Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
9-2026
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Program
Philosophy
Advisor
Serene Khader
Committee Members
Linda Martín Alcoff
Carol Hay
Carol Gould
Subject Categories
Ethics and Political Philosophy | Feminist Philosophy
Keywords
privilege, oppression, moral obligation, virtue, blame
Abstract
How should we understand the moral lives of individuals who are simultaneously privileged and oppressed? My dissertation challenges a dominant trend in moral and political philosophy: the inconsistent application of intersectionality in ways that treat privilege and oppression as mutually exclusive categories. While some philosophers attend to power dynamics within oppressed groups, such analyses tend to focus on particular identities or invoke intragroup power differences primarily to exempt certain individuals from moral duties. This dissertation fills this gap by analyzing the moral obligations, character traits, and moral competence of what I call “privileged oppressed agents”—individuals who are simultaneously privileged and oppressed across different aspects of their identities. In doing so, this dissertation offers a novel account of moral lives under conditions of oppression.
Recommended Citation
Zhu, Yingshihan, "The Moral Complexities of Privileged Oppressed Agents" (2026). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6805
