Colin Farrelly
Professor | Sir Edward Peacock Professor of Political Theory
He/Him
PhD (Bristol); MA, BA (McMaster)
Political Studies & Philosophy
Political Theory
Professor | Sir Edward Peacock Professor of Political Theory
Colin Farrelly Curriculum Vitae
Colin is a political theorist and philosopher.
Research Interests
The foundational aspiration of Colinâs research is the advancement of the Enlightenment Project into the 21st century. The themes of reason, science, progress, and optimism inform his curiosity-driven research interests and interdisciplinary focus.
Main research interests are: Ethics and political theory/philosophy, including distributive justice; ideal/non-ideal theory; history of political thought, deliberative democracy; all things virtue-related: virtue ethics, virtue epistemology, and virtue jurisprudence; Analytical Marxism; play; science and justice - especially the biomedical sciences (e.g. genetics, evolutionary biology, âgeroscienceâ and the ethics of human enhancement).
Colin Farrelly is interested in supervising students interested in research projects at the intersection of political theory and advances in the biomedical sciences and/or public health ethics and policy.
Brief Biography
Colin received his Ph.D. from the University of Bristol in England in 1999. Over his 20-year academic career, he has held academic appointments in 10 different departments in Political Science, Philosophy, and Public Policy in England, Scotland, the United States, and Canada. Previous appointments include Visiting Professor in UCLAâs Luskin School of Public Affairs, Fulbright Visiting Research Chair at the University of Manoa in Hawaii, Research Fellow in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Oxford University, Visitor in Oxfordâs Program on Ethics and the New Biosciences, as well as permanent academic appointments at Waterloo University, Manchester University and the University of Birmingham. For the past 5 years, Colin has been involved in teaching philosophy to male inmates.
The author and editor of 6 books and approximately 50 journal articles, Colinâs publications include articles in journals in political science, philosophy, feminism, law, science, and medicine. He has published on a diverse array of topics, including the health challenges posed by population aging, the creation and evolution of patriarchy, virtue ethics, virtue epistemology, virtue jurisprudence, play and politics, freedom of expression, judicial review, non-ideal theory, gene patents, deliberative democracy, nanotechnology, sex selection, toleration, a citizenâs basic income, enhancing soldiers and economic incentives.
Colin is currently working on the following three major research projects:
- a new textbook titled Classics in Political Philosophy for Today (under contract with Hackett Publishing) which covers a range of political thinkers from Plato through to MLK, Jr. The book encourages students to engage with, and critically reflect upon, the contemporary significance of the history of Western political thought.
- research for a new manuscript on the social significance of âgeroscienceâ- the science of healthy aging. This multi-year project examines the limitations of public healthâs âWar Against Diseaseâ- covering not only the war against infectious diseases (such as COVID-19), but also the wars against cancer and obesity. It also canvasses the progression of a century of experimental scientific research on modulating aging, from dietary restriction and genetic manipulation in laboratory organisms, to pharmacological interventions in humans.
- developing an account of a ârealistic utopiaâ that focuses on the developmental potential of play- physical, social, and imaginative play. This project relies on insights from evolutionary biology and positive psychology, as well as philosophy and the history of political thought.
Teaching
For detailed information about political studies courses and instructors, please refer to the Undergraduate and Graduate pages.
Service (2024/2025)
- The Sir Edward Peacock Professor of Political Theory
- Appointments Committee
- Departmental Committee
- Field Convenor (Theory)
- Renewal, Tenure and Promotion (RTP) Committee
Selected Publications
Books:
(Hackett Publishing, forthcoming September 2024).
(Polity Books, 2018)
(Cambridge University Press, 2016).
(co-edited with Lawrence Solum) (Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2008).
(Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2007).
(London: Sage Publications, 2004).
(editor) (London: Sage Publications, 2004).
Sample of Journal Articles and Book Chapters:
Colin Farrelly, âFrom Sanitation Science to Geroscience: Public Health Must Transcend âFolkbiologyââ (forthcoming) Public Health Ethics.
Colin Farrelly (2023). âGeroscience and climate science: Oppositional or complementary?â. Aging cell, 22(8), e13890. []
Colin Farrelly, âIdealism and Imagination in the Medical Sciences of an Ageing Worldâ Journal of Medical Ethics 2023, 49(4): 271-74. []
Colin Farrelly (2023). Geroscience and Public Health's Plastic "Ecology of Ideas". The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 78(5), 793â797. []
Colin Farrelly (2022). Aging, Equality and the Human Healthspan. HEC forum : an interdisciplinary journal on hospitals' ethical and legal issues, 1-19. []
Colin Farrelly, âPost-Proteanâ Public Health and the Geroscience Hypothesisâ (forthcoming) Aging and Disease.
Colin Farrelly, âLongevity Science and Womenâs Health and Wellbeing.â Journal of population ageing, 1-20. 30 Jan. 2023. []
Colin Farrelly, âFraming Longevity Science and an âAging Enhancementââ in The Routledge Handbook of the Ethics of Human Enhancement (edited by Fabrice Jotterand, Marcello Ienca) (Routledge: 2023).
âResponsible Biology, Aging Populations and the 50th Anniversary of the âWar on Cancerââ Biogerontology 2021 Aug;22(4):429-440 ().
âHow Should We Theorize ŸĆĐăֱȄ Justice in the Genomic Era?â in Politics and the Life Sciences 40(1) (2021): 106-25.
"50 Years of the War on Cancer: Lessons for Public Health and Geroscienceâ Geroscience. 2021 Jun;43(3):1229-1235 ().
âCOVID-19, Biogerontology and the Ageing of Humanityâ The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 2021, 76(8), e92âe96. ().
Tyler J. Vander Weele, Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald, Paul Allin, Colin Farrelly et al. âCurrent Recommendations on the Selection of Measures for Well-beingâ Preventive Medicine Vol 133, April 2020.
Tyler J. Vander Weele, Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald, Paul Allin, Colin Farrelly et al. âBrief Well-being Assessments, or Nothing at All? Preventive Medicine Vol 135, June 2020.
âToleration, âMindsightâ and the Epistemic Virtuesâ (forthcoming) in The Palgrave Handbook on Toleration.
âPositive Biologyâ and Well-Ordered Scienceâ in Measuring Well-Being: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from the Social Sciences and the Humanities (edited by Matthew Lee, Laura Kubzansky, and Tyler VanderWeele) (Oxford University Press, forthcoming in 2020).
âThe âFocusing Illusionâ of Rawlsian Ideal Theoryâ in John Rawls: Debating the Major Questions (edited by Sarah Roberts-Cady and Jon Mandle) (Oxford University Press, forthcoming in 2020).
âInsulating Soldiers from the Emotional Costs of War: An Ethical Analysisâ forthcoming in Transhumanizing War: Performance Enhancement and the Implications for Policy, the Soldier, and Society (eds. C. Breede, S. von Hlatky and S. BĂ©langer) (McGill-Queenâs University Press, 2019).
âAging, Geroscience and Freedomâ Rejuvenation Research 22(2) 2019: 163-170.
"Gene Patents and the Social Justice Lensâ American Journal of Bioethics 18(12) (2018): 49-51.
âVirtue Epistemology and the Democratic Lifeâ in The Oxford Handbook to Virtue (edited by Cynthia Snow) (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017).
âJustice and Life Extensionâ in End-of-Life Ethics (edited by John Davis) (New York, NY: Routledge Publishing, 2016).
âInternational Political and Economic Structures: Book Symposium Contribution on Mathias Risseâs On Global Justiceâ The Ethics Forum 8(2) (2013): 41â52.
âEmpirical Ethics and the Duty to Extend the Biological Warranty Periodâ Social Philosophy and Policy 30 (2013): 480-503.
âPlay and Politicsâ Journal of Political Science Education 9(4) (2013): 487-500.
âNormative Theorizing about Geneticsâ Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 22(4) (2013): 408-419.
âWhy the NIH Should Create an Institute of Positive Biologyâ Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 105 (2012): 412-15.
âBiogerontology and the Intellectual Virtuesâ Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences 67(7) (2012): 734-46.
"Positive Biologyâ as a New Paradigm for the Medical Sciencesâ Natureâs EMBO Reports 13(2) (2012): 186-88.
âVirtue Epistemology and the âEpistemic Fitnessâ of Democracyâ Political Studies Review 10(1) (2012): 7-22.
âPatriarchy and Historical Materialismâ Hypatia 26(1) (2011): 1-21.
âGlobal Aging, Well-Ordered Science and Prospectionâ Rejuvenation Research 13(5) (2010):607-12.
âEquality and the Duty to Retard Human Agingâ Bioethics 24(8) (2010): 384-94.
âWhy Aging Research?â Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1197 (2010): 1â8.
âFraming the Inborn Aging Process and Longevity Scienceâ Biogerontology 11(3) (2010): 377-85.
âHas the Time Come to Take on Time Itself?â British Medical Journal 337 (2008):147-48.
âA Tale of Two Strategies: The Moral Imperative to Tackle Ageingâ Natureâs EMBO Reports 9(7) (2008): 592-95.
âThe Institutional Theory of Legal Interpretationâ University of Toronto Law Journal 58(2) (2008): 217-32.
âJustice in Ideal Theory: A Refutationâ Political Studies 55 (2007): 844â864.
âPreparing for Our Enhanced Futureâ Journal of Medical Licensure and Discipline 93(2) (2007):12-18.
âDeliberative Democracy and Nanotechnologyâ Nanoethics: Examining the Societal Impact of Nanotechnology (NJ: John Wiley and Sons Inc., 2007) edited by Fritz Allhoff, Patrick Lin, James Moor and John Weckert.
Podcast Interviews Include:
CFRC Right of Reply interview