Ethics and Continental Philosophy
Environmental Ethics, Philosophy of Religion, Social and Political Thought, Aesthetics.
Dr. Kathryn Lawson is an Instructor in philosophy at the University of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada.
"In response to the traumas of climate catastrophe, Lawson’s Ecological Ethics shows us that suffering and beauty can be integrated at the heart of environmental consciousness. Like Keller’s Face of the Deep and Leopold’s Sand County Almanac, this is a rare treasure that unites profound intellectual insight and ethical urgency."
Daniel O’Dea Bradley, Professor of Philosophy, Gonzaga University, USA
CBC Ideas.
In the aftermath of the First World War, French philosopher Simone Weil had a solution to address the fascism that surged across Europe: abolish political parties. She argued political parties were not democratic, they were dangerous. With the help of Kathryn Lawson, Michael Ignatieff and Scott Ritner, IDEAS producer Nicola Luksic explores the radical thinking of Simone Weil to help us better understand the current political climate.
Voted Faculty of the Month by The Watch, King’s University College Students
The attention economy isn’t just stealing our focus; it’s reshaping our reality. Drawing on Simone Weil, philosopher Kathryn Lawson argues that social media algorithms don’t just distract us but commit a deeper form of violence, reshaping our minds and stripping away genuine human connection. Each scroll surrenders our thinking to machines designed solely to keep us engaged, replacing what Weil saw as true attention—essential for ethics and truth—with a hollow substitute. Now, as a California jury holds Meta and Google liable for fuelling a young woman’s childhood addiction to their platforms, the solution isn't simply logging off, but relearning how to genuinely attend to others and reclaim our mental autonomy.
Article for the Institute of Art and Ideas
“Simone Weil, the attention economy, and the annihilation of autonomy”