About the topic
Moral philosophy before the mid-Twentieth Century developed under the implicit assumption that outcomes could be treated as determinate. Risks and probabilities, when mentioned, were treated as a side issue. By contrast, our current understanding of agency and causation is probabilistic and foregrounds issues of uncertainty. In addition, there is significant attention to the disruption surrounding fast-paced societal and technological change. Moral philosophy, epistemology, and applied ethics have adapted to this understanding, but the philosophical issues are far from settled. This is an exciting area of philosophical and interdisciplinary research.
This course starts with some basic distinctions and key concepts within the philosophy of risk. It then considers the questions ethical risk acceptability, risk-impositions, and normative uncertainties. We include several specific domains where the concept of risk is important, such as the ethics of technology, bioethics, and environmental ethics. Which exact topics we cover depends on what guest lectures participate. The course also contains a professional development component about writing and publishing.
Aim / objective
After taking the seminar, students will be familiar with the most important concepts, distinctions, and normative principles in the philosophical literature on risk, as well as their application in some of the key sub-domains of risk research. For example, students will be familiar with different definitions of risk and uncertainty, the precautionary principle, and how ethical theories can be adapted or expanded to deal with risk and uncertainty. They will be able to formulate good objections and replies to major philosophical viewpoints about risk.
Program
The seminar will take place over the course of one week, with morning and afternoon sessions devoted to different aspects of the topic. There will be presentations by the course coordinators and a number of guest lecturers. There will also be student presentations, discussions of all the topics covered, and joint analysis of the course literature. Students are expected to spend time reading the assigned articles before the seminar begins.
Lecturers
Philip Nickel (TU Eindhoven), Kritika Maheshwari (TU Delft), and others.
Credit points
Study load is the equivalent of 5 ECTS.
Required preparations
Participants are expected to read all the assigned literature, do assignments, and actively participate in discussions, and write a paper at the end of the course. A presentation is recommended but not mandatory.
Costs
The course is free for:
- PhD students who are a member of the 4TU.Ethics Graduate School;
- PhD students who are a member of the OZSW;
- Research Master students who are a member of the OZSW.
- Research master students of the PSTS master of the Univesity of Twente
Other participants pay a tuition fee of 300 euro for the course. Participants from abroad are welcome but are responsible for arranging their travel and accommodation themselves.
Registration/application form
Please register for the course via this link.
The registration deadline is 18 October 2024.
If registration has been closed because the maximum amount of participants or the deadline has been reached, you can submit your name to the waiting list by sending an email to secretariaat@ozsw.nl. Please also indicate whether you are a ReMa student or PhD candidate and whether you are a member of the OZSW or not.
Cancellation and registration policy
https://www.ozsw.nl/policies-and-guidelines/
More information
For information about the content of the course, please contact Philip J. Nickel at p.j.nickel@tue.nl. Or check the OZSW website.