Katrien Devolder

Katrien Devolder is Professor of Applied Ethics and Director of Public Philosophy the Uehiro Oxford Institute. Before joining the University of Oxford in 2015, she was an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department at Ghent University. 

She has published two monographs – one on the ethics of human cloning (Leuven University Press, 2001) and one on compromise positions in the embryonic stem cell debate (OUP, 2015). She has also published numerous papers on ethical issues pertaining to human reproduction and genetics, animal disenhancement and gene editing, and conscientious objection. Her most recent work focuses on the concept and ethics of laziness, and questions rigid ideas about productivity and moral worth.

She values the involvement of various communities and academics from other disciplines in her research.  She has also produced interviews with academics to make complex ethical debates more accessible. The interviews can be viewed on YouTube's 'The Practical Ethics Channel' or listened to on Apple Podcasts ('Thinking Out Loud').