Rachel Levit Ades Mudd Center for Ethics Postdoctoral Fellow

Mattingly House 202
540-458-4237
rlevitades@wlu.edu

Rachel Levit Ades received her PhD in Philosophy from Arizona State University in 2023 and BA in Philosophy from Carleton College. Her areas of specialization are the philosophy of disability, applied ethics, and social and political philosophy. She is interested in questions about difference and imagination, and what it means to participate in the world. Rachel is currently writing on disability law as a response to how we conceive of social categories. Rachel has worked in deaf education, special education, and inclusive arts education, and she is passionate about community projects that apply ideas about ethics and access.

In 2023-2024, Rachel will teach a course related to the Mudd Center's theme: Ethics of Design (PHI 196). The course centers on the relationship between design and values. Through reading, writing, discussion, and creative assignments, participants will think expansively about the systems and structures humans use and create. The course considers questions such as: Is there always an ethical component to design? What is the role of design in creating a more just world? What is the relationship between a designer and a user? How does historical context influence or change design?