Dr. Christine McKinnon received her B.A. (Hons.) in Philosophy from McGill University and her B.Phil. and D.Phil. in Philosophy from Oxford University. She held teaching positions at the University of Calgary and the University of Toronto before coming to Trent University in 1989.
At Trent she has served as Chair of Trent’s Philosophy Department (1999-2002 and 2004-06), Acting Dean of Arts & Science (2002-03), Dean of Arts & Science (2006-08), Vice President Academic and Dean of Arts & Science (2008-09), and Acting Provost and Vice President Academic (2009-2010).
Prof. McKinnon has taught a wide range of undergraduate courses in the Philosophy Department, but especially enjoys teaching Introductory Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, and Symbolic Logic. Her current research interests lie in moral philosophy (especially virtue ethics), virtue epistemologies, and the interfaces between philosophy of mind and moral philosophy.
In 1999 her book, Character, Virtue Theories, and the Vices, was published with Broadview Press. She has also published several articles on moral and intellectual virtues and vices and on character possession and human flourishing. Other publications include, “Hypocrisy and the Good of Character Possession” in Dialogue XLI 2002; “Desire-frustration and moral sympathy” in The Australasian Journal of Philosophy Vol.80 No.4 December 2002; “Knowing Cognitive Selves” in Intellectual Virtue: Perspectives from Ethics and Epistemology, eds. Michael DePaul and Linda Zagzebski (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003); "Character Possession and Human Flourishing" in Character Psychology and Character Education, eds. Dan Lapsley and Clark Power (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2005); "Hypocrisy, Cheating, and Character Possession" in Journal of Value Inquiry Vol.39 No.4 2005; “Agent Reliabilism, Subjective Justification, and Epistemic Credit" in The Southern Journal of Philosophy Vol.XLIV No.3 2006; "Varieties of Insincerity" in International Journal of Applied Ethics Vol.20 No.1 2006; and a Critical Notice of Luck, Value, and Commitment: Themes from the Ethics of Bernard Williams eds. Heuer and Lang in Analysis June 2013.