Dr. Heather Widdows

Biography

Heather Widdows is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Warwick, specializing in applied ethics, global ethics, bioethics, moral philosophy, and feminist philosophy. In the 2022/2023 academic year, she is teaching a post-graduate module on Appearance, Identity, and Visual Culture. Her recent book, "Perfect Beauty: The Ethical Ideal" (2018), has received acclaim, being described as "ground-breaking" by Vogue and listed among Atlantic Books' 2018 selections. Widdows has authored several other significant works, including "The Connected Self: Ethics, Governance, and Genetic Individual" (2013), "Global Ethics: An Introduction" (2011), and "Moral Vision: Iris Murdoch" (2005). She has edited numerous collections focusing on reproductive rights and genetic ethics and co-edited the "Routledge Handbook of Global Ethics" (2014) with Darrel Moellendorf. Widdows serves on the executive committee of the British Philosophical Association and was the Deputy Chair for the Philosophy sub-panel in the REF 2021. She was a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics from 2014 to 2020 and previously served on the UK Biobank Ethics Governance Council from 2007 to 2013. Additionally, she co-runs the Beauty Demands Network and Blog, advocating against everyday lookism, in collaboration with Dr. Fiona MacCallum from the Psychology Department.

Research Interests