VENUE: Caldwell Hall 105 Event Description: In contemporary political discussions, it is depressingly common to see people criticized for expressing impure beliefs. Moreover, those who sometimes defect from their tribe are criticized for failing to be firmly enough on the … Read more
Venue: Zoom Registration is required. Event Description: During the COVID-19 pandemic, false beliefs have spread that fall outside our normal understanding of misinformation. In this talk, I use network models to discuss two ways this happens. In the first, … Read more
Abstract: Liberalism is taking a beating. Many deny, evermore boldly, that freedom and equality are central political values. The fiercest challengers are religious anti-liberals. These groups argue that the state should promote the authentic human good with coercion if necessary. The chief … Read more
Event Description: People who want to improve the world must ask the fundamental civic question: “What should we do?” Although their specific challenges and topics are enormously diverse, they often encounter problems of collective action (how to get many individuals … Read more
Geoffrey Brennan and I defended a theory of social norms, built on people’s interest in esteem, that later worried him on the grounds that if self-interest is at the origin of norms, then norms can only engage us prudentially: interest … Read more
Speaker: Carmen Pavel King’s College London This talk counts as a Campus Life Experience (CLE) event for UNC undergraduates. There will be pizza after the talk, so stick around! Abstract: The rule of law has implications for how we evaluate … Read more
Our speakers, who hold opposing views on many political issues, have come together out of a shared concern of the dangers posed by partisanship in U.S. politics. This evening they will talk a bit about the risks of partisanship … Read more
Abstract: A stranger, through no fault of their own, is in dire financial straits. I could save them with a substantial cash gift. Alternatively, I could employ them in my warehouse. The work-hours are punishing and the pay is terrible; … Read more
This event satisfies a CLE requirement. There will be pizza after, so stick around! Abstract: It is tempting to think homelessness is unjust simply because it involves a grossly inequitable distribution of resources--some have so much while others lack something … Read more
Abstract: The notion of manipulation is increasingly invoked in relation to pressing issues discussed in the news and in public discourse. Consider, for example, the heated debates on how propaganda and misinformation have been recently used to lead people to … Read more
This talk is free and open to the public. Pizza will be provided after the talk! Abstract: What is forgiveness? And why forgive? I mean this in two ways: What reasons bear on the question of whether to offer or … Read more
Curtailing Freedoms to Protect Freedom: Regulating Against Behavioural-Informed Infringements on a Fair Exchange Abstract: Behavioural public policy is a relatively new, but already substantial, subfield of public policy. To date, paternalistic frameworks have tended to dominate this subfield, at least … Read more
