Personal profile
Personal profile
I am a philosopher and qualitative researcher working at the intersection of ethics and anthropology. I am fascinated by 'ordinary ethics': the moral tensions, emotions, and decisions that mark our everyday lives.
I received my MA in Cultural Analysis from the University of Amsterdam in 2015. In 2020, I was a visiting scholar at the department of Medical Humanities of Drew University. In 2022, I received a Fulbright Scholarship to visit Veena Das at the department of Anthropology of Johns Hopkins University.
You can watch me talk about my interest in ethics, dependency, and intellectual disability in my lecture at the Betweter Festival 2021 (in Dutch).
My research is emphatically interdisciplinary, looking to combine insights and methods from moral philosophy and the social sciences. All my work is driven by my fascination with ethics in everyday life. Broadly speaking, I operate in three areas of research:
- The moral life of professional assistance. My ethnographic projects focus on the moral life of professional assistance in the social and care sectors, particularly services involving people with intellectual disabilities. I have published on how care professionals navigate dependency relationships with people with intellectual disabilities (2020) and on moral experiments with independence in group homes where people with intellectual disabilities live (2021). I have also published a book on dependency and disability for care professionals (2019).
- Care theory. In my work, I explore philosophical problems about care, dependency, and vulnerability. My publications include an essay on philosophical disagreements about the concept of "dependency" (2021) and an essay on resonances in the moral philosophies of Eva Kittay and Judith Butler (2021).
- Integrating ethics and the social sciences. Through my work, I attempt to further cross-pollination between moral philosophy and the social sciences. I have written about the use of "thick ethical concepts" for the social sciences (2021) and about normativity in the field of disability studies (2022).
Keywords
- empirical ethics
- intellectual disability
- care and care ethics
- autonomy and dependency
- inclusion and citizenship
- ethics and professionalism
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 2 Finished
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Onderzoek sociale inclusie personen met een beperking in een beschutte woonomgeving
van der Weele, S. (Researcher), Bredewold, F. H. (Principal Investigator), Tonkens, E. H. (Researcher) & Trappenburg, M. J. (Researcher)
ZonMW - Ethiek en gezondheid 3
1/11/19 → 30/06/23
Project: Research
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Participative or dignified citizenship? An empirical ethical study of social inclusion for people with profound and multiple disabilities living in sheltered living institutions.
Bredewold, F. H. (Researcher), Tonkens, E. H. (Researcher), van der Weele, S. (Principal Investigator) & Vosman, F. J. H. (Researcher)
1/11/19 → 30/06/23
Project: Research
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Dependency as a core concept for care ethics: a chronology (and a plea)
van der Weele, S., 21 Aug 2025, The Bloomsbury Handbook of Care Ethics. Carter, M. (ed.). BloomsburyResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic
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Inherent versus contingent vulnerabilities in the care for people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities
Vehmas, S., Bredewold, F. H., Mietola, R. & van der Weele, S., Nov 2025, Clashing vulnerabilities, disability and conflict. Kulick, D. & Vehmas, S. (eds.). Routledge, (Interdisciplinary Disability Studies).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic
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The Bloomsbury Handbook of Care Ethics
van der Weele, S., Leget, C., Niemeijer, A. R., Bos, G. F., Visse, M. A., van Nistelrooij, I. & van der Waal, R. A. B., 21 Aug 2025, Bloomsbury. 448 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book editing › Academic
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'Why bother?' Skeptical doubt and moral imagination in care for people with profound intellectual disabilities
van der Weele, S., 9 May 2025, In: Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry. 49, 3, p. 873-891 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open Access -
Een Wereld van Verschil: Instellingsterreinen en het Goede Leven voor Mensen met een Verstandelijke Beperking
Bredewold, F. H. & van der Weele, S., 2024, SWP.Research output: Book/Report › Book › Academic
Datasets
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Participative or Dignified Citizenship
Bredewold, F. (Creator) & van der Weele, S. (Contributor), DANS Data Station Social Sciences and Humanities, 3 Jul 2024
DOI: 10.17026/ss/sdbeki, https://ssh.datastations.nl/citation?persistentId=doi:10.17026/SS/SDBEKI
Dataset
Prizes
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2021 JIDD International Award Winner
van der Weele, S. (Recipient) & Bredewold, F. H. (Recipient), 9 Nov 2022
Prize
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Activities
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Autonomie doe je niet alleen. Waarom afhankelijkheid geen probleem is, maar een kans
van der Weele, S. (Speaker)
8 Oct 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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Het instellingsterrein van morgen
van der Weele, S. (Organiser) & Bredewold, F. H. (Participant)
10 Sept 2025Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Organising a conference, workshop, ...
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Samenleven in verschil - de weg naar het goede leven
van der Weele, S. (Speaker) & Bredewold, F. H. (Speaker)
10 Jun 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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Beyond the institution/ community binary? Experiments with social inclusion at contemporary institutional facilities in the Netherlands
van der Weele, S. (Speaker)
7 May 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation
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Het instellingsterrein van morgen
Bredewold, F. H. (Organiser) & van der Weele, S. (Organiser)
9 Apr 2025Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Organising a conference, workshop, ...
Press/Media
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'Afhankelijker worden van anderen, hoe ga je daarmee om?'
3/02/26
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Interview or expert commentary
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“Als tandarts moet je verantwoordelijk omspringen met de macht die je hebt”
28/10/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Interview or expert commentary
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Goed leven kan ook op een instellingsterrein
van der Weele, S. & Bredewold, F. H.
19/10/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Interview or expert commentary
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Een goed leven voor mensen met een ernstige meervoudige beperking
van der Weele, S. & Bredewold, F. H.
9/10/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Interview or expert commentary
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Begeleiders zijn slimme, creatieve mensen
8/05/23
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Interview or expert commentary