Virginia Held

Who is Virginia Held?

Virginia Potter Held, Mendham, New Jersey is a leading moral, social/political and feminist philosopher whose work on the ethics of care sparked significant research into the ethical dimensions of providing care for others and critiques of the traditional role of women in society. Held defends care ethics as a distinct moral framework from Kantian, utilitarian and virtue ethics. Held's work on the morality of political violence viewed through the window of ethics of care has also been significantly influential.

Held was named Distinguished Professor at the City University of New York – Graduate Center and Hunter College in 1996, received her Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia University in 1968 and worked at Hunter College as lecturer, assistant professor, associate professor and full professor from 1977 to her retirement in 2001. She was affiliated with the CUNY Graduate Center in 1973, and served as deputy executive officer of the Philosophy program at the CUNY Graduate Center from 1980-1984. She also served as president of the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association in 2001-2002.