Dr Paula Satne

Profile

Before joining the Inter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied (IDEA) Centre at the University of Leeds in September 2022, I held positions as Joint Course Leader and Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Wolverhampton, as Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Manchester, as Teaching Fellow in Philosophy at Durham University and Lecturer in Philosophy at Keele University. Previously, I also held teaching and/or lecturing posts at Open University, Bolton University and Universidad of Buenos Aires. I completed my PhD entitled Kant’s Theory of Motivation and Rational Agency at the University of Manchester after obtaining a First Class Degree Hons. In Philosophy from Universidad of Buenos Aires in Argentina, where I graduated with a thesis entitled Aristotle’s Eudaimonia from the Eudemian Ethics Point of View.

Research interests

I work mainly on ethics and political philosophy. Recently, I have been interested in both theoretical and applied issues related to human evil and the ethics and politics of forgiveness and memory. My recent and current work covers the following themes:

• the ethical challenges facing the future of humanity
• the compatibility of forgiveness and memory in the context of personal relationships
• the relationship between political forgiveness and public commemoration
• transitional justice and punishment
• pacifism and conflict resolution
• our shared responsibility and complicity in structural injustice (i.e., climate change, poverty, international relations, and war)
• moral development, repentance, and self-affirmation

In addition, I also have a longstanding interest and expertise in:

• the history of ethics (particularly Aristotle, Spinoza, Kant, Hegel and Sartre)
• the intersection of ethics with philosophy of mind: moral psychology, motivation, practical rationality, retributive emotions, moral judgement, and moral reasons
• the intersection of ethics with philosophy of art: political and moral engagement in art, the relationship between art and memorialization

I have recently co-edited (with Krisanna Scheiter from Union College New York) a volume on Conflict and Resolution- the Ethics of Forgiveness, Revenge and Punishment (Springer, 2022). I have co-written the introduction and contributed a sole-authored chapter entitled "Remembrance beyond Forgiveness." This chapter argues that political forgiveness is sometimes, but not always, compatible with public commemoration of politically motivated wrongdoing and draws on the example of Argentina in order to show how some forms of political un-forgiveness can be morally legitimate and effective ways for victims to uphold moral demands.

In addition, in various recent articles, I have been developing a neo-Kantian approach to forgiveness, exploring the relationship between forgiveness, memory, moral development, justice, punishment and self-respect.

I am also co-editor of Kant’s Doctrine of Right in the 21st Century (UWP, 2018), a volume dedicated to explore the relevance of Kant’s Doctrine of Right in contemporary political theory and Construyendo la autonomia, la autoridad y la justicia. Leer a Kant con Onora O’Neill, (Constructing Autonomy, Authority, and Justice. Reading Kant with Onora O’Neill) (Tirant lo Blanch, 2018). I am also a guest editor of a Special Issue on Forgiveness and Conflict for the journal Philosophia, and I am currently co-editing a Special Issue on Commemorating Evildoers.

I am originally from Argentina and my mother tongue is Spanish. I publish in English and Spanish.

Qualifications

• PhD Philosophy
• BA (Hons) Philosophy
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Professional memberships

• Society of Women in Philosophy
• Aristotelian Society
• UK Kant Society
• UK Rep for Red Iberoamericana “Kant: Ética, Política y Sociedad” (Spanish/ Latin American Network “Kant: Ethics, Politics and Society”)
• Member of the research network on Forgiveness and Reconciliation which is part of the Historical Memory, Peace, Human Rights and Reconciliation Research Group based at Faculty of Humanities, UIC-Barcelona.

Student education

I am very enthusiastic about teaching. I have designed and taught a wide variety of philosophy and ethics modules at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, including modules in ethics, applied ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of mind, history of philosophy (ancient and modern up to Hegel and Sartre), aesthetics, philosophy of art, philosophical methods, critical thinking, logic and metaphysics, among other areas.

Here at the IDEA Centre, I teach ethics across disciplines to undergraduate and postgraduate students (including PhD students). A big part of my current teaching covers the ethics of AI and data science and I also teach ethical issues across the following disciplines: dentistry, buisnesses, leadership ethics,  engineering, aviation, computing science, chemistry, environmental sciences, product design, leadership, and journalism, among other disciplines.

I also supervise MA dissertations on a wide range of topics  in the MA programmes at the IDEA Centre.

My office hours are typically Mondays 3–4pm and Tues 1–2pm. However, as my timetable can be very irregular, I recommend emailing me in advance if possible.