Kathryn Petrozzo

  • Assistant Professor of Philosophy
  • Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions

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Kathryn Petrozzo is broadly interested in the philosophical and ethical aspects of how the institutions of science and the law interact. In her research, she draws from traditional and innovative methods in applied ethics, philosophy of science, bioethics, law, and social philosophy. 

Her current research focuses on the relationship between mental illness and conceptions of agency, responsibility, rationality, and punishment. Namely, how these concepts are characterized and interact in legal, clinical, and social dimensions. It is her hope to assist in reforming these concepts through collaborative work in order to reduce the stigma and subsequent discriminatory treatment towards individuals living with mental illnesses.

 

 

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Utah, Philosophy
  • B.A., Saint Michael’s College, Philosophy & Psychology 

Research Interests

  • Applied Ethics
  • Bioethics
  • Philosophy of Psychiatry
  • Philosophy of Science
  • Social Philosophy
  • Philosophy of Law
  • Moral Psychology

Publications

  • Petrozzo, K. (2024). Mental illness as a life sentence: The (mis)treatment of individuals with psychiatric diagnoses in the courtroom. In A. Cantú, E. Maisel, & C. Ruby (Eds.), Institutionalized Madness: The Interplay of Psychiatry and Society’s Institutions (pp. 136–152). Ethics Press.

  • Petrozzo, K. (2024). The Role of Law Enforcement in Coercive Psychiatric Interventions. American Journal of Bioethics,24(12), 115-116.

  • Santana, C., Petrozzo, K., and Perkins, T. (2024). Whose Anthropocene?: A data-driven look at the prospects for collaboration between natural science, social science, and the humanities. Digital Scholarship in the Humanities. DOI: 10.1093/llc/fqae004

  • Petrozzo, K. (2023). Excited Delirium: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Police Brutality. Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology, 30 (4), 357-359.

  • Santana, C., Smith, A.C., Petrozzo, K., & Halm, D. (2022). The Irrationality of Stand Your Ground: Game Theory on Self-Defense. Moral Philosophy and Politics.

Public-Facing Publications

  • January 2025. Blog of the APA, American Philosophical Association.

  • August 2022. Policywise blog, Baylor College of Medicine Health Policy.