The Centre de recherche en éthique/Centre for Research in Ethics (CRÉ) brings together researchers who address ethical questions from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. Our core team consists of more than 77 co-researchers based at 11 universities and colleges in the province of Québec, complemented by 88 collaborators from other parts of Canada as well as other parts of the world.
The CRÉ grew out of the Centre for Research on Ethics at the University of Montreal (CRÉUM), which was founded by Daniel Weinstock in 2002. In 2014, the unit expanded into the inter-university research centre it is today. From 2014 to 2021, the CRÉ was directed by Christine Tappolet; in January 2022, Ryoa Chung and Kristin Voigt became co-directors.
Our work is structured around five axes: fundamental ethics; ethics and politics; ethics and economics; environmental and animal ethics; and ethics and health. While these axes help organize our research, we also pursue projects and activities that cut across different axes. In addition, the CRÉ regularly selects several “thèmes phares” of particular concern to the Centre. Currently, these themes are: Artificial Intelligence, Feminist Ethics, and Anti-racism and Decolonization.
The following objectives guide our work:
- To advance both fundamental and applied research in ethics from multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives, including disciplines such as philosophy, political science, biology, sociology, geography, ecology, medicine, law, and economics.
- To coordinate the research activities of our members and collaborators, associated and invited researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and affiliated students.
- To support, mentor and train graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the field of ethics, broadly conceived.
- To establish and maintain collaborative relationships with researchers and research institutions with an interest in ethics, both within Quebec and beyond.
- To contribute to public debates on various social and political issues by facilitating the dissemination of ethics research to general audiences beyond academia.
