Location: Edgecliffe G03 Title: Proleptic Praise Abstract: What is praise? I argue that we can make progress by examining what praise does. Functionalist views of praise are emerging, but I here argue that by foregrounding cases in which expressions of praise are rejected by their direct target, we see that praise has a wider, and ... Read more
Description: This group reads and discusses an article per week, chosen by a different member each time. Day/time: Wednesdays 1pm-2pm. Location: Edgecliffe G03 and Teams. Organizer: Theron Pummer (tgp4).
Location: Teams (online only) Title: The Philosophy of Effective Altruism Abstract: What are the strengths and weaknesses of Effective Altruism as both a moral philosophy and practical guide to action? Is it best thought of as an optimizing approach? How important is existential risk, especially relative to maximizing economic growth? How does the new form of ... Read more
Location: Edgecliffe G03 Title: 'Should political discrimination be unlawful?'
Location: Teams (online only) Title: Kant the Racist? Abstract: This paper examines Kant’s thoughts on race considering his analysis of teleology. It explains how Kant analysed the development of human races in connection to his account of the development of "germs" and "dispositions" in the human species. It further explains how that theory changed with ... Read more
Location: Edgecliffe G03 Title: Karl Marx and the Actualization of Philosophy Abstract: Marx’s Eleventh Thesis on Feuerbach famously states that ‘The philosophers have thus far merely interpreted the world; the point is to change it.’ In this talk, I begin to clear away some obstacles that stand in the way of an appreciation of the ... Read more
Location: Edgecliffe G03 Title: “On Seeking Objective Grounds for Moral Evaluation” Abstract: The paper argues that to do justice to questions of objectivity that arise within and about moral discourse, we must take into account that this discourse is embedded within a somewhat conventionally regimented practice that comprises attempts to guide attitude and action by ... Read more
Location: Teams (online only) Title: Disharmony as a Political Vice Abstract: In this presentation, I examine two important concepts, those of harmony and disharmony by drawing on some thoughts including in three areas of African philosophical ideas and understanding. While I take harmony as virtuous or at least valuable or desirable, I take disharmony as ... Read more
Location: Teams (online only) Title: Epistemic Dynamics Abstract: Epistemic agents are finite and fallible. Our range is limited and some of what we accept is, no doubt, flawed. To achieve our epistemic and practical objectives, we devise methods and practices that foster correction, refinement, and expansion of our current epistemic commitments. Traditional epistemology maintains that epistemic ... Read more
Location: Edgecliffe G03 Title: "The Mind that Matters: Degrees of Sentience and Moral Status". Abstract: It is often argued that the capacity for conscious experience is necessary for a creature to morally matter for its own sake and thus have moral status. Entities that lack the capacity for consciousness, such as chairs, philosophical zombies, or anencephalic infants, ... Read more