David DeGrazia
Professor of Philosophy
Department Chair

Areas of specialization: ethical theory, biomedical ethics, personal identity theory.
Areas of competence: philosophy of mind/cognitive sciences, Wittgenstein, history of analytic philosophy.

Selected publications

Books

• Human Identity and Bioethics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005)
• Animal Rights: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002)-with subsequent translations into Japanese, Hungarian, Bosnian, Turkish, Korean, and Chinese
• Biomedical Ethics, 6th ed., coedited with Thomas Mappes (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006); 5th ed., 2001; 4th ed., 1996
• Taking Animals Seriously: Mental Life and Moral Status (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996)

Selected Journal Articles since 2000

• "Moral Status as a Matter of Degree?" Southern Journal of Philosophy 46 (2) (2008): 181-198
• "Single Payer Meets Managed Competition: The Case for Public Funding and Private Delivery," Hastings Center Report 38 (1) (2008): 23-33.
• "Must We Have Full Moral Status Throughout Our Existence? A Reply to Alfonso Gomez-Lobo," Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 17 (4) (2007): 297-310
• "The Harm of Death, Time-Relative Interests, and Abortion," Philosophical Forum 38 (1) (2007): 57-80
• "Human-Animal Chimeras: Human Dignity, Moral Status, and Species Prejudice," Metaphilosophy 38 (2-3) (April 2007): 309-329
• "Moral Status, Human Identity, and Early Embryos: A Critique of the President's Approach," Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics 34 (1) (Spring 2006): 49-57
• "Enhancement Technologies and Human Identity," Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 30 (June 2005): 261-283
• "Identity, Killing, and the Boundaries of Our Existence," Philosophy and Public Affairs 31 (4) (2003): 413-442
• "Common Morality, Coherence, and the Principles of Biomedical Ethics," Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 13 (3) (2003): 219-230
• "Are We Essentially Persons? Olson, Baker, and a Reply," Philosophical Forum 33 (1) (March 2002): 101-120
• "Ethical Issues in Early-Intervention Clinical Trials Involving Minors at Risk for Schizophrenia," Schizophrenia Research 51 (2001): 77-86
• "Prozac, Enhancement, and Self-Creation," Hastings Center Report 30 (2) (March-April 2000): 34-40

Current research projects

• Biomedical Ethics, 7th ed. (coedited with Thomas Mappes and Jeffrey Brand-Ballard)
• Creation Ethics: Reproduction, Genetics, and Quality of Life (under contract with Oxford University Press)
• "Just(ice) in Time for Future Generations," forthcoming in George Washington University Law Review
• "Moral Vegetarianism from a Very Broad Basis," forthcoming in Journal of Moral Philosophy

Links to reviews of Human Identity and Bioethics

• by Marya Schechtman, in Ethics:
• by Jennifer Hawkins in Notre Dame Philosophy Reviews:

Synopses of Books
Human Identity and Bioethics: When philosophers address personal identity, they usually explore numerical identity. When non-philosophers address personal identity, they often have in mind narrative identity. This book develops accounts of both senses of identity, arguing that both are normatively important, and is unique in its exploration of a wide range of issues in bioethics through the lens of identity. Defending a biological view of our numerical identity and a framework for understanding narrative identity, David DeGrazia investigates various issues for which considerations of identity prove critical.

Taking Animals Seriously: Transcending the overplayed debate between utilitarians and rights theorists, the book offers a fresh methodological approach with specific constructive conclusions about our treatment of animals. David DeGrazia provides the most thorough discussion yet of whether equal consideration should be extended to animals' interests, and examines the issues of animal minds and animal well-being with an unparalleled combination of philosophical rigor and empirical documentation. This book is an important contribution to the field of animal ethics.

Biomedical Ethics: This best-selling anthology of readings with case studies provides insightful and comprehensive treatment of ethical issues in medicine. Appropriate for courses taught in philosophy departments as well as in schools of medicine and nursing, the collection covers provocative topics such as conflicts of interest in medicine, advance directives, physician-assisted suicide, and the rationing of health care. The text's effective pedagogical features include chapter introductions, argument sketches, explanations of medical terms, headnotes, and annotated bibliographies.

Animal Rights: A Very Short Introduction: This volume provides a general overview of the basic ethical and philosophical issues of animal rights. It asks questions such as: Do animals have moral rights? If so, what does this mean? What sorts of mental lives do animals have, and how should we understand welfare? By presenting models for understanding animals' moral status and rights, and examining their mental lives and welfare, David DeGrazia explores the implications for how we should treat animals in connection with our diet, zoos, and research. Animal Rights distinguishes itself by combining intellectual rigor with accessibility, offering a distinct moral voice with a non-polemical tone.

Selected Lectures

• "Prenatal Genetic Interventions and Human Identity," Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH), Cleveland, OH, October 24, 2008
• "Just(ice) in Time for Future Generations," Symposium on Obligations to Future Generations, GWU Law School, October 23, 2008
• "Suffering, Identity, and Progressive Dementia," Workshop on Euthanasia and Unbearable Suffering, Royal Dutch Science Academy, Amsterdam, December 14, 2007
• "The Case for Single-Payer National Health Insurance (with Managed Competition in Delivery)," President's Council on Bioethics, Washington, DC, April 26, 2007
• "Reply to Critics" (as part of "Author Meets Critics" panel session on Human Identity and Bioethics), American Philosophical Association Pacific Division Meeting, San Francisco, CA, April 6, 2007

Selected Honors and Professional Service

• Visiting Scholar, Department of Clinical Bioethics, National Institutes of Health, 2006-2007
• Chair, Committee on Philosophy and Medicine, American Philosophical Association, July 2004 - June 2006
• Co-chair, Program Committee for the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities 2000 Conference, fall 1999-fall 2000
• Visiting Scholar, Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, University of Maryland (summer and fall 1997)
• Participant, Animals and Bioethics Working Group, NASA (and coauthor of "NASA Principles for the Ethical Care and Use of Animals" October 1996 - January 1997)

Education

Ph.D., Georgetown University
M.Stud., Oxford University
B.A., University of Chicago