Elmhurst College Department of Philosophy

Katrina Sifferd, Assistant Professor of Philosophy

• Office: Hammerschmidt Chapel
• Room: 004
• Phone: (630) 617-6475
• E-mail: sifferdk[at]elmhurst.edu

Katrina's areas of speciality include philosophy of law, philosophy of mind, and ethics. She has a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of London. Her Ph.D. thesis, entitled 'Psychology and the Criminal Law', supervised by David Papineau, explores the nature of the folk concepts underpinning criminal responsibility, and the way in which those concepts may be updated via scientific psychology.

She is the author of various articles and book chapters, including "In Defense of the Use of Commonsense Psychology in the Criminal Law," in the journal Law and Philosophy 25: 571-612 (2006); 'Can Baird's View of Adolescent Morality Inform Adolescent Criminal Justice Policy?' in Moral Psychology Vol. 3: The Neuroscience of Morality, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong ed., (MIT Press 2007); and "Nanotechnology and the Attribution of Responsibility", in Nanotechnology Law & Business 5: 177-189 (2008).

Katrina also holds a J.D. from DePaul University College of Law, and a B.A. in psychology from Valparaiso University. Before teaching at Elmhurst College she held the Rockefeller Fellowship in Law and Public Policy and a Visiting Professorship in philosophy at Dartmouth College. Prior to earning her Ph.D., Katrina worked as a senior research analyst on projects for the National Institute of Justice.

Selected Publications

A. Submitted or In Preparation

• (2009) "Physicalism and Criminal Responsibility: Why neuroscience deserves its day in court"
• "Criminal Responsibility and Compatibilism about Free Will"
• "Commonsense Psychology, Future Dangerousness and Defenses in the Criminal Law"
• "Assessment of a Simulation-Based College Course: A Case Study", with Prof. Teri Bengtson

B. Published or In Press

• (2008) "Nanotechnology and the Attribution of Responsibility", Nanotechnology Law and Business Journal, 5(2), 177
• (2007) 'The Intersect of Science and Criminal Responsibility', The Human Future: A Newsletter from the Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future, Summer Edition
• (2007)'Can Baird's View of Adolescent Morality Inform Adolescent Criminal Justice Policy?' Moral Psychology Vol. 3: The Neuroscience of Morality, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong ed., (MIT Press)
• (2006) "In Defense of the Use of Commonsense Psychology in the Criminal Law", Law and Philosophy 25: 571-612
• (2003) "You Can Get There From Here", Essay Review of Daniel Dennett, Freedom Evolves, British Journal of the History and Philosophy of Psychology 5(1), 107
• (2003) Essay Review of Carolyn Price, Functions in Mind: A Theory of Intentional Content, British Journal of the History and Philosophy of Psychology 5(1), 104
• (2003) "Making sense of modern Darwinism", Review of Laland and Brown, Sense and Nonsense, Heredity 90, 418