Catherine Nolan

Catherine Nolan is currently working on issues in the intersection of metaphysics and bioethics. She is particularly interested in applying the concepts and arguments of the Christian metaphysical tradition to contemporary problems.  Her dissertation, entitled “The Ethics and Metaphysics of Vital Organ Donation,” was a defense of the claim that death is a metaphysical event, unable to be determined purely scientifically. This makes the diagnosis of death much more uncertain. If we attempt to justify vital organ donation by claiming that the donor is dead, we are often being misleading or dishonest. Instead, she suggests that we should focus on not killing the donor, treating those who may be dead as though they are still alive. 

Dr. Nolan taught several sections of Philosophy of the Human Person at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, and taught introductions to philosophy as well as courses in bioethics and philosophy of religion at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Nolan's research has been on the definitions of gender and sex, and she has presented “Metaphysical Positions for Trans Persons” at the PANTC 2016 conference. Nolan is working on an article entitled “Difficult Determinations of Sex,” in which she proposes a definition of “male” and “female” which takes into account intersex individuals—those with disorders of sex development.