Postdoctoral Fellow at Goethe University
In cooperation with Prof. Dr. Rainer Forst
Funded by Claus Wisser Fellowship Fund
Francesca Cesarano works at the intersection of applied ethics, feminist philosophy, and political philosophy. Her research focuses on questions of moral and political responsibility in contexts of structural injustice, with a particular emphasis on gender-based oppression.
Research project: A Multi-functionalist Account of Blame to Address Structural Injustice
Her current project investigates the practical implications of blaming individuals for their contributions to structural injustice, examining the expressive and epistemic functions of blame as well as the asymmetrical social positions of those involved in “the blame game”. She aims to develop a taxonomy that identifies the conditions under which blame can serve as a constructive moral response to structural injustice, and when it may be better avoided.
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Biografische Angaben
Francesca Cesarano recently completed her PhD at San Raffaele University in Milan. Her research lies at the intersection of applied ethics, feminist philosophy, and political philosophy, with a particular focus on ethical challenges in public health, especially within gender-oppressive contexts. Her current project investigates how public health systems allocate resources in cases where the concept of „impairment“ is shaped by both subjective experiences and social factors. Two central questions guide her work: What criteria should determine whether a condition is considered an impairment in gender-oppressive contexts, and how can public health decisions avoid legitimizing unjust gender norms? And what are the ethical implications of adopting a particular understanding of well-being for individuals who do not share that view? To address these questions, Cesarano critically assesses dominant theories of well-being, including hedonistic, objective list, and desire fulfillment theories, arguing that each has significant limitations in non-ideal contexts. While objective list theories risk paternalism by being overly prescriptive, hedonistic and desire fulfillment theories often fail to account for the social dimensions that shape desires. Cesarano proposes an alternative approach: non-ideal deliberative perfectionism, which seeks to balance subjective experiences with social influences. This approach aims to define human flourishing in a way that can guide public health decisions without legitimizing unjust social norms or disregarding individual autonomy.
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Publikationen
Cesarano, F., (forthcoming) Ideal vs. Non-Ideal: Why normative theory often fails to target oppression and how it might do better. Ethical Theory & Moral Practice.
Cavaliere, G., Cesarano, F. (2025) Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Women’s Choices: Autonomy, Harm and Gender Socialization. Hypatia. https://doi.org/10.1017/hyp.2024.103
Cavaliere G, Cesarano F. (2024) Misunderstanding moral status: a reply to Robinson. Journal of Medical Ethics 50, 24-25.
Cesarano, F. (2023). Patriarchal Bargains and Responsibility for Structural Injustice. Biblioteca della Libertà 58, 5-24.
Cesarano, F. (2023) Beyond Choice: A Non-Ideal Feminist Approach to Body Modification. Res Publica 29, 647–663. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11158-022-09571-2