Yingshihan Zhu is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Northeastern Illinois University, having earned her PhD and a graduate certificate in Interactive Technology and Pedagogy from the CUNY Graduate Center in 2026. She works at the intersection of social/political philosophy, feminist philosophy, ethics, and applied ethics (including bioethics, tech ethics, and AI ethics).

What are you working on right now?

I am pursuing two interrelated research programs at the intersection of ethics, feminist philosophy, and social/political philosophy. The first develops new frameworks for understanding complacency, responsibility, resistance, and the epistemology of what I call “privileged oppressed agents”—individuals who are privileged and oppressed simultaneously in different aspects of their identities. The second examines how power dynamics shape bioethics, as well as tech and AI ethics. I focus primarily on nonideal autonomy theory in relation to health technologies and AI, as well as on the ethics of young adult caregiving. I also have research interests in the philosophy of race and immigration justice, particularly in how attending to immigration status might complicate our analyses of racial hierarchy.

What topic do you think is under-explored in philosophy?

I think the work of He Yin Zhen, an early twentieth-century radical Chinese anarcha-feminist political philosopher, remains deeply underexplored. I wrote an APA blog post about her work two years ago. Her ideas have long informed my own research, and I hope to write several scholarly articles about her in the future.

Name a trait, skill, or characteristic that you have that others may not know about.

I can recite Pi to 100 decimal places, and back in middle school, I had a pretty solid three-point shot. 

What is your favorite holiday and why?

Lunar New Year is definitely my favorite holiday. Before I turned eighteen, I would return to my hometown every year to celebrate it, and my family still observes many local customs and traditions. I am also a foodie, and Lunar New Year is usually a time for one feast after another. My birthday, according to the lunar calendar, falls on the second day of the Lunar New Year. On the morning of my birthday, my grandmother would always make me longevity noodles with two eggs. Sadly, I have not had the chance to celebrate Lunar New Year with my family in my hometown since I moved abroad, but I hope I will be able to do so again soon.

What would your childhood self say if someone told you that you would grow up to be a philosopher? 

My childhood self would probably be surprised at first, but she might also think that it made sense. As a first-gen, I had no idea what philosophy was before college, so I never would have imagined pursuing it professionally. I entered college hoping to become an investigative journalist, but I became hooked on the philosophy courses I took as part of my major requirements. I came to philosophy through journalism because I thought philosophy could help us think more deeply about how to make the world a better place. There may also have been an early hint. When I was in sixth grade, a teacher asked my classmates and me what we wanted to be when we grew up. Most of my classmates said they wanted to become mathematicians or scientists, but I said that I wanted to be a happy person. 

What are your goals and aspirations outside work?

I want to use philosophy as a tool to make people’s lives better. In 2021, I co-founded a cancer support platform to help patients and their families navigate medical and ethical challenges. It now supports more than 50,000 members. That experience has been an unexpected gift. It continually reminds me of the practical significance of philosophy and of what is at stake beyond the scholarly work I produce.

What’s your poison? (Favorite drink.)

My friends joke that I’m a bit of a weirdo when it comes to drinks because I don’t drink alcohol or coffee. But I’m always up for a matcha latte (even better with boba and no sugar)!

 

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