SOPHIE GIBERT
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My research is in ethics, practical ethics (especially bioethics), and the philosophy of action. Broadly, I am interested in interpersonal duties and the boundaries of our rights to govern our own lives. In particular, how should we relate to those who aren't reasoning well about what to do? And to what extent are we entitled to govern our lives badly? My current projects concern the ethics of manipulation and the justification of paternalism. I approach these topics with skepticism toward theories that rest a great deal of theoretical weight on the notion of voluntary or autonomous action.
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Please see below for descriptions of my published work.


​CV; Contact me at sgibert [at symbol] mit [dot] edu





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​Published Work
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"The Allocation of Scarce Biospecimens for Use in Research,"
 with Leah Pierson (co first authors), Benjamin Berkman, Marion Danis, and Joseph Millum. Journal of Medical Ethics (Online first, 27 March 2020). Penultimate draft.


In which we argue that scientists and researchers should aim to maximize the social value of the research enterprise as a whole when allocating scarce biospecimen samples, provide an ethical framework for assessing the contributions that proposed research projects would make to the social value of the research enterprise, and describe how the framework can be implemented.

"The Ethics of Patient Activation," with David DeGrazia and Marion Danis. Journal of Medical Ethics 43 (October 2017). Penultimate draft.

In which we consider the ethics of measuring and aiming to improve "patient activation" - that is, the extent to which patients with chronic medical conditions feel responsible for, and in control of, their own health outcomes - and describe how clinicians can increase the sense of agency that such patients have with respect to their health without exposing them to blame, stigma, and other harms.
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