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Dr. Samantha Noll

Engaged Philosophy in a Complex World

Photo: Detroit Water Brigade

For many people, the world feels like it’s spiraling out of control, as we face overwhelming issues, such as ensuring food and water security, mitigating climate change impacts, and learning to live in a world without many of the species with whom we share this planet. In this context, some hope that technology can help us face these challenges, but cutting-edge technologies (such as genomics, artificial intelligence, and clean energy) bring about a host of other ethical issues. My research engages with the challenges that we face today, in an increasingly complex world. In short, my work is problem oriented, meaning that it focuses on analyzing real-world problems and the impacts of potential solutions, as well as developing tools that may be useful for bringing about change. My engaged philosophical work includes the following areas:

PHILOSOPHY OF FOOD & Agriculture

ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy of Technology

Philosophy of Food & Agriculture:

How do we feed a world of 7.6 billion people (and rising) on ever shrinking land reserves?
What are our duties to the land, wildlife, & our domesticated animals?
What changes to food systems & practices could help mitigate climate change impacts?
In what ways can we foster & protect the food sovereignty of communities?

Solutions to these important issues could include a wide range of strategies, from strengthening local food systems, to strategically applying biotechnologies. Yet, addressing food related problems on the ground often involves navigating tricky ethical waters. My research firmly engages with these and a wide range of other agricultural & food related questions.

Environmental Impacts of Climate Change:

How do we motivate communities to mitigate climate change?
What duties do we have to species that are going extinct?
How do we balance food security and ecological resilience?
What role should cities play to ensure ecological resilience?
How do we practice a conservation or "land ethic" in the age of the Anthropocene?

Climate change is producing observable environmental impacts around the globe, such as shrinking glaciers, rising sea levels, changes in weather patterns, and more intense heat waves and wild fires. Additionally, biodiversity levels are shrinking, as extinction rates rise, and plant and animal species are being forced to shift their ranges. In this context, societies around the world will have to adapt to environmental changes and to the new realities of living in the "Age of the Anthropocene." Hard decisions will have to be made and these decisions will have wide-ranging consequences. Understanding the ethical and value-laden implications of these decisions is imperative.

Looking to the Future

Technological Innovation & Application:

What are the ethical & social dimensions of food biotechnology?
How should we conduct genomics research in a global context?
How can we utilize technological innovation to improve food security without negatively impacting food sovereignty?
What role should technology play in addressing climate change impacts?

Technology has the potential to help address a wide range of problems that we face, from increasing food security, to providing clean energy. However, as climate change illustrates, technology is often a contributor to our current dilemmas. My work engages with the expanding scope and unprecedented impact of technologies, in order to help cultivate a critical understanding of the practical consequences of their application. Technologies can be utilized in a multiplicity of ways. As we move forward, it is imperative that we discuss the ethical and social implications of these applications.

In particular, my research focuses on the application of genomics technology in the context of agriculture and medicine.