[SydPhil] University of Sydney Philosophy Seminar Series, Stephanie Sheintul, (University of Adelaide)

[Ryan Cox]

Hi everyone,

This week's speaker in the University of Sydney Philosophy Seminar Series is Stephanie Sheintul, (University of Adelaide)

The title of the talk is "Rights, Powers, and Paternalism". Here is an abstract for the talk:

Abstract: It is controversial when we are morally permitted to act for another’s good. Some suggest that we are rarely permitted to do so given that competent adults have a pro tanto claim right to be the only ones to act only or primarily for their own good. Others suggest that people have a special moral power over their good – what has been called the power of prudential exclusion (PPE) – such that they can exclude us from acting for their good when it would otherwise be permissible for us to do so. I have three aims in this paper. The first is to argue that, rather than the aforementioned right, competent adults more plausibly have a pro tanto claim right against others acting to promote their good for a particular set of well-being-related second-order reasons. Specifically, according to this right, others must not promote their good for the reason that (a) they are unlikely to (or will not) deliberate, judge, or act in their best interests and/or that (b) their judgment or decision about what is valuable or in their best interests is mistaken and/or inferior to the acting agent’s. The second is to introduce a corollary power to the PPE – what I call the power of prudential inclusion (PPI) – which holds that we have the moral power to give others permission to act for our good when it would otherwise be impermissible for them to do so. The third is to sketch a novel rights-based anti-paternalist account based on the right that I (partly) defend we have.

The seminar will take place at 3:30pm on Wednesday March 26 in the Philosophy Seminar Room (N494).

Enquiries about the seminar series can be directed to ryan.cox at sydney.edu.au<mailto:ryan.cox at sydney.edu.au>

Ryan Cox
Associate Lecturer in Philosophy
Discipline of Philosophy
School of Humanities
University of Sydney
ryan.cox at sydney.edu.au<mailto:ryan.cox at sydney.edu.au>

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