Ethics of Technology in Polarized Societies – On the Challenge of Pluralism - Nadia Mazouz (University of Marburg)
Seminar
Speaker: Nadia Mazouz The question of the conditions of possibility of doing TechEthics and its relation to the normative foundations of democracy is at the center of this talk. The argument starts from a description of polarized societies and shows that common morality approaches characteristic…
Vague Preferences - Simon Goldstein (Australian Catholic University)
Seminar
Speaker: Simon Goldstein Abstract: Sometimes it's vague what you prefer. How should you act when this happens? One theory says that if it's unclear what you prefer, then it's also unclear what you're permitted to do. Another theory says that if it's unclear whether you prefer A to B, then it's…
The Digital Republic - Public Lecture by Jamie Susskind
Lecture
Susskind’s latest book, The Digital Republic, tackles one of the biggest political questions of our time: how freedom and democracy can survive - and flourish - in a world transformed by digital technology. Not long ago, the tech industry was widely admired and the internet was regarded as a tonic…
Incommensurateness is Vagueness - John Broome (ANU/Oxford University)
Seminar
Speaker: John Broome Abstract: We often encounter pairs of objects where neither seems better than the other, and yet they do not seem to be equally good. I say they are ‘incommensurate’. The aim of this paper is to argue that incommensurateness is no more than the vagueness of comparative…
How Different is Supposition from Imagination? - Margot Strohminger (Australian Catholic University)
Seminar
Speaker: Margot Strohminger Abstract: Imagining something to be the case seems to be different from “merely” supposing it. For example, it looks as though there are many propositions that one can suppose but not imagine. Reflecting on intuitive contrasts between the two attitudes have led some to…
Becoming Cisgender - Louise Richardson-Self (University of Tasmania)
Seminar
On Thursday 7 April, Louise Richardson-Self will present on "Becoming Cisgender". Abstract: The metaphysics of sex and gender is of significant philosophical, social, and cultural interest at present. Terms like transgender and cisgender have come into wider circulation in the fight for gender…
An Alternative Approach to Normative Ethics - Michael Smith (Princeton University)
Seminar
On Thursday 31 March, Michael Smith will present on "An Alternative Approach to Normative Ethics". Abstract: Constitutivism, a metaethical theory, entails a normative ethical theory that is in some ways similar to and in other ways different from the theories that are currently on offer in…