August 27, 2010

CFP: Morality and the Cognitive Sciences
By S. Matthew Liao

7th International Symposium of Cognition, Logic and Communication
6-8 May 2011, Riga, Latvia

INVITED ORGANIZERS: Michael Bishop (Florida State University), Stephen Stich (Rutgers University)

INVITED SPEAKERS include:
Michael Bishop (Florida State University)
Luc Faucher (Université du Québec a Montréal)
Joshua Knobe (Yale University)
Edouard Machery (University of Pittsburgh)
Dominic Murphy (University of Sydney)
Shaun Nichols (University of Arizona)
Jesse Prinz (City University of New York)
Adina Roskies (Dartmouth College)
Don Ross (University of Cape Town)
Stephen Stich (Rutgers University)
Valerie Tiberius (University of Minnesota)

Read the full post here

Posted on August 27, 2010 at 4:44 am in Conference Announcement, Experimental Ethics, Experimental Philosophy, S. Matthew Liao's Posts | Leave a Comment

Conference on Cora Diamond’s Work
By S. Matthew Liao

From Professor Sandra Laugier (Sorbonne):

This conference is meant as an homage to Cora Diamond’s work in ethics, and focuses on its European reception. Her work has been translated in French and Italian in the recent years.

“Ethics, Imagination, and Forms of Life”
13-15 September 2010, Amiens, France
Pôle cathédrale, Placette Lafleur
Amphithéâtre Carré de Malberg
Admission free – open to graduate students and researchers
Contact : sandra.laugier (at) noos.fr

Monday, September 13th
Amphithéâtre Carré de Malberg

Opening
Sandra Laugier, Emmanuel Halais (UPJV, CURAPP)

1. ETHICS AND OBJECTIVITY
Chair : Vincent Descombes (EHESS)

Read the full post here

Posted on August 27, 2010 at 4:38 am in Conference Announcement, Normative Ethics, S. Matthew Liao's Posts | Leave a Comment

CFP: Criminalization Conference
By S. Matthew Liao

University of Stirling
7-9 September 2011

It is often said that contemporary liberal democracies such as Britain and the USA face a crisis of over-criminalization: too much conduct is criminalized, too hastily, without adequate thought about the aims it should serve. The result is a disorganized, unprincipled criminal law, which subjects too many people to the threat of arrest and punishment. But normative theorists of criminal law, who have made major advances in systematic work on such issues as punishment and criminal responsibility, have made comparatively little systematic progress on this problem. The Criminalization Project, an AHRC-funded project involving researchers from the Universities of Stirling, Glasgow, Warwick and York aims to remedy this lack, by bringing together philosophers, lawyers and political scientists to discuss the various dimensions of the problem of criminalization.

Read the full post here

Posted on August 27, 2010 at 4:18 am in Applied Ethics, Conference Announcement, Political Philosophy, S. Matthew Liao's Posts | Leave a Comment

August 14, 2010

CFP: Reasons of Love
By S. Matthew Liao

International Conference, Institute of Philosophy,
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium),
30 May-1 June 2011

This conference’s title is ambiguous on purpose. The relationship between love and reasons for action is highly interesting and complicated. It is not clear how love is related to reasons. Love might be a response to certain normative reasons, since it seems fitting to love certain objects. However, love also seems to create reasons and not to be a response to certain appropriate reasons. Love’s relationship to morality is also complex. It is not clear how the normative reasons for acting morally are related to the reasons of love. It is sometimes argued that love is not a virtue because the reasons for acting morally are not the same as the reasons for acting lovingly. But the notion of ‘unprincipled virtue’ seems to make room for love as a motive of morally praiseworthy actions.

Read the full post here

Posted on August 14, 2010 at 3:26 am in Conference Announcement, Moral Psychology, S. Matthew Liao's Posts, Value Theory | Leave a Comment

August 7, 2010

Eternal Sunshine and other Dangerous Ideas on Big Think
By S. Matthew Liao

I recently gave an interview for Big Think on erasing memories Eternal Sunshine-style for their series on “Dangerous Ideas.” They are running this series throughout the month of August, and other people in the series include Stephen Hawking, Noam Chomsky, Richard Posner, and Gary Becker.

The entire series, which is still ongoing, can be found here, and my portion on erasing memories can be found here. Below is a video of the interview.

Posted on August 7, 2010 at 4:40 am in Applied Ethics, Practical Ethics, S. Matthew Liao's Posts | 3 Comments

CONF: Problem with Priority?
By S. Matthew Liao

Sometime ago, Mike Otsuka (UCL) mentioned here that Derek Parfit will be responding to an article by him and Alex Voorhoeve entitled ‘Why It Matters That Some Are Worse Off Than Others: An Argument against the Priority View’ here on Ethics Etc, with further responses from Mike and Alex, once Derek’s book, On What Matters, is published. In the meantime, the Manchester Centre for Political Theory (MANCEPT) has put together a really nice one day conference to discuss Mike’s and Alex’s paper.

Date: 19th November 2010
Time: 10.30am – 5.30pm
Location: University of Manchester, UK

Read the full post here

Posted on August 7, 2010 at 12:01 am in Conference Announcement, Normative Ethics, Political Philosophy, S. Matthew Liao's Posts | Leave a Comment

July 29, 2010

CFP: North Carolina Philosophical Society
By S. Matthew Liao

The North Carolina Philosophical Society announces its call for papers for its upcoming meeting on February 25 & 26, 2011 at Appalachian State University.

The keynote speaker will be Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Chauncey Stillman Professor in Practical Ethics at Duke University.

Papers in any area of philosophy designed for a presentation time of about 20-30 minutes are welcome. Further details including submission instructions can be found at the NCPS website at: http://www.northcarolinaphilosophicalsociety.org/

Undergraduate submissions are strongly encouraged, and there will be a $175 prize for the best paper submitted by an untenured faculty member, a $125 prize for the best graduate student paper, and a $100 prize for the best undergraduate paper.

Posted on July 29, 2010 at 9:29 pm in Conference Announcement, S. Matthew Liao's Posts | Leave a Comment

July 19, 2010

Grant Opportunities at the Character Project
By S. Matthew Liao

Professor Christian Miller (Wake Forest) and his colleagues have recently been awarded a $3.67 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation for The Character Project, an exploration of the nature of character.

Christian asked me to let you know that $2 million will soon be devoted to three separate funding competitions, one of which will be for philosophers working on topics related to character broadly conceived, including but not limited to the recent work on the empirical adequacy of character traits.

You can learn more about the project here and the funding competitions here. Do feel free to contact Christian at character (at) wfu.edu for more information.

Read the full post here

Posted on July 19, 2010 at 8:50 pm in Experimental Ethics, General Announcement, S. Matthew Liao's Posts | Leave a Comment

July 15, 2010

2nd Annual Dutch Conference on Practical Philosophy
By S. Matthew Liao

The Annual Dutch Conference on Practical Philosophy brings together ethicists and political philosophers as well as philosophers and researchers working in related fields to present and discuss work in practical philosophy. A central meeting place for members and Ph.D. students of the Netherlands School for Research in Practical Philosophy (Onderzoekschool Ethiek), it warmly welcomes non-members and researchers in practical philosophy from outside The Netherlands.

Conference dates: 8 and 9 October, 2010
Venue: Het Kasteel, Groningen, The Netherlands
Keynote speakers: Onora O’Neill (Cambridge), Michael Smith (Princeton)

Registration: EUR 275 (members), EUR 350 (non-members), EUR 200 (Ph.D. students)

Read the full post here

Posted on July 15, 2010 at 9:37 pm in Applied Ethics, Conference Announcement, Practical Ethics, S. Matthew Liao's Posts | Leave a Comment

July 7, 2010

JAP Prize
By S. Matthew Liao

The Journal of Applied Philosophy will henceforward award an annual prize of £1,000 to the best article published in the year’s Volume. The first award will be made in respect of Volume 28 (2011). The judgment as to the best article will be made by the editors of the Journal.

The Journal of Applied Philosophy provides a unique forum for philosophical research which seeks to make a constructive contribution to problems of practical concern. Open to the expression of diverse viewpoints, the journal brings critical analysis to these areas and to the identification, justification and discussion of values of universal appeal. The Journal of Applied Philosophy covers a broad spectrum of issues in environment, medicine, science, policy, law, politics, economics and education.

Read the full post here

Posted on July 7, 2010 at 7:29 pm in Applied Ethics, General Announcement, Practical Ethics, S. Matthew Liao's Posts | Leave a Comment

June 19, 2010

7th Annual Metaethics Workshop in Wisconsin
By S. Matthew Liao

The program for the 7th Annual Metaethics Workshop has been finalized and can be found here. It looks fantastic! The workshop will be held on Sept 24-26, 2010 in Madison, WI. Registration is free and all are welcome. If you would like to attend, please email Professor Russ Shafer-Landau (shaferlandau -at- wisc.edu).

Posted on June 19, 2010 at 5:19 am in Conference Announcement, Metaethics, S. Matthew Liao's Posts | Leave a Comment

June 18, 2010

Shah on Mental Agency and Metaethics
By S. Matthew Liao

Professor Nishi Shah (Amherst) recent gave a paper, which he co-wrote with Matt Evans (NYU), at the Oxford Moral Philosophy Seminar entitled “Mental Agency and Metaethics.” A copy of Nishi’s talk can be found here. Professor Shah would welcome any comments/suggestions. Here’s an abstract of his talk:

Read the full post here

Posted on June 18, 2010 at 5:21 am in Metaethics, Oxford Moral Philosophy Seminar, S. Matthew Liao's Posts | Leave a Comment

June 7, 2010

Thomas on Practical Reasoning, the First Person, and Impartialism about Reasons
By S. Matthew Liao

Professor Alan Thomas (Tilburg University) will be giving a talk on Monday, June 7, at the Oxford Moral Philosophy Seminar entitled “Practical Reasoning, the First Person and Impartialism about Reasons.” A copy of Professor Thomas’s talk can be found here. Professor Thomas would welcome any comments/suggestions. Here’s an abstract of his talk:

Read the full post here

Posted on June 7, 2010 at 4:40 am in Metaethics, Oxford Moral Philosophy Seminar, S. Matthew Liao's Posts | Leave a Comment

NYU Conference on Valuing Lives
By S. Matthew Liao

The NYU Center for Bioethics, in conjunction with the NYU Environmental Studies Program, will be hosting ‘Valuing Lives: A Conference on Ethics in Health and the Environment’ on Saturday, March 5, 2011.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Various policy issues in environmental and health-related matters force policymakers to trade human lives against other values. Original, unpublished papers from philosophers, economists and legal scholars that address whether and how this can be done in a morally acceptable manner are welcomed. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: commensurability of human life and environmental values; compensation for harms to health; polling, public deliberation, and the appeal to expertise in evaluative matters; prioritizing the life and health of the young and the poorly-off; discounting future lives; saving identifiable lives vs. saving statistical lives; the precautionary principle; the human dignity objection to measuring the value of human life.

Read the full post here

Posted on June 7, 2010 at 4:26 am in Applied Ethics, Bioethics, Conference Announcement, Practical Ethics, S. Matthew Liao's Posts | Leave a Comment

Experiment Month
By S. Matthew Liao

The Experiment Month initiative is a program designed to help philosophers conduct experimental studies. If you are interested in running a study, you can send your study proposal to the Experiment Month staff. Then, if your proposal is selected for inclusion, they will conduct the study online, send you the results and help out with any statistical analysis you may need. All proposals are due Sept. 1.

For further information, see the Experiment Month website: http://www.yale.edu/cogsci/XM/

Posted on June 7, 2010 at 4:14 am in Experimental Philosophy, General Announcement, S. Matthew Liao's Posts | Leave a Comment

May 27, 2010

Workshop on the Ethics of Self-Defence at Oxford
By S. Matthew Liao

The Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict (ELAC) is holding a workshop entitled “Eliminative and Manipulative Agency in the Ethics of Self-Defence.”
Date: June 15, 2010
Location: Old Indian Institute, James Martin 21st Century School, Oxford
Time: 0900-1800

SPEAKERS
Dr. Helen Frowe (Sheffield): ‘Threats And Bystanders’
Dr. Gerald Lang (Leeds): ‘Self-Defence And Agency’
Dr. Seth Lazar (Oxford): ‘Scepticism About The Eliminative/Manipulative Agency Distinction’
Professor Victor Tadros (Warwick): ‘Duty And Liability’

RESPONDENTS
Jo Firth (Oxford)
Dr. Jon Quong (Manchester)
Dr. David Rodin (Oxford)
Guy Sela (Oxford)

Read the full post here

Posted on May 27, 2010 at 11:00 pm in Applied Ethics, Conference Announcement, Political Philosophy, Practical Ethics, S. Matthew Liao's Posts | Leave a Comment

May 25, 2010

Call for Abstracts: The Bowling Green Workshop in Applied Ethics and Public Policy
By David Enoch

The Bowling Green Workshop in Applied Ethics and Public Policy

Call for Abstracts
“Freedom, Paternalism and Morality”
April 1-2, 2011
The Bowling Green Workshop in Applied Ethics and Public Policy will take place in Bowling Green, Ohio on April 1-2, 2011. Keynote speakers will be Gerald Dworkin (University of California at Davis) and Douglas Husak (Rutgers University)
Those interested in presenting a paper are invited to submit a 2-3 page abstract (double-spaced) by September 1, 2010. We welcome submissions in all areas in applied ethics and philosophical issues relevant to public policy. Special consideration will be given to papers relevant to this year’s conference theme: Freedom, Paternalism, and Morality.
Only one submission per person is permitted. Abstracts will be evaluated by a program committee and decisions made in early October 2010. Please direct all abstracts and queries to: pibarra@bgsu.edu

Read the full post here

Posted on May 25, 2010 at 1:05 am in Applied Ethics, Conference Announcement, David Enoch's Posts, Practical Ethics | 1 Comment

May 20, 2010

CONF: Judy Thomson’s Normativity at MIT
By S. Matthew Liao

The Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at MIT will host a one day conference on Judy Thomson‘s recent book Normativity. All are welcome.

Date: Friday 11 June 2010
Location: Stata Center (map), MIT. Room 32-d461 (take the elevator in the Dreyfoos Tower to the Fourth Floor; map)

Schedule:
10.30 – 12.00
Peter Railton (Michigan)
1.00 – 2.30
Gideon Rosen (Princeton)
3.00 – 4.30
Michael Smith (Princeton)
4.45 – 5.45
Round-table discussion with the speakers and Judy Thomson

http://web.mit.edu/holton/www/confs/Judyconf/judyconf.html

Organizer: Richard Holton – holton (at) mit.edu

Posted on May 20, 2010 at 11:04 pm in Conference Announcement, Metaethics, S. Matthew Liao's Posts | Leave a Comment

May 19, 2010

Memorials for Jerry Cohen in June
By Mike Otsuka

Myles Burnyeat, John Roemer, T. M. Scanlon, and Philippe Van Parijs will be speaking at a memorial for Jerry Cohen on Saturday, June 19, at 2.15 pm, in the Codrington Library of All Souls College, Oxford. There will also be a reception in Jerry’s memory at the UCL Philosophy Department on Thursday, June 17, at 5 pm.

Posted on May 19, 2010 at 10:51 am in General Announcement, Mike Otsuka's Posts | Leave a Comment

May 11, 2010

2010 BSET Registration Open
By S. Matthew Liao

Registration is now open for the 2010 conference of the British Society for Ethical Theory, to be held at the University of Nottingham, 7th-9th July. (This is the period directly before the 2010 Joint Session.)

Details of the programme and registration forms are available here:

http://www.bset.org.uk/nextconference.html

Keynote speakers:
Jamie Dreier (Brown)
Tim Mulgan (St. Andrews)

Submitted Papers:
“Value Incomparability and Indeterminacy” – Cristian Constantinescu (Cambridge)

“A New Theory of Well-Being” – Jennifer Hawkins (Duke)

“Sentimentalism and Deontological Intuitions” – Antti Kauppinen (Amsterdam/Trinity College Dublin)

“Faith in Humanity” – Ryan Preston-Roedder (Chapel Hill)

Read the full post here

Posted on May 11, 2010 at 9:14 pm in Conference Announcement, Metaethics, Normative Ethics, S. Matthew Liao's Posts | 2 Comments