Karen Warren (1947-2020)
Karen J. Warren, emeritus professor of philosophy at Macalester College, has died.
Professor Warren was known for her work in environmental ethics, feminist philosophy, and ecofeminism, as well as her advocacy of the right of the terminally ill to choose the timing of their death. You can learn more about her research here.
Professor Warren started as a professor at Macalester in 1985. Prior to that, she taught at St. Olaf College. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and was an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota. You can learn more about her life, work, and public philosophy here.
Bob Wolff ranked her the best at UMass/Amherst when we were there.
I remember reading her work in my undergrad Environmental Ethics class, then getting to meet her at a conference later on. Super cool. Her talk was excellent and inspiring. The profession has lost a fantastic and bold philosopher.
Although I went onto to write and research on Deep Ecology, it was Karen Warren’s book on eco feminism that first inspired me to explore the topic of philosophy of ecology more thoroughly. An important thinker and one of a few whose work, both original and ground breaking, made a real impact on how we talk about nature and humanity’s place within it.