World-renowned philosopher earns Royal Society of Canada award

World-renowned philosopher earns Royal Society of Canada award

Will Kymlicka has been recognized with the Pierre Chauveau medal for outstanding contributions to the humanities.

By Communications Staff

September 14, 2021

Share

Will Kymlicka, Queen's professor of philosophy
Canada Research Chair in Political Philosophy Will Kymlicka recently received the Royal Society of Canada鈥檚 (RSC) Pierre Chauveau Medal for his distinguished contribution to knowledge in the humanities.

Queen鈥檚 researcher Will Kymlicka, Canada Research Chair in Political Philosophy, has earned the Royal Society of Canada鈥檚 (RSC) Pierre Chauveau Medal for his distinguished contribution to knowledge in the humanities.

Dr. Kymlicka is amongst the top three influential political philosophers in the English-speaking world and has helped pioneer two major fields of research: the normative foundations of minority group rights within liberal democracies and the place of animals within political theory.

鈥淟ike other Western democracies, Canada is a 鈥榣iberal democracy,鈥 which means we put a strong focus on the rights of individual citizens,鈥 says Dr. Kymlicka. 鈥淭he Canadian constitution also recognizes some group rights, but these have often been seen as anomalous, and perhaps even dangerous to liberal values. My work has tried to understand how we can make room in liberal philosophy for the rights of groups, and in particular the rights of minorities.鈥

Dr. Kymlicka is currently researching we govern the lives of animals in our society. 

鈥淭his is not only an urgent moral question on its own terms, but also central to the climate crisis, biodiversity and public health. We鈥檝e established an animal politics research group here at Queen鈥檚, focusing on how to ensure animals are represented in democratic politics,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 think this will be a central issue for the future of political philosophy, and for the fate of the world as a whole.鈥

Dr. Kymlicka鈥檚 high-caliber work and exceptional accomplishments have been recognized by the Killam Prize, the Premier鈥檚 Discovery Award, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, Fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada and the British Academy, honorary degrees from Belgium and Sweden, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Gold Medal.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a special honour to receive this medal from the Royal Society, which has played such a central role in both the intellectual and public life of the country, and to join the very distinguished list of previous awardees,鈥 Dr. Kymlicka says. 鈥淚鈥檓 grateful for the incredible support I鈥檝e received from colleagues here at Queen鈥檚 over the years.鈥

The was established in 1951 to honour the memory of Pierre J.O. Chauveau (1820-1890), FRSC, writer, orator, educator, Canadian statesman and the RSC's second president (1883-1884). He was the first premier of Quebec (1867-1872) and Speaker of the Senate (1874).

For more information, visit the .

Arts and Science