[SydPhil] Online only: MQ Philosophy Work in Progress Seminar Clayton Littlejohn (ACU)

[Emily Hughes]

Dear all,

You are warmly invited to the next MQ Philosophy Work in Progress (WIP)
seminar which will be given by *Clayton Littlejohn (ACU)*

The details are as follows:
Date: Tuesday 28th of April
Time:   13:00-14:00
Location: *Online only *

https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/DEQtCoV1kpfBk2GPrh1f3TpiSEe?domain=macquarie.zoom.us

*Title:* Disinformation and Choice

*Abstract:* Philosophers working on disinformation seem to agree that it
should be understood in epistemic terms (e.g., as a tool for inducing false
belief, as a device for increasing confidence in falsehoods, etc.). In
congressional reports, the US State Department endorses a similar
definition but also says that disinformation is any (non-propagandistic)
content that can be used to gain a strategic advantage. What's the
relationship between disinformation seen as a tool for manipulating belief
and disinformation as a tool for influencing choice? I shall argue that
there isn't one. When agents have interests that aren't aligned, one might
try to gain strategic advantage over the other using deception, but it is
naive to think that this is their only rational play. A disinformant can
change the available information in ways that will be strategically
advantageous without inducing any discernible epistemic harm upon their
adversaries. I shall argue that we should understand disinformation in
pragmatic terms and show that this approach lets us identify harmful uses
of content that pose significant threats to democracies and to consumers
that the prevailing epistemic approaches miss.


Further information about the seminar series and details on future talks
can be found at the seminar webpage:
https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/MBpRCp81lrtv54LOnsDhBTG74ji?domain=mqphilosophy.github.io

We look forward to seeing you there.



*Dr Emily Hughes *(she/her)

ARC Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) Fellow in Philosophy

School of Humanities, Faculty of Arts

Michael Kirby Building, 17 Wally's Walk

Level 2, Room 233

Macquarie University – Wallumattagal Campus, Dharug Country

NSW 2109 Australia

E: emily.hughes at mq.edu.au

W: https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/xKqECq71mwfz9Yrk8fQivTEULXX?domain=researchers.mq.edu.au



*I acknowledge that Macquarie University stands on the land of the Dharug
Nation, land that was never ceded. I pay my respects to the Dharug
people, the Wallumattagal clan, and their Elders past and present. Always
was, always will be, Aboriginal land.*