West Virginia University

Jessica Wolfendale

Assistant Professor

  • Contact Information

  • Specializations

    • Ethics of political violence
      Bioethics
      Moral Psychology
      Ethical theory

  • Research Interests

    • I am currently working on issues in the ethics of torture, particularly on the question of whether the right not to be tortured is inalienable. I am also interested in the moral psychology of political violence – the moral attitudes towards responsibility, agency, and action that are connected to and contribute to different forms of state violence such as capital punishment, war, and torture. My future research project is an exploration of the relationship between institutions of punishment and philosophical theories of punishment, and I will also be expanding on some prior work of mine on the topic of forgiveness and resentment.

  • Courses Offered

    • In Fall 2009 I taught Current Moral Problems (PHL 130) and Health Care Ethics (PHL 331), and I will be teaching Current Moral Problems and Social and Political Philosophy (PHL 323) in Spring 2010. In Fall 2010 I will be offering an upper division course on Torture, Terrorism, and the State.

  • Publications

    • My recent publications include:
      Books
      Torture and the Military Profession (Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2007)

      As editor:
      Forthcoming (with Jeanette Kennett), Fashion and Philosophy (Blackwell, 2010) Forthcoming (with Paolo Tripodi), New Wars and New Soldiers: Military Ethics in the Contemporary World (Ashgate, 2010)

      Refereed Journal Articles
      The Myth of Torture Lite, Ethics and International Affairs 23(1): 47-61, 2009 Professional Integrity and Disobedience in the Military, Journal of Military Ethics, 8(2): 127-140, 2009
      “Performance-enhancing Technologies and Moral Responsibility in the Military, American Journal of Bioethics 8(2): 28-38, 2008
      Paternalism, Informed Consent, and the Use of Experimental Drugs in the Military, (co-authored with Steve Clarke), Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 33(4): 337-355, 2008
      Terrorism, Security, and the Threat of Counterterrorism, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 30(1): 75-93, 2007

      Book Chapters
      Preventing Torture in Counterinsurgency and Counterterrorism Operations, Ethics Education for Irregular War, eds Paul Robinson, Nigel de Lee, & Don Carrick (Ashgate, 2009)
      Whats the Point of Teaching Ethics in the Military? Ethics Education in the Military, eds Paul Robinson, Nigel de Lee, & Don Carrick (Aldershot, Hampshire, UK: Ashgate, 2008)