The Institute for Ethics & Society at The University of Notre Dame Australia is pleased to host a talk from Professor Antti Kauppinen (University of Helsinki) on Thursday 26 February, 3:30pm-5:00pm (Sydney time).
The talk will be held in person on UNDA’s Sydney campus, but remote participation is also available. All welcome. Title: Sources of Epistemic Normativity Abstract: Why should we comply with epistemic norms? Many argue it is because doing so promotes or realises some kind of value, either epistemic or non-epistemic. I argue no answer of this type can be successful, for reasons that trace back to post-Medieval discussion about natural law. No value, no matter how great, will by itself ground an obligation to comply with a norm. To show that there are genuine epistemic norms requires showing that we are accountable to someone for failing to comply. This paper proposes a kind of transcendental argument, building on work from Stephen Darwall (2006), to the effect that we are ultimately accountable to ourselves and each other, which grounds the authoritativeness of epistemic norms. In person participation: Moorgate Room, 10 Grafton St, Chippendale, The University of Notre Dame Australia Online participation: please email Tim Smartt ([email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>) for Microsoft Teams link. The seminar is the first in the 2026 Notre Dame Ethics + Epistemology Talks — a planned series of talks exploring the connections between ethics and epistemology. Inquiries: Tim Smartt ([email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>) Dr Tim Smartt Senior Research Fellow Institute for Ethics & Society University of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney 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. --------- SydPhil mailing list To unsubscribe, change your membership options, find answers to common problems, or visit our online archives, please go to the list information page: https://mailman.sydney.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/sydphil
