The Choice Argument for Proportional Representation - Adam Lovett
Seminar
What electoral system should a democracy choose? I argue for proportional representation (PR). My main empirical premise is Duverger’s law: under PR there are more viable candidates in district-level elections than there are under single-member plurality (SMP) systems. This matters normatively…
The Privilege of Self-Control
Seminar
People living in poverty are subject to a range of stigmatising social myths linking their poverty to a blameworthy lack of individual self-control and self-management skills that is taken to justify denying them access to central elements of a good human life. Indeed, a recent survey indicated…
Rethinking Consciousness - Albert Newen
Seminar
The talk aims to address two central questions regarding consciousness - Why did phenomenal consciousness evolve, and when are we justified to attribute it to humans and nonhuman animals? Albert will start by characterising the core functional role of consciousness by outlining a two-…
Signalling, Sanctioning and Sensitising: How to Uphold Norms with Blame - Adam Piovarchy
Seminar
This paper provides a unified account of the nature of blame by taking a broader look at the connection between individual blaming reactions and the moral practices of communities. The methodological proposal is that to understand what blame is, we need to understand what it does, but to understand…
Passmore Lecture 2 - Pamela Hieronymi
Seminar
In the 2024 Passmore Lectures, " Freedom and Control", Pamela Hieronymi tackles the philosophical problem of free will, highlighting a fundamental issue about control. We often mistakenly believe that we must control our own willing in the same manner we control actions, objects, or events. This…
Passmore Lecture Series with Prof Hieronymi
Lecture
Join us for the highly anticipated Passmore Lectures from Professor Pamela Hieronymi (UCLA). Lecture 1 Abstract In "Problems in Life and a Problem in Theory," Professor Hieronymi delineates philosophical concerns about free will into two categories: "problems in life" and "a problem in…
Happy Immoralists and Satisfied Loners: A pragmatic perspective on disagreement about well-being- Valerie Tiberius
Seminar
Can a morally bad person live well? Can a person without friends achieve well-being? There is long-standing disagreement about the correct answers to these questions. Valerie offers a diagnosis of the debate between those who answer “no” (objectivists about well-being) and those who answer “…