Projects
The Philosopher's Guide to Parenthood: Storks, Surrogates and Stereotypes
What is parenthood? It's a question we never normally think to ask - we all know what parents are. But in this book, I take parenthood to pieces, teasing apart the biological, social, moral and legal facets of this concept and the ways in which they depend on one another. From Roman adoption practices to the use of motherhood in war propaganda, I explore the myriad ways in which we understood and construct parenthood.
The book was published by Cambridge University Press in January 2023, and you can get your copy here.
Surrogacy law reform
In this project, I'm investigating proposals to reform surrogacy law in the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland. What do these proposals tell us about our understanding of parenthood, assisted reproduction, and the role of intentions in family-making?
Click the links to see what I've written about this project for New Scientist and The Conversation.
Philosophy of the Family: Ethics, Identity and Responsibility
Almost all of us live in families of some sort or another, even if we might not currently live with family members. The notion of the family is at once very familiar, but experienced in very diverse ways. This book, co-authored with Dr Christopher Cowley (University College Dublin) is a close philosophical and ethical examination of the main concepts that we use to make sense of family life. The book will be published by Bloomsbury in February 2024.
