Centre for Ethics, Philosophy and Public Affairs
This week the Moral Philosophy Reading Group will be discussing Kai Spiekermann's paper 'Irreversible Loss'. Abstract: This chapter offers three reasons for trying to avoid some irreversible losses. First, there is a prudential reason for avoiding irreversible loss in order to keep options open in the future in the face of uncertainty. Second, humans have ... Read more
This week we will meet to discuss Koshka Duff's article 'Just Police Violence: Liberal ideology and the critique of violence from Walter Benjamin to Black Lives Matter', available here. Location: Edgecliffe G03
Sophie Grace Chappell will present her new book Trans Figured: On Being a Transgender Person in a Cisgender World - followed by bubbles to celebrate!
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
This week we will meet to discuss Joel Joseph's work-in-progress paper 'The Problem of Secondary Permissibility' (email [email protected] for a copy of the paper) Location: Edgecliffe G03 and Teams Contact: [email protected]
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
An in-person symposium in St. Andrews on themes from the recently-published, Contractarianism, Role Obligations, and Political Morality, by Ben Sachs. Location: Edgecliffe, G03 Schedule (all times PM) 1:30-1:55: Ben Sachs-Cobbe, Philosophy, University of St. Andrews, "Welcome and Summary" (Chs. 1-3) 1:55-2:35: Michael Moore, Law, University of Illinois, “Finding the Purposes of Staplers and States” (Ch. ... Read more
