News & events

From access to abortion to the ethics of deliberate death, bioethicist and philosopher Eike-Henner Kluge has been at the forefront of some of today’s most important medical debates. Kluge has written 13 books and authored 90 journal articles. This isn’t the first time Kluge has been recognized by the Royal Society of Canada—in 2007 he was awarded its Abbyann Lynch Medal in Bioethics. Despite recogntion with Canada’s highest academic honours, Kluge, who describes his work as at “the interface of theory and practice,” says he is most “happy” about his contributions to the public sphere. Kluge was the first expert witness in medical ethics recognized by Canadian courts. Kluge’s current work focuses on biomedical health information ethics, which includes electronic patient records. He is the author of the International Medical Informatics Association’s Code of Ethics. Kluge says he sees his scholarly research as groundwork for larger issues. “There has to be a social return somewhere,” he says. In 1989, Kluge helped establish the Canadian Medical Association’s (CMA) department of ethics and legal affairs. As its first director, he was asked in 1991 to draft an analysis for a Senate committee about Bill C-43, a proposed new law that would have restricted women’s access to abortion. The House of Commons had already passed the bill, introduced by the Mulroney government, and it had passed two Senate readings. But Kluge saw problems with the legislation. “[The bill] was seriously flawed ethically,” Kluge said. “My presentation, on behalf of the CMA, swayed two votes.” A tie vote resulted in the committee, which meant that the Senate did not pass the new proposed abortion law. “This is why there is no law that governs abortions in Canada,” Kluge says. “It is a simply a choice between the woman and the physician.” Kluge is known for his work on another contentious issue: the ethics of deliberate death, often referred to as medically assisted dying. His books The Practice of Death and The Ethics of Deliberate Death compelled North Saanich resident Sue Rodriguez to contact Kluge. He became an ethics adviser to Rodriquez, whose Supreme Court case in 1993 was the first to challenge section 241(b) of the Criminal Code. Rodriquez’s case ultimately failed, but in 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Carter v. Canada that parts of the Criminal Code would need to change to satisfy the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The federal government passed a new law in 2016 allowing medical assistance in dying.

Colin Macleod's new edited volume, The Nature of Children's Well-Being, has just come out. Dr. Macleod's essay in this book is called "Agency, Authority and the Vulnerability of Children." http://www.springer.com/social+sciences/wellbeing+%26+quality-of-life/book/978-94-017-9251-6

Ryan Tonkin could have pursued his doctoral studies anywhere. He chose to come home to the University of Victoria.

UVic in the News Eike-Henner Kluge, Philosophy here

Dr. Michael Robillard has been appointed as Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Oxford University (Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics). Michael did his MA in Philosophy at UVic in 2011, his Doctorate at the University of Connecticut at the department of Philosophy. Michael’s area of study is Ethics, Military Ethics and Feminist Theory.

Our Philosophy Student Union is now accepting submissions for the 2016/2017 edition: volume XII'

Professor James Young, FRSC has been awarded the Faculty of Humanities Research Excellence Award for 2015. The award recognizes demonstrated excellence in research during the five academic years. This is a tremendous and richly deserved honour. Congratulations to James for his world-class scholarship! James most recent books are: Charles Batteux: The Fine Arts Reduced to a Single Principle, Translated with an Introduction and Notes. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015 and Critique of Pure Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.

UVic in the News Eike-Henner Kluge, Philosophy A major shift is happening in the meaning of death Eike-Henner Kluge is quoted in a story by National Post writer Joseph Brean—picked up widely this weekend in Postmedia News including the Ottawa Citizen and Vancouver Sun, as well as in various regional papers in Brantford, Kingston and beyond—about the changing nature of death and its 'bureaucratization' after a court decision delayed this week’s expected start of physician assisted dying in Quebec, and a request by the federal government may delay it further for the rest of Canada. NP UVic Expert Eike-Henner Kluge in national story on 'meaning of death'

James Young (philosophy) is a leading authority on the philosophy of language, art and ethical issues in the arts, such as those raised by cultural appropriation—the practice of borrowing from other cultures. Young has authored five books, edited two more and written over 50 articles in refereed journals in fields as varied as philosophy, literature, archaeology, musicology and psychology. “Who wouldn’t want to be a philosopher?” he asks. “I can’t think of a better life than one that involves reflection on the fundamental questions. Everyone has a little philosopher in him or her. I have the privilege of being paid to be one.” Three other UVic faculty members have joined the ranks of RSC’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists, which represents “the emerging generation of scholarly, scientific and artistic leadership in Canada.”

The Fine Arts Reduced to a Single Principle (1746) by Charles Batteux was arguably the most influential work on aesthetics published in the eighteenth century. It influenced every major aesthetician in the second half of the century: Diderot, Herder, Hume, Kant, Lessing, Mendelssohn, and others either adopted his views or reacted against them. It is the work generally credited with establishing the modern system of the arts: poetry, painting, music, sculpture and dance. Batteux's book is also an invaluable aid to the interpretation of the arts of eighteenth century. And yet there has never been a complete or reliable translation of The Fine Arts into English. Now James O. Young, a leading contemporary philosopher of art, has provided an eminently readable and accurate translation. It is fully annotated and comes with a comprehensive introduction that identifies the figures who influenced Batteux and the writers who were, in turn, influenced by him. The introduction also discusses the ways in which The Fine Arts has continuing philosophical interest. In particular, Young demonstrates that Batteux's work is an important contribution http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780198747116.do