Canadian Journal of Practical Philosophy Vol. 5, 2021: Practical Ethics: Issues and Perspectives

Editorial Board:

• John Borrows, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Law, University of Victoria
• Nathan Brett, Philosophy (Emeritus), Dalhousie University
• Will Buschert, Philosophy & Political Studies, University of Saskatchewan
• Jane Dryden, Philosophy, Mount Alison University
• Jay Drydyk, Philosophy, Carlton University
• Lorraine Mayer, Native Studies, Brandon University
• Bruce Morito, Philosophy (Emeritus), Athabasca University
• Maureen Muldoon, Faculty Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Windsor
• Dwight Newman, College of Law, University of Saskatchewan
• Kathryn Norlock, Kenneth Mark Drain Endowed Chair in Ethics, Trent University
• J. Douglas Rabb, Philosophy (Emeritus), Lakehead University
• Christine Tappolet, Département de philosophie, Université de Montréal
• Kira Tomsons, Philosophy, Douglas College
• Jennifer Welchman, Philosophy, University of Alberta
• Alex Wellington, Philosophy, Ryerson University

The Canadian Journal of Practical Philosophy (CJPP) is an on-line, open access publication. It was founded by the editors, Philip MacEwen (Departments of Philosophy and Humanities, York University) and Sandra Tomsons (Research Affiliate: Centre for Health Care Ethics, Lakehead University), in 2017 and is published by the University of Windsor through its Leddy Library on-line, open access publishing unit.

Preface

In this Volume, we are pleased to introduce five members of our Editorial Board (EB). Last year, we invited members of the EB to submit papers for two special volumes. We wanted these submissions to demonstrate the interdisciplinarity, quality, and scope of practical philosophy. The next collection of papers by the EB is projected to be Volume 8.

The first contribution is “Climate Inaction as Discrimination Against Young People” by Nathan Brett, Professor Emeritus, Dalhousie University, and Executive Director of the Canadian Section of the International Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy. His other research interests include ethics, theories of human nature, and modern philosophy. Brett argues convincingly that our inaction on climate change is unjust by focusing on how it discriminates against young people.

The second contribution, “Healthy Enough? A capability approach to sufficiency and equality,” is by Jay Drydyk, Professor of Philosophy, Carleton University, and President of the Human Development and Capability Association. Professor Drydyk’s research interests include social and political philosophy, international development ethics, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Sen, and Nussbaum. In his paper, Drydyk addresses a number of concerns: what are adequacy and capability in the domain of health; which is primary and which derivative: capability for health care or capability for health; does duration matter, and if so, is it possible to specify the length of an adequately healthy life, at least as a reasonable expectation? He argues that, due to human diversity and the imperfect state of medical knowledge, we cannot form a reasonable expectation of the length of an adequately healthy life for each person. Nevertheless, duration still matters. Therefore, we must recognize inadequately healthy lives in the only way we can, by recognizing disparities in health outcomes. In this sense, nothing short of equality is adequate.

The third contribution, “Engaging with Indigenous Philosophy with an Indigenous Philosopher,” is by Lorraine Mayer, Associate Professor, Native Studies, Brandon University. Professor Mayer’s research interests include Native Studies, Native Women and Feminism, Aboriginal Sovereignty, and Identity. Her paper tells a story about an encounter between Wisakaychak, a trickster in the Omushkego tradition, and “The Strange Stranger.” The latter is seated beside a lighted stove in a cabin in the woods, thinking about what he can know beyond any doubt. Wisakaychak, who has been walking in the woods for days and is very hungry, peeks into the cabin and then quietly enters it. A dialogue ensues between Wisakaychak and the Strange Stranger. By posing suitable questions, Wisakaychak is able to elicit answers from him, including the answer to the riddle of his own identity.

The fourth contribution, “Examining the Ethical Basis for Personal Support Workers in Ontario,” is by Maureen Muldoon, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Windsor. Professor Muldoon brings her expertise in theology to our EB vis-à-vis questions in practical philosophy. Her research interests include professional ethics, bioethics/health care ethics, research ethics, and the history of medical ethics in North America, 1949-1970. In her paper, Professor Muldoon argues that Personal Support Workers (PSWs), the staff people who care for residents in long-term care facilities and nursing homes and who have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, need to negotiate a new social contract with governments based on equitable terms to recognize the essential nature of their work, thereby helping to ensure public accountability and trust.

The fifth contribution, “Free and Always Will Be? On Social Media Participation as It Undermines Individual Autonomy,” is by Kathryn Norlock, Kenneth Mark Drain Endowed Chair in Ethics at Trent University. Professor Norlock’s research interests include ethics and forgiveness and feminist philosophy. In her paper, she examines the potential for loss of individual autonomy when we participate in social media, arguing that we are not as free to leave social media as we are to enter it. For an age where many of us are either addicted to social media or feel that we are headed in that direction, this paper has particular relevance.

The sixth and final contribution is “Ethics in Locality: Confessions of a Not-So-Innocent Bystander” by J. Douglas Rabb, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Lakehead University. Professor Rabb is a founding member of Lakehead’s Centre for Health Care Ethics, a member of its Board of Directors, and a Research Affiliate of the Centre. In the 1990’s, while chairing Lakehead’s Department of Philosophy, Professor Rabb and Ojibwa philosopher, Professor Dennis McPherson, secured funding from the Rockefeller Foundation for the Native Philosophy Project and Canada’s first, and only, Graduate Program in Native Philosophy. McPherson and Rabb are the co-authors of Indian From The Inside (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2nd ed. 2011), the first Indigenous-non-Indigenous philosophy collaboration in North America. In his paper, Rabb tells the story of Indigenous Locality, focusing on McPherson’s stellar career of political activism.