Dear All, The Centre for the History of Philosophy (CHOP) at the University of Notre Dame Australia warmly invites you to our next Research Seminar.
SPEAKER: Associate Professor Melissa Merritt (UNSW) TITLE: ‘Kant and Group Agency’ (abstract below) DATE: Thursday 22 May 2025 TIME: 1:00 pm-2:30 pm (Sydney time) IN-PERSON LOCATION: Moorgate Room The University of Notre Dame (Sydney) 10 Grafton St, Chippendale, NSW ONLINE: https://notredame-au.zoom.us/j/86234975315<https://notredame-au.zoom.us/j/86234975315> Passcode: 180505 Registration is not required. ABSTRACT: Kant’s interpreters often assume that his conception of freedom rules out collective responsibility for human badness. Yet in Part 3 of the 1793 Religion within the Bounds of Reason Alone, he claims that human beings “mutually corrupt each other’s moral disposition and make one another evil” (6:94.5-6). On the going assumption, this corrupting act would be something that individuals do to individuals; however, Kant takes it to be something “we” do together, as some kind of group agent. He also supposes that our common corruption is to be overcome through the establishment of the “ethical commonwealth”, which he deems a “duty of its own kind” because it does not hold of individuals to other individuals but of the species to itself, ostensibly acting as a group agent (6:97.17-19). While many commentators acknowledge that Kant calls for a social solution to a social problem, almost no serious attention has been directed to his appeal to group agency and responsibility in this context. This chapter puts contemporary work on group agency — namely, that of Margaret Gilbert, Stephanie Collins, and Thomas Crowther — into dialogue with Kant to advance our understanding of a curious and drastically understudied aspect of his later ethical thought. Dr Catherine Wesselinoff | Lecturer School of Philosophy and Theology The University of Notre Dame Australia. Recent Publications: "Apophatic Beauty in the Hippias Major and the Symposium", The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 82, Issue 1, 2024, pp 36-44 The Revival of Beauty: Aesthetics, Experience, and Philosophy, Routledge, 2023 "Is Jealousy Justifiable?" The European Journal of Philosophy, vol. 31, no. 3, 2023, pp 703-10. Disclaimer The information contained in this communication from the sender is confidential. It is intended solely for use by the recipient and others authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking action in relation of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. This email has been scanned for viruses and malware, and may have been automatically archived by Mimecast Ltd, an innovator in Software as a Service (SaaS) for business. Providing a safer and more useful place for your human generated data. Specializing in; Security, archiving and compliance. To find out more visit the Mimecast website.
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