Born in 1946 in New England, she established herself as an influential philosopher and jurist. Her work addresses complex intersections between biotechnology, profit, and the common good, consistently challenging how modern society conceptualizes the human body within legal and ethical frameworks.
Academic Foundations and Early Career
Dickenson attended Choate Rosemary Hall and Wellesley College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science. She subsequently pursued an M.Sc. in international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her early professional experience included a research role at Yale University and a year at the Vera Institute of Justice in New York City. In 1974, she began a 22-year tenure at the Open University, where she eventually completed her doctorate in philosophy with a specific focus on moral luck in ethics and politics. During this period, she developed a nationwide course on death and dying, designed to provide public access to information on palliative care.
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Her career progression led to several prominent academic appointments. In 1997, she accepted the position of Leverhulme Reader in Medical Ethics and Law at Imperial College London. By 2001, she moved to the University of Birmingham to serve as the John Ferguson Professor of Global Ethics. In 2005, she transitioned to Birkbeck College, where she held the role of Professor of Medical Ethics and Humanities and directed the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities. She has furthered her research as a fellow at the Ethox and HeLEX Centres at the University of Oxford and as a visiting fellow at the Centre for Ethics in Medicine at the University of Bristol.
Governance and Public Contribution
Beyond her academic appointments, Dickenson has influenced policy through her expert evidence for groups such as the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee and the European Association of National Bioethics Committees. She served on the Ethics Committee of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists from 2003 to 2009. Additionally, she directed four international research projects for the European Commission, including the Network for European Women's Rights, which examined legal and ethical issues regarding social entitlements, reproductive ethics, and political participation.
Scholarship and Recognition
Dickenson’s prolific writing includes titles such as Moral Luck in Medical Ethics and Practical Politics (1991), Risk and Luck in Medical Ethics (2003), and Property in the Body: Feminist Perspectives (2007). Her later works, including Body Shopping: Converting Body Parts to Profit (2009) and Me Medicine vs. We Medicine: Reclaiming Biotechnology for the Common Good (2013), analyze the commercialization of biological materials. In 2006, she became the first woman to be awarded the International Spinoza Lens prize in the Netherlands.
Fast facts
- Born: 1946, New England
- Nationality: United States
- Field: Medical ethics and philosophy
- Education: Wellesley College, London School of Economics
- Major Award: International Spinoza Lens prize (2006)
- Total books authored: Over 20
Questions readers ask
What is the focus of Dickenson's research?
Her work specializes in medical ethics, particularly regarding the commercialization of body parts, reproductive rights, and the common good in biotechnology.
Has she served on ethics committees?
Yes, she served on the Ethics Committee of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists from 2003 to 2009.
Achievements
- Held posts at The Open University, Imperial College London and Birkbeck, University of London
