Degrees

Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Ph.D., Yale University; B.A., Wesleyan University

Short Bio

Dr. Hoffman earned her Ph.D. in Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; her dissertation is entitled "Antidepressants, Bioenhancements, and the Ethics of Self-Respect." Before coming to MIT, Dr. Hoffman completed two postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard University: one in the History of Science (exploring the role of neuroscientific findings in popular self-help literature), and the other in the Mind/Brain/Behavior Initiative (investigating the placebo effect from an interdisciplinary angle). Before that, she completed a separate Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Yale University, where her dissertation focused on G Protein regulation (and the basic biology underlying antidepressant mechanisms).

Dr. Hoffman's interests span a broad range of topics in the philosophy of psychiatry, psychiatric ethics, the philosophy of neuroscience, and feminist theory. Her current research explores the ethical dimensions of the relationships we have with ourselves, and the implications these have for our use of neurotechnologies like antidepressants and other psychopharmaceuticals. She is also interested in the implications of neuroscientific research for feminism and moral philosophy.