Jocelyn Maclure

Jocelyn Maclure is full professor of philosophy at McGill University. First known for his work in ethics and political philosophy on moral agency, value pluralism, justice and democracy, he expanded his research to the philosophy of technology and social epistemology. His book Secularism and Freedom of Conscience (Harvard University Press, 2011), co-authored with Charles Taylor, appeared in 10 languages. He taught for 17 years in the Faculty of Philosophy at Université Laval and held several visiting appointments, including the Mercator Visiting Professorship for AI in the Human Context at the University of Bonn in 2023.

His recent research focuses on some of the speculative and practical issues raised by progress in artificial intelligence, on the transformation of the public sphere under the influence of digital technologies and on the question of meaning at the end of life.

As a public philosopher, he served as an expert-analyst for the Bouchard-Taylor Commission on cultural and religious accommodations, co-chaired two panels of experts on medical assistance in dying, and participated in numerous public debates. He is the current president of the Quebec Ethics in Science and Technology Commission. He was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2023.