Aaron Eli Segal

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioethics at Kansas City University. Prior to joining KCU, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health. Before that, I completed a PhD in Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh.

My research is primarily in bioethics and normative ethics. In bioethics, I work on the ethics of clinical research, especially on questions about risks, benefits, altruism, and social value. In normative ethics, I work mainly on questions about imperfect duties, relational morality, and their connection.

You can reach me at aessegal[at]gmail[dot]com. You can also follow me on PhilPeople.

You can find my CV here.

Publications

• "Supported Decision Making and the Inclusion of People who Lack Decisional Capacity in Greater than Minimal Risk Research." Segal AE, Wendler D, Howard D. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics. Forthcoming.

• "Replacing Surrogate Decision-Making with Supported Decision-Making for Minimal Risk Research." Hawkins J, Wendler D, Segal AE, Howard D. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics. Forthcoming.

• "Misconceiving the Distribution of Social Value." Segal AE. The American Journal of Bioethics. 2025. (Preprint)

• "Gratitude for What We Are Owed." Segal AE. Journal of Ethics & Social Philosophy. 2025. (Open access)

• "The Normative Power of Consent and Limits on Research Risks." Segal AE, Wendler D. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice. 2024. (Open access)

Under review

• A paper on why benefactors lack the standing to demand gratitude from their beneficiaries

• A paper presenting evidence about the public's ethical views of profit sharing for biospecimen donation

• A paper presenting evidence about the potential impacts of sharing profits with biospecimen donors

• A paper on the ethics of appealing to research participants' altruism

• A paper on the sense in which imperfect duties provide latitude in their fulfillment

• A paper on why researchers should inform prospective participants about studies' social value

• A paper on whether research kidney biopsies pose unacceptably high risks for consenting adults

Teaching

I have experience teaching classes in bioethics, normative ethics, social & political philosophy, and the history of philosophy. Below are classes I have taught recently.

In MA in Bioethics program:

• History & Methodology for Bioethics—course on philosophical foundations of bioethics

• Diversity, Culture & Bioethics—course on issues of social justice in medical practice

• Thesis Development—course guiding and overseeing development of MA theses

In medical school (DO) program:

• Clinical Ethics—course on ethical issues encountered in clinical education and practice

For undergraduates:

• Introduction to Ethics—course on moral theory and the rationality of morality

• Philosophy & Public Issues—course on inequality in contemporary society

• Introduction to Biomedical Ethics—course on major ethical issues in medical practice

• History of Modern Philosophy—course on early modern rationalism and empiricism