Edgecliffe G03

Title: The Permissibility of Collective Defence Agreements Abstract: Collective defence agreements (CDAs), of the sort that exist between, for example, NATO members, EU members, and African Union members, are a prime example of a prominent deterrence mechanism. They promise a degree of assistance that will make it almost impossible for an adversary to win an ... Read more

Location: Edgecliffe G03 Title: The Continuum Argument Is Invalid Abstract: Derek Parfit argues by means of something he calls a ‘continuum argument’ that a particular appealing premise in population axiology implies a conclusion that he and many others consider repugnant. He treats this as a paradox, and takes up the challenge of resolving it. He looks ... Read more

Title: Debating proportionality at the edge of sentience Abstract: Can octopuses feel pain and pleasure? What about crabs, shrimps, insects or spiders? How do we tell whether a person unresponsive after severe brain injury might be suffering? When does a fetus in the womb start to have conscious experiences? Could there even be rudimentary feelings ... Read more

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