Eunhong Lee

I am Eunhong Lee (hear pronunciation: OON-hong Ee), a Clinical Ethics Fellow at the Alden March Bioethics Institute at Albany Medical College. I received my Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and my M.A. and B.A. in Philosophy from Chung-Ang University in Seoul, South Korea.

My research lies at the intersection of moral philosophy, the philosophy of emotion, bioethics, and clinical ethics. I am particularly interested in how emotions shape our reasons, decisions, identities, and relationships with others, as well as in the ways philosophical accounts of rationality and agency can illuminate ethical problems arising in clinical practice.

My dissertation examines what reasons we have to feel emotions and what it is for an emotion to be rational. Against the dominant view that only fitting reasons—considerations that make an emotion appropriate to its object—can justify emotions, I argue that pragmatic considerations can also provide genuine reasons for emotion. More broadly, I develop a pluralistic account of emotional rationality that recognizes the diverse ways in which emotions can respond to reasons, including in cases of trauma and persistent grief.

My current research extends these interests into bioethics and clinical ethics. I am especially interested in trauma-informed approaches to clinical care, ethical issues arising in intensive care settings, and the role of emotions in clinical decision-making and patient care. More broadly, I am interested in bringing philosophical work on emotion, agency, and practical rationality into conversation with the ethical complexities of clinical practice.