Alice C. MacLachlan
Professor
Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies
Email: amacla@yorku.ca
Primary website: http://www.alicemaclachlan.com
Attached CV
Media Requests Welcome
Accepting New Graduate Students
I am a Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy and Co-Editor of Feminist Philosophy Quarterly. I write and teach in moral, political, and feminist philosophy, focusing on philosophical issues arising in the aftermath of conflict, the complex politics of civility, and the changing nature of family.
I am a Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy and Co-Editor of Feminist Philosophy Quarterly. I write and teach in moral, political, and feminist philosophy, focusing on philosophical issues arising in the aftermath of conflict, the complex politics of civility, and the changing nature of family. Recent publications include "Difficult Conversation with Adam Smith" (2024), "'Who do you think you are?' The Epistemic Intimacies of Friendship" (2024), "Hell Hath No Fury: The Place of Revenge in Moral Repair" (2023), and "Mere Talk, Accountability, and Repair: Arendt and Bar-On on Civility" (2023).
Degrees
Ph.D., Philosophy, Boston UniversityM.A., Philosophy, Queen’s University
B.A. Hon., Philosophy, M.A. (Cantab) Cambridge University
Appointments
Faculty of Graduate StudiesProfessional Leadership
Co-Founder and Co-Editor, Feminist Philosophy Quarterly, 2014-ongoing
Co-Director, The Mentoring Project in Philosophy, 2020-2023
Chair, International Committee, Feminist Ethics and Social Theory, 2011-2013, 2020-23
Executive Member, Society for Analytic Feminism, 2015-2018
Board Member, Canadian Philosophical Association, 2013-15
Community Contributions
- "Tone-Policing and the Assertion of Authority," Blog of the American Philosophical Association, May 10, 2022
- “By Ignoring Parental Rights, Ontario puts our daughter’s welfare at risk,” with Amy Campbell- Noseworthy, Globe and Mail June 2, 2016.
- “Free Speech: At What Cost?” Panelist, The Agenda with Steve Paikin on TV Ontario, May 13, 2014.
- “On Gratitude”, Panelist, TV Ontario “The Agenda with Steve Paikin,” October 10, 2011.
- “Violence, Morality, Narrative and Queerness in Sarah Kane’s Blasted”, Panelist, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, October 3, 2010.
- Community Lecture, “Gender, Revenge and David Slade’s ‘Hard Candy’”, TALKIES, a film and idea series hosted by Basement Arts (www.basementarts.com) Toronto, November 2009.
- Guest Interview, “Government Inquiries and Apologies”, Take Five on CIUT FM, June 2010.
- Guest Interview, “Kids Learn the Classics of Philosophy,” Go on CBC Radio One, February 2008.
Research Interests
- York LA&PS Award for Distinction in Research, Emerging Researcher Category - 2017
- York-Massey Fellowship - 2013
- President's University Teaching Award - 2011
“Feminist Perspectives on Reproduction and the Family,” MacMillan Interdisciplinary Handbook: Feminist Philosophy. Ed. C. Hay, 317-343. MacMillan Reference/Gage, 2017.
“In Defense of Third-Party Forgiveness,” The Moral Psychology of Forgiveness. Ed. K. Norlock, 135-160. Rowman and Littlefield, 2017.
“‘Hello, My Name is Inigo Montoya:’ Revenge as Moral Address,” Reasonable Responses. Ed. C. Hundleby, 129-148. Windsor Studies in Argumentation, 2016.
“Beyond the Ideal Political Apology,” The Uses and Abuses of Political Apology. Ed. M. Mihai and M. Thaler, 13-31. Palgrave MacMillan 2014.
“Government Apologies to Indigenous Peoples,” Justice, Responsibility, and Reconciliation in the Wake of Conflict. Ed. A. MacLachlan and C. A. Speight, 183-204. Springer, 2013.
“Complicating Out: The Case of Queer Femmes,” with Susanne Sreedhar, Passing/Out: Sexual Identity Veiled and Revealed. Ed. D. Cooley and K. Harrison, 43-74. Ashgate, 2012.
“The Philosophical Controversy over Political Forgiveness,” Public Forgiveness in Post-Conflict Contexts. Ed. B.A.M. van Stokkom et al., 37-64. Intersentia, 2012.
“Resentment and Moral Judgment in Smith and Butler,” Philosophy of Adam Smith: Essays Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the Theory of Moral Sentiments. Adam Smith Review 5, Ed. V. Brown & S. Fleischacker, 161-177. Routledge, 2010.
“Moral Powers and Forgivable Evils,” Evil, Political Violence and Forgiveness: Essays in Honour of Claudia Card. Ed. Kathryn Norlock & Andrea Veltman. Lexington, 2009. pp.135-158.
“Practicing Imperfect Forgiveness,” Feminist Ethics and Social and Political Philosophy: Theorizing the Non-Ideal. Ed. L. Tessman. Springer, 2009. pp.185-204.
“Forgiveness and Moral Solidarity,” Forgiveness: Probing the Boundaries. Ed. S. Schulman and D. White, 3-16. Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Press, 2008.
“Aliases, Alienation and Agency: The Physical Integrity of Sydney Bristow,” with D.P. Finding, Secrets and Spies: Investigating Alias, eds. Stacey Abbott and Simon Brown. Palgrave MacMillan, 2007. pp.73-86.
Review of A Moral Theory of Political Reconciliation, C. Murphy, Transnational Legal Theory 3:1 (2012) 95-100.
“Jill Scott’s A Poetics of Forgiveness: A Review,” Review of Canadian Comparative Literature (2011).
“Relating after Wrongdoing: Review of K. Norlock, Forgiveness from a Feminist Perspective and L. Radzik, Making Amends: Atonement in Law, Morality and Politics,” Hypatia 26:4 (2011) 851-7
Review of E. M. Dadlez, Mirrors to One Another: Emotion and Value in Jane Austen and David Hume, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, Feb. 2010.
“The Object of Repair: Commentary on Margaret Urban Walker’s ‘Restorative Justice and Reparations,’” Symposia on Race, Gender and Philosophy, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2007.
“Fiduciary Duties and the Ethics of Public Apology.” Journal of Applied Philosophy 35:2 (2018): 359-80
“Closet Doors and Stage-Lights: On the Goods of Out.” Social Theory and Practice 38:2 (April 2012): 302-32.
“The State of ‘Sorry’: Official Apologies and their Absence.” Journal of Human Rights 9:3 (2010): 373-385
“Seeing Sympathy: Remarks on Sympathizing with the Enemy.” Review of International Affairs 61:1138-1139 (2010) 178-189
“Getting it: on Jokes and Art,” with Steven Burns, Journal of the Canadian Society of Aesthetics 10 (2004)
“MeToo vs. Mea Culpa”
Panelist, “Everyday Responses to Oppression and #MeToo,”
American Philosophical Association Central Division Meeting, Denver, February 2019.
“Who’s Sorry; Whose Story? #MeToo and the Public Mea Culpa”
York University Undergraduate Research Conference, May 2019 (Keynote talk)
University of Toronto Undergraduate Research Conference, April 2019 (Keynote talk).
“Navigating Dependencies in Collaborative Reproduction.”
University of Alberta Graduate Philosophy Conference, May 2016 (Keynote talk).
“Civility and Disrepair.”
Minorities and Philosophy (MAP) University of Toronto Chapter, March 2015.
“Partial Spectators: Adam Smith and the Politics of Empathy.”
Society for Analytical Feminism Panel, Hypatia Conference, Villanova, May 2015.
“Radical Civility.”
St John’s College, Santa Fe New Mexico, February 2015.
"Allies and Asymmetrical Solidarity: Reflections on Jean Harvey."
Department of Philosophy, Dalhousie University, August 2014
“Courtesy is Classy: Civility, Privilege and Repair.”
Philosophy Club, St Mary’s College, Maryland, April 2014
"Fiduciary Relationships and the Ethics of Public Apology."
Fiduciary Relationships, Western University, Nov. 2014
“How (not) to tell Sorry Stories: Philosophical Approaches to Apology.”
Graham Kennedy Memorial Lecture, Queen’s University, September 2013
“Can Liberals Forgive?”
Social Justice and Human Rights Panel, Institute for Christian Studies, April 2012
Presentation, Feminist Philosophy Research Group, Western University, April 2012.
“Gendering the Public Apology.”
Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto, November 2012
Department of Philosophy, University of Waterloo, November 2012
“Gendering the Public Apology.”
Gender and Transitional Justice Conference, Western University, April 2012
“Hannah Arendt on Protests, Apologies and Public Narratives.”
Panelist, “Protests in the 21st Century,” York Research Matters Panel, February 2012
“Authoritative Norms and Internal Goods: The Normativity of a Moral Practice.”
Department of Philosophy, University of Connecticut, February 2011
Department of Philosophy, Trent University, January 2011
“Can Queer Femmes Come Out?”
Department of Women’s Studies, University of Alberta, November 2011
“The Uses of Apology.”
Department of Philosophy, SUNY Binghamton, May 2011
Department of Philosophy, McMaster University, November 2010
"Open Concept: Forgiveness."
Technoscience Salon Open Concept Series, University of Toronto, October 2010
“The Philosophical Controversy over Political Forgiveness.”
Pearl Lecturer, Philosophy & Public Affairs, Suffolk University, Boston, March 2010
“Public Forgiveness in Post-Conflict Contexts,” Radboud University, March 2010
“Accepting Apologies.”
Acceptance, York University Philosophy Graduate Conference, June 2009 (Keynote talk)
“Injustice, Entitlement and Smithian Resentment.” The Philosophy of Adam Smith: Conference to Commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), Oxford UK, January 2009.
“Sexuality, Oppression and Virtue Ethics.”
Diotima Feminist Graduate Conference, London Ontario, September 2009 (Keynote talk)
“The End of a Sad Chapter? Government Apologies to Indigenous Peoples.”
Invited Speaker, Focal Conference on Reconciliation, Boston University, March 2009.
“The End of a Sad Chapter? Government Apologies to Indigenous Peoples.”
Invited Speaker, Focal Conference on Reconciliation, Boston University, March 2009.
“The Good of Out.” Society for the Philosophy of Sex and Love, Urbana-Champaign USA, April 2009.
“Unreasonable Resentments.” Feminist Ethics and Social Theory, Clearwater Beach USA, September 2009.
"Unreasonable Resentments."
Department of Philosophy, Boston University, March 2009
Department of Philosophy, Florida International University, February 2009
“What’s Next? Responding to Apologies and Gestures of Forgiveness.” Canadian Society for Women in Philosophy, Guelph Canada, October 2009.
“Resentment, Entitlement, and Injustice.”
Department of Philosophy, University of Western Ontario, November 2008
Department of Philosophy, Dalhousie University, December 2008.
“The Character of the Closet: Revisiting the Ethics of ‘Out’.” Canadian Society for Women in Philosophy, Windsor Canada, October 2008.
“Third Party Forgiveness and Political Solidarity.” Forgiveness: Probing the Boundaries (First Global Conference), Salzburg, Austria, March 2008. Feminist Ethics and Social Theory, Clearwater Beach USA, September 2007.
“Forgiveness, Gender and Self-Respect.” Society for Women in Philosophy U.K, London UK, April 2006.
“Risk and Reconciliation: Hannah Arendt and Public Apologies.” Canadian Society for Women in Philosophy, Peterborough Canada, October 2006.
“Forgiveness and the Diversity of Women’s Experience.” Society for Women and Philosophy, Tallahassee Florida, April 2005.
“Forgiveness and Paradox.” Canadian Philosophical Association, Halifax Canada, May 2003.
“Forgiveness and Moral Solidarity,” Forgiveness: Probing the Boundaries. Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Press, 2008. pp. 3-16.
“An Ethic of Plurality: Reconciling Politics and Morality in Hannah Arendt,” History and Judgment. Vienna: IWM Junior Visiting Fellows Conference Vol. XXI, 2006.
“History and Judgment: Editors’ Introduction,” with I. Torsen, History and Judgment. Vienna: IWM JVF Conference Vol. XXI, 2006.
I am a Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy and Co-Editor of Feminist Philosophy Quarterly. I write and teach in moral, political, and feminist philosophy, focusing on philosophical issues arising in the aftermath of conflict, the complex politics of civility, and the changing nature of family.
I am a Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy and Co-Editor of Feminist Philosophy Quarterly. I write and teach in moral, political, and feminist philosophy, focusing on philosophical issues arising in the aftermath of conflict, the complex politics of civility, and the changing nature of family. Recent publications include "Difficult Conversation with Adam Smith" (2024), "'Who do you think you are?' The Epistemic Intimacies of Friendship" (2024), "Hell Hath No Fury: The Place of Revenge in Moral Repair" (2023), and "Mere Talk, Accountability, and Repair: Arendt and Bar-On on Civility" (2023).
Degrees
Ph.D., Philosophy, Boston UniversityM.A., Philosophy, Queen’s University
B.A. Hon., Philosophy, M.A. (Cantab) Cambridge University
Appointments
Faculty of Graduate StudiesProfessional Leadership
Co-Founder and Co-Editor, Feminist Philosophy Quarterly, 2014-ongoing
Co-Director, The Mentoring Project in Philosophy, 2020-2023
Chair, International Committee, Feminist Ethics and Social Theory, 2011-2013, 2020-23
Executive Member, Society for Analytic Feminism, 2015-2018
Board Member, Canadian Philosophical Association, 2013-15
Community Contributions
- "Tone-Policing and the Assertion of Authority," Blog of the American Philosophical Association, May 10, 2022
- “By Ignoring Parental Rights, Ontario puts our daughter’s welfare at risk,” with Amy Campbell- Noseworthy, Globe and Mail June 2, 2016.
- “Free Speech: At What Cost?” Panelist, The Agenda with Steve Paikin on TV Ontario, May 13, 2014.
- “On Gratitude”, Panelist, TV Ontario “The Agenda with Steve Paikin,” October 10, 2011.
- “Violence, Morality, Narrative and Queerness in Sarah Kane’s Blasted”, Panelist, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, October 3, 2010.
- Community Lecture, “Gender, Revenge and David Slade’s ‘Hard Candy’”, TALKIES, a film and idea series hosted by Basement Arts (www.basementarts.com) Toronto, November 2009.
- Guest Interview, “Government Inquiries and Apologies”, Take Five on CIUT FM, June 2010.
- Guest Interview, “Kids Learn the Classics of Philosophy,” Go on CBC Radio One, February 2008.
Research Interests
Awards
- York LA&PS Award for Distinction in Research, Emerging Researcher Category - 2017
- York-Massey Fellowship - 2013
- President's University Teaching Award - 2011
All Publications
“Feminist Perspectives on Reproduction and the Family,” MacMillan Interdisciplinary Handbook: Feminist Philosophy. Ed. C. Hay, 317-343. MacMillan Reference/Gage, 2017.
“In Defense of Third-Party Forgiveness,” The Moral Psychology of Forgiveness. Ed. K. Norlock, 135-160. Rowman and Littlefield, 2017.
“‘Hello, My Name is Inigo Montoya:’ Revenge as Moral Address,” Reasonable Responses. Ed. C. Hundleby, 129-148. Windsor Studies in Argumentation, 2016.
“Beyond the Ideal Political Apology,” The Uses and Abuses of Political Apology. Ed. M. Mihai and M. Thaler, 13-31. Palgrave MacMillan 2014.
“Government Apologies to Indigenous Peoples,” Justice, Responsibility, and Reconciliation in the Wake of Conflict. Ed. A. MacLachlan and C. A. Speight, 183-204. Springer, 2013.
“Complicating Out: The Case of Queer Femmes,” with Susanne Sreedhar, Passing/Out: Sexual Identity Veiled and Revealed. Ed. D. Cooley and K. Harrison, 43-74. Ashgate, 2012.
“The Philosophical Controversy over Political Forgiveness,” Public Forgiveness in Post-Conflict Contexts. Ed. B.A.M. van Stokkom et al., 37-64. Intersentia, 2012.
“Resentment and Moral Judgment in Smith and Butler,” Philosophy of Adam Smith: Essays Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the Theory of Moral Sentiments. Adam Smith Review 5, Ed. V. Brown & S. Fleischacker, 161-177. Routledge, 2010.
“Moral Powers and Forgivable Evils,” Evil, Political Violence and Forgiveness: Essays in Honour of Claudia Card. Ed. Kathryn Norlock & Andrea Veltman. Lexington, 2009. pp.135-158.
“Practicing Imperfect Forgiveness,” Feminist Ethics and Social and Political Philosophy: Theorizing the Non-Ideal. Ed. L. Tessman. Springer, 2009. pp.185-204.
“Forgiveness and Moral Solidarity,” Forgiveness: Probing the Boundaries. Ed. S. Schulman and D. White, 3-16. Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Press, 2008.
“Aliases, Alienation and Agency: The Physical Integrity of Sydney Bristow,” with D.P. Finding, Secrets and Spies: Investigating Alias, eds. Stacey Abbott and Simon Brown. Palgrave MacMillan, 2007. pp.73-86.
Review of A Moral Theory of Political Reconciliation, C. Murphy, Transnational Legal Theory 3:1 (2012) 95-100.
“Jill Scott’s A Poetics of Forgiveness: A Review,” Review of Canadian Comparative Literature (2011).
“Relating after Wrongdoing: Review of K. Norlock, Forgiveness from a Feminist Perspective and L. Radzik, Making Amends: Atonement in Law, Morality and Politics,” Hypatia 26:4 (2011) 851-7
Review of E. M. Dadlez, Mirrors to One Another: Emotion and Value in Jane Austen and David Hume, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, Feb. 2010.
“The Object of Repair: Commentary on Margaret Urban Walker’s ‘Restorative Justice and Reparations,’” Symposia on Race, Gender and Philosophy, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2007.
“Fiduciary Duties and the Ethics of Public Apology.” Journal of Applied Philosophy 35:2 (2018): 359-80
“Closet Doors and Stage-Lights: On the Goods of Out.” Social Theory and Practice 38:2 (April 2012): 302-32.
“The State of ‘Sorry’: Official Apologies and their Absence.” Journal of Human Rights 9:3 (2010): 373-385
“Seeing Sympathy: Remarks on Sympathizing with the Enemy.” Review of International Affairs 61:1138-1139 (2010) 178-189
“Getting it: on Jokes and Art,” with Steven Burns, Journal of the Canadian Society of Aesthetics 10 (2004)
“MeToo vs. Mea Culpa”
Panelist, “Everyday Responses to Oppression and #MeToo,”
American Philosophical Association Central Division Meeting, Denver, February 2019.
“Who’s Sorry; Whose Story? #MeToo and the Public Mea Culpa”
York University Undergraduate Research Conference, May 2019 (Keynote talk)
University of Toronto Undergraduate Research Conference, April 2019 (Keynote talk).
“Navigating Dependencies in Collaborative Reproduction.”
University of Alberta Graduate Philosophy Conference, May 2016 (Keynote talk).
“Civility and Disrepair.”
Minorities and Philosophy (MAP) University of Toronto Chapter, March 2015.
“Partial Spectators: Adam Smith and the Politics of Empathy.”
Society for Analytical Feminism Panel, Hypatia Conference, Villanova, May 2015.
“Radical Civility.”
St John’s College, Santa Fe New Mexico, February 2015.
"Allies and Asymmetrical Solidarity: Reflections on Jean Harvey."
Department of Philosophy, Dalhousie University, August 2014
“Courtesy is Classy: Civility, Privilege and Repair.”
Philosophy Club, St Mary’s College, Maryland, April 2014
"Fiduciary Relationships and the Ethics of Public Apology."
Fiduciary Relationships, Western University, Nov. 2014
“How (not) to tell Sorry Stories: Philosophical Approaches to Apology.”
Graham Kennedy Memorial Lecture, Queen’s University, September 2013
“Can Liberals Forgive?”
Social Justice and Human Rights Panel, Institute for Christian Studies, April 2012
Presentation, Feminist Philosophy Research Group, Western University, April 2012.
“Gendering the Public Apology.”
Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto, November 2012
Department of Philosophy, University of Waterloo, November 2012
“Gendering the Public Apology.”
Gender and Transitional Justice Conference, Western University, April 2012
“Hannah Arendt on Protests, Apologies and Public Narratives.”
Panelist, “Protests in the 21st Century,” York Research Matters Panel, February 2012
“Authoritative Norms and Internal Goods: The Normativity of a Moral Practice.”
Department of Philosophy, University of Connecticut, February 2011
Department of Philosophy, Trent University, January 2011
“Can Queer Femmes Come Out?”
Department of Women’s Studies, University of Alberta, November 2011
“The Uses of Apology.”
Department of Philosophy, SUNY Binghamton, May 2011
Department of Philosophy, McMaster University, November 2010
"Open Concept: Forgiveness."
Technoscience Salon Open Concept Series, University of Toronto, October 2010
“The Philosophical Controversy over Political Forgiveness.”
Pearl Lecturer, Philosophy & Public Affairs, Suffolk University, Boston, March 2010
“Public Forgiveness in Post-Conflict Contexts,” Radboud University, March 2010
“Accepting Apologies.”
Acceptance, York University Philosophy Graduate Conference, June 2009 (Keynote talk)
“Injustice, Entitlement and Smithian Resentment.” The Philosophy of Adam Smith: Conference to Commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), Oxford UK, January 2009.
“Sexuality, Oppression and Virtue Ethics.”
Diotima Feminist Graduate Conference, London Ontario, September 2009 (Keynote talk)
“The End of a Sad Chapter? Government Apologies to Indigenous Peoples.”
Invited Speaker, Focal Conference on Reconciliation, Boston University, March 2009.
“The End of a Sad Chapter? Government Apologies to Indigenous Peoples.”
Invited Speaker, Focal Conference on Reconciliation, Boston University, March 2009.
“The Good of Out.” Society for the Philosophy of Sex and Love, Urbana-Champaign USA, April 2009.
“Unreasonable Resentments.” Feminist Ethics and Social Theory, Clearwater Beach USA, September 2009.
"Unreasonable Resentments."
Department of Philosophy, Boston University, March 2009
Department of Philosophy, Florida International University, February 2009
“What’s Next? Responding to Apologies and Gestures of Forgiveness.” Canadian Society for Women in Philosophy, Guelph Canada, October 2009.
“Resentment, Entitlement, and Injustice.”
Department of Philosophy, University of Western Ontario, November 2008
Department of Philosophy, Dalhousie University, December 2008.
“The Character of the Closet: Revisiting the Ethics of ‘Out’.” Canadian Society for Women in Philosophy, Windsor Canada, October 2008.
“Third Party Forgiveness and Political Solidarity.” Forgiveness: Probing the Boundaries (First Global Conference), Salzburg, Austria, March 2008. Feminist Ethics and Social Theory, Clearwater Beach USA, September 2007.
“Forgiveness, Gender and Self-Respect.” Society for Women in Philosophy U.K, London UK, April 2006.
“Risk and Reconciliation: Hannah Arendt and Public Apologies.” Canadian Society for Women in Philosophy, Peterborough Canada, October 2006.
“Forgiveness and the Diversity of Women’s Experience.” Society for Women and Philosophy, Tallahassee Florida, April 2005.
“Forgiveness and Paradox.” Canadian Philosophical Association, Halifax Canada, May 2003.
“Forgiveness and Moral Solidarity,” Forgiveness: Probing the Boundaries. Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Press, 2008. pp. 3-16.
“An Ethic of Plurality: Reconciling Politics and Morality in Hannah Arendt,” History and Judgment. Vienna: IWM Junior Visiting Fellows Conference Vol. XXI, 2006.
“History and Judgment: Editors’ Introduction,” with I. Torsen, History and Judgment. Vienna: IWM JVF Conference Vol. XXI, 2006.
