2011 Uehiro Lectures (continued)
Lecture 2. Robust demands and the need for law
Abstract: The common subjection to law means in any community that we give each other certain legal rights robustly, not just actually or probably. The freedom, respect and dignity that you thereby enjoy come about as a result of how we others are legally constrained; they do not materialize just as a result of what we do, or even, unlike virtue-based goods, as a result of what we are disposed to do. And so law is a distinct way of making good, not just an aid or prompt to doing good; it too creates value in its own right.
Please note, to enable anyone also wanting to attend the lecture by Professor Amartya Sen (Wolfson College, shortly after 6 pm.), Professor Pettit’s presentation will conclude at 5.45 pm., but will be followed by Q&A for people wishing to stay.
Resources: Listen to Lecture 2 (MP3) | Lecture 2 handout (PDF)
Lecture 3. Virtues, laws and consequentialism
Abstract: The debate between consequentialism and opposing doctrines turns on whether doing right always means doing good: that is, promoting expected value. How is that debate going to develop once we see that we are required to be virtuous, not just to act virtuously; and to be legally constrained, not just to act legally? Which side in the debate is going to be better able to accommodate the robust demands of virtue-based and law-based values?
Resources: Listen to Lecture 3 (MP3) | Lecture 3 handout (PDF)
OUP Book Series
The Uehiro Lectures are published as a book series by Oxford University Press, the most recent publication being the recent release of Allen Buchanan’s ‘Beyond Humanity?: The Ethics of Biomedical Enhancement‘ (2009 Uehiro Lecture Series), which explores critical ethical issues concerning human enhancement and raises urgent questions about what sort of society we should strive to have.
A paperback version of Professor Jeff McMahan‘s ‘Killing in War‘ (2006 Uehiro Lecture Series) was released earlier this year and Professor Tony Coady‘s book ‘Messy Morality: The Challenge of Politics‘ (2005 Uehiro Lecture Series) is also now available in paperback.
A new book in the series is about to be published, Professor Frances Kamm‘s ‘Terror, Torture and War’ (2008 Uehiro Lecture Series)
OUP link: http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/category/academic/series/philosophy/uspe.do