© Isa Leshko, Allowed to Grow Old (2019)
ABOUT
I am a postdoctoral fellow in Philosophy at Queen’s University in Canada. I am working with Will Kymlicka on reciprocity in nonhuman animals. My research interests include animal ethics, practical ethics, political theory, philosophy of emotion, and moral theory.
In 2025, I completed a DPhil in Philosophy at the University of Oxford with the support of a Rhodes Scholarship. My thesis explored the possibility of recognizing some animals as moral agents. At Oxford, I had the chance of teaching the three main undergraduate courses in moral philosophy: Moral Philosophy: Mill (first year), Ethics (second year), and Practical Ethics (third year).
I am also the author or co-author of two books on the history and philosophy of animal advocacy: Que veulent les véganes? La cause animale, de Platon au mouvement antispéciste (Fides, 2021, co-written with Alexia Renard) and Au nom des animaux : l'histoire de la SPCA de Montréal (1869-2019) (Somme toute, 2019).
ARTICLES
ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS
Articles
· (2026, forthcoming). Capacitisme, traitement inégal et discrimination positive : quelles implications pour le spécisme ? For the book symposium on Le pire des maux by François Jaquet (Elliot Éditions, 2024). Dialogue : Canadian Philosophical Review / Revue canadienne de philosophie.
· (2026). Can Animals Hold Each Other Morally Responsible? Ethical Theory and Moral Practice.
· (2026). John Stuart Mill on the Origins of Justice and the Role of Empathy: A Proposed Account. The Journal of Ethics, 30, 285–303.
· (2023). Les véganes au Québec : tensions à gauche et alliances en construction. Bulletin d’histoire politique, 30(3), 155-172.
Book Chapters
· (2024). Can Animals Be Moral Agents? Why the Debate Matters for Animal Ethics. In Y. Athanassakis, R. Larue & W. O’Donohue (Eds.). The Vegan and Plant-Based Handbook (pp. 51-67). Springer.
Research Notes
· (2024) Co-written with Michaël Lessard and Daphnée B. Ménard. Le droit animalier québécois : vers un agenda de recherche. Revue de droit de l'Université de Sherbrooke, 53(2), 337-374.
Book Reviews
· (2024). Baratay, Eric (ed.). L’animal désanthropisé : interroger et redéfinir les concepts, Paris, Éditions de la Sorbonne, 313 pages, Journal of Animal Ethics, 14(1), 110-111.
· (2021). Allais, Lucy et Callanan, John J. (ed.) (2020). Kant and Animals, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 272 pages, Philosophiques, 48(2), 413-418.
· (2019). Korsgaard, Christine (2018). Fellow Creatures : Our Obligations to the Other Animals, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 272 pages, Philosophiques, 46(1), 463-468.
· (2017). Adams, Carol J. (2016). La politique sexuelle de la viande : une théorie féministe critique végétarienne, traduit de l’anglais (États-Unis) par Danielle Petitclerc, Lausanne, Éditions L’Âge d’Homme, 357 pages, Ithaque, 21, 307-312.
IN PROGRESS
· A paper on animal cultures.
· A paper on the practical implications of recognizing some animals as moral agents or subjects capable of anger.
· A paper on emotional contagion in animals and its epistemic role.
CURRICULUM VITAE
French version
English version
© Isa Leshko, Allowed to Grow Old (2019)
PRESS
(selection)
Even if we could speak to animals, should we?
Essay for Psyche
Co-written with Leonie Bossert
16 October 2025
The truth about AI - garbage in, garbage out
Interview for Future Tense
ABC Radio National
6 June 2024
The dangers of AI farming
Essay for Aeon
Co-written with Jonathan Birch
22 March 2024
Les origines de la lutte contre la maltraitance animale
Interview for Aujourd'hui l'histoire
CBC-Radio-Canada Radio 1
25 January 2023
Moral Animals
Interview for Four Thought
BBC Radio 4
December 2022
Empathie, consolation, sens de la justice… Les animaux, ces pros de la morale
Interview for Le Parisien
15 September 2022
On Animal Ethics, Rhodes Scholarships, and Public Philosophy
Interview for The Philosopher's Nest
11 April 2022
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Ce que les véganes veulent, plusieurs jeunes le veulent aussi
Interview for Le Devoir
With Alexia Renard
27 September 2021