Naomi Zack

• 1. From New York To Oregon

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  Naomi Zack received her bachelor's degree from New York University in 1966. She attended that institution on a New York State Regents Scholarship. Her academic journey continued to Columbia University where she completed her doctorate in philosophy in 1970. Sidney Morgenbesser supervised her dissertation on the epistemology of C. I. Lewis. This early training laid the groundwork for decades of philosophical inquiry into race and identity. Her career path took her through several universities including Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She served as an adjunct assistant professor there during the 1990, 91 school year. The University of Albany appointed her as an assistant professor of philosophy in 1998. She also joined the Department of Women's Studies at that same university in 1993. A promotion to associate professor followed in 1998 before she became a full professor for the 2000, 1 school year. In 2001 she accepted a position as Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oregon. By 2019 she had joined the philosophy faculty of Lehman College within the City University of New York system.

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• 2. The Social Construction Of Race

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  Zack published Race and Mixed Race in 1993 to explore how society constructs racial categories. Her work examines mixed-race identity as a complex social phenomenon rather than a biological fact. She argues that race functions as a social construct with real-world consequences for individuals. Thinking About Race appeared in 1998 and expanded on these themes for broader audiences. The book Philosophy of Science and Race from 2002 investigates how scientific methods have historically shaped racial theories. Zack challenges the notion that race is a fixed category by showing its fluid nature across different historical periods. Her approach treats race as something created through human interaction and institutional power structures. This perspective allows her to analyze how racial identities shift over time while maintaining their impact on daily life. The text American Mixed Race: Constructing Microdiversity edited by Zack in 1995 further develops these ideas about diversity within racial groups. These works collectively establish a framework for understanding race not as an inherent trait but as a dynamic social process.

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• 3. Disaster Ethics And Government Duty

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  Ethics for Disaster was first published in 2009 and received a second edition in 2023. In this work Zack examines the social construction of disasters themselves. She proposes a model of disaster ethics that holds governments accountable for both immediate response and long-term planning. Governments must provide the best assistance they could have potentially planned for rather than just reacting after events occur. Zack highlights how political, racial, and socio-economic factors influence which communities suffer most during crises. Her optimistic view of the social contract demands proactive government action before disasters strike. The American Tragedy of COVID-19 published in 2021 applies these principles to a global pandemic context. This book analyzes how the federal government failed its citizens during the health crisis. Zack argues that ethical obligations extend beyond emergency aid to include comprehensive preparation strategies. Her theory insists that governments bear responsibility for creating systems that protect vulnerable populations from foreseeable catastrophes.

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• 4. Police Profiling And Civil Rights

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  White Privilege and Black Rights: The Injustice of U.S. Police Racial Profiling and Homicide appeared in 2015. Zack distinguishes between two approaches to justice within this text. One method treats justice as an ideal definition while another begins with existing injustice to seek correction. She invites readers to focus on black rights instead of white privilege concepts. What is often refused or taken away from black people constitutes basic human rights violations rather than losses of privilege. Applicative Justice: A Pragmatic Empirical Approach to Racial Injustice followed in 2016 with similar themes. These works examine restorative justice frameworks as alternatives to punitive legal systems. Zack discusses civil rights issues through the lens of police homicide statistics and racial profiling practices. Her analysis connects individual cases of injustice to broader patterns of systemic discrimination. The text emphasizes that understanding racial inequality requires examining concrete instances of harm rather than abstract ideals.

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• 5. Thirteen Books And Editorial Boards

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  Zack has written thirteen books and three textbooks throughout her career. She edited or co-edited five anthologies including Women of Color and Philosophy published in 2000. Her publications span topics ranging from democracy to intersectionality theory. Democracy, A Very Short Introduction appeared in 2023 while Intersectionality: A Philosophical Framework came out in 2024. She serves on editorial boards for multiple journals such as Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy. Other boards include The Journal of Race and Policy and Ethnic Studies: an Interdisciplinary Journal of Culture, Race and Ethnicity. The Radical Philosophical Review also lists her among its editors. Her work represents a significant contribution to philosophical discourse on race and feminism. The Romanell - Phi Beta Kappa Professorship awarded to her in 2019 recognized these extensive contributions. The lectures associated with this honor were postponed until 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Zack's bibliography demonstrates both breadth and depth across numerous subfields of philosophy.

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