Hugo Cossette-Lefebvre is a Ph.D. candidate at McGill University. His central interests are in political philosophy, philosophy of law, and global ethics. Before pursuing his doctorate, Hugo has completed a M.A. in philosophy and a B.A. in political science, both at the Université de Montréal. He has notably published papers in Public Affairs Quarterly and French Politics.
What are you working on right now?
My current work concentrates mainly on global ethics. I try to see what relational egalitarianism entails when it is applied beyond state borders. This family of egalitarian theories clusters around the central idea that what matters from the point of view of justice is not so much distributive inequality between persons, but how persons treat and regard one another. What is particularly interesting for me is that, applied globally, it raises the question of how agents should relate to one another when they are only very loosely connected by global social structures. To properly address these questions, I believe it is necessary to move away from the widespread idea that social equality is mainly a constraint on how it is permissible to treat others, to also highlight that it is instrumentally and intrinsically valuable. This brings me to defend a type of transnational solidarity which is characterized by both a sensitivity to the struggles of distant others to be treated as equals and by the importance of considering how apparently benign actions can have significant impacts on others.
What are you reading right now? Would you recommend it?
I always try to balance philosophical works and literary books in my readings. On the philosophical side, I am currently reading Catherine Lu’s Justice and Reconciliation in World Politics, and Maïka Sondarjee’s Perdre le Sud: Décoloniser la solidarité internationale (loosely translatable as “Heading South: decolonizing transnational solidarity”). Both are extremely relevant books on contemporary transnational issues, and I recommend them highly to anyone interested in these topics!
On the literary side, I decided to make the most of the pandemic by reading classics I never read before. I am currently reading Douglas Adams’ “The restaurant at the end of the Universe” and Cervantes’ “Don Quixote”. In all honesty, I did not expect Don Quixote to be that entertaining! And Adams’ absurd, intergalactic humor does put the everyday routine into perspective!
What is your favorite book of all time? Why? To whom would you recommend them?
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo remains one of my all-time favorites. It really struck me as a teenager, and I still use some of the moral dilemmas it contains in my classes! It is such a deep and complete novel that it is difficult to pinpoint what its main theme is and I have always found something new in it every time I came back to it. From its presentation and criticisms of unequal societies where riches are concentrated in the hands of a few, its antimonarchical views, its presentation of a flawed justice system, and its construction of poignant moral dilemmas, this book remains as relevant as ever. Moreover, Victor Hugo presents these themes in such a way that he pushes the reader to develop their own opinions about the events that unfold. I’d encourage everyone to read it at least once.
Name a trait, skill or characteristic that you have that others may not know about.
I play guitar and sing in a punk-rock garage band. Although we had to stop jamming due to the pandemic, I really look forward to playing with the band again! I find that there is not only something deeply cathartic about playing songs from the Ramones, early Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, or others but there it is also very gratifying to make music with others and to be a part of a larger ensemble.
What would your childhood self say if someone told you that you would grow up to be a philosopher?
As a child, I changed ideas about what I wanted to do as an adult about every week. One week I wanted to become a politician, the other I wanted to be an engineer to build robots, and at times I wanted to be an architect, a writer, or an astronaut. I think this explains in part why I was first interested in philosophy: it is an open-ended discipline which allows us to consider topics ranging from AI, to politics, and transnational or even space ethics. Though I am currently interested in global ethics, I do my best to remain aware of contemporary debates in other parts of philosophy. For instance, the ethics of AI and the influence of algorithms on what it means to relate as equals in society is definitely a question that I would like to tackle in the future. As such, if I had known that pursuing graduate studies in philosophy allows for all of this as a child, I think I would have been thrilled!
This section of the APA Blog is designed to get to know our fellow philosophers a little better. We’re including profiles of APA members that spotlight what captures their interest not only inside the office, but also outside of it. We’d love for you to be a part of it, so please contact us via the interview nomination form here to nominate yourself or a friend.
Dr. Sabrina D. MisirHiralall is an editor at the Blog of the APA who currently teaches philosophy, religion, and education courses solely online for Montclair State University, Three Rivers Community College, and St. John’s University.
