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division, University of Oxford, Humanities Division. The faculty is located next to Somerville College, Oxford, Somerville College on Woodstock ...

. Her identification with feminism and her focus on bioethics both occurred "by accident" during the writing of her first book, ''The Sceptical Feminist: A Philosophical Enquiry'' (Routledge, 1980; Penguin, 1982) – bioethics being central to the abortion debate. The book proved to be controversial within and without feminism, e.g. in regard to standards of rationality, fashion and style, and her liberal stance. Her second book, ''Human Nature After Darwin: A Philosophical Introduction'' (Routledge, 2001) explores the so-called Darwin Wars, including what implications Darwinism raises for philosophy and the application of

critical thinking Critical thinking is the process of analyzing available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to make sound conclusions or informed choices. It involves recognizing underlying assumptions, providing justifications for ideas and actions, ...

to various arguments put forward in the debate. It was originally written as an introduction to philosophical techniques for Open University students using the controversies relating to Darwinian thinking and human nature. Richards is a firm believer in

effective altruism Effective altruism (EA) is a 21st-century philosophical and social movement that advocates impartially calculating benefits and prioritizing causes to provide the greatest good. It is motivated by "using evidence and reason to figure out how to b ...

and is since April 2014 a member of

Giving What We Can Giving What We Can (GWWC) is an effective altruism nonprofit that promotes effective giving through education, outreach, and advocacy around the 10% Pledge, which encourages members to donate at least 10% of their income to effective charities. ...

, a community of people who have pledged to give at least 10% of their income to effective charities.

Bibliography

''The Sceptical Feminist: A Philosophical Enquiry'', Routledge, (1980)
* ''Human Nature After Darwin: A Philosophical Introduction'', Routledge, (2001) * "Why Feminist Epistemology Isn't" (1997) in ''The Flight from Science and Reason'' P. Gross, N. Levitt & M. Lewis; Johns Hopkins University Press.

Janet Radcliffe Richards, ''Issues Med Ethics''. 2001 April–June;9(2)

References

External links

Faculty page at Oxford UniversityReason and romance: The world's most cerebral marriage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Janet Radcliffe 1944 births 20th-century British philosophers 21st-century British philosophers Academics of University College London British bioethicists British women philosophers Scholars of feminist philosophy Living people Alumni of Keele University Alumni of the University of Oxford University of Calgary alumni Academics of the University of Oxford