I’m pleased to introduce a new NDPR Forum, on Gideon Yaffe’s The Age of Culpability: Children and the Nature of Criminal Responsibility (OUP 2018), which was recently reviewed at NDPR by Doug Husak. As usual, the author of the reviewed book is invited to speak first in response to the review (or to speak about anything else the author is interested in discussing about the book), the reviewer is invited to reply, and there are other discussants who may chime in as well. But our readers are of course also invited to join in on the discussion. Feel free to comment on any aspect of the book, the review, or previous comments.
NDPR Forum: Kit Wellman’s “Rights Forfeiture and Punishment,” with new post by Kit Wellman
Welcome to our NDPR Forum on Kit Wellman’s “Rights Forfeiture and Punishment,” which was recently reviewed by David Dolinko in NDPR. Kit has agreed to kick off this forum by contributing a new post on one of the issues raised in his book, namely, on whether there is or should be, on the rights forfeiture view, additional culpability for hate crimes. Please join in on the discussion. I herewith give you Kit:
Journal of Applied Philosophy Prizewinning Essay
Federico Picinali’s essay, “Base-Rates of Negative Traits: Instructions for Use in Criminal Trials,” has won the Journal of Applied Philosophy’s annual prize (of a thousand pounds) for best essay of the year (in JAP), and it is available to read open access here.
Featured Authors: Victor Tadros’s Wrongs and Crimes (Post by Victor Tadros)
[Editor’s Note: As part of our series featuring authors of new and forthcoming books, today we are featuring Victor Tadros’s new book Wrongs and Crimes (OUP). Below, Victor discusses one argument from the book, on whether punishment can be justified in light of worries about free will. All are welcome and encouraged to join in on the discussion.]
Wrongs and Crimes is about the relationship between wrongs and crimes! It is about the nature and sources of wrongdoing, why wrongdoing can make a person liable to punishment. In the light of that it is about the scope of the criminal law. The book covers far too many issues – everything from the nature of wrongdoing, to debates about free will, to the nature of harm and the harm principle, to consent, inchoate wrongdoing, and firearms possession. As taster, I focus only on one issue that I address in chapter 5: can punishment be justified in the face of challenges from free-will sceptics?
Coercion Workshop: Call for Participants
Applications are invited from current advanced doctoral students and recent PhD graduates/early career scholars to participate in a workshop on current issues in coercion, to be held on the campus of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, March 25-26, 2017. This workshop occurs at the culmination of a SSHRC-funded project on “The Regulation of Coercion,” led by Scott Anderson of the University of British Columbia. The workshop will feature the participation of and work by leading experts on coercion, including:
Michael Blake, U Washington
AJ Julius, UCLA
Niko Kolodny, UC Berkeley
Diana Tietjens Meyers, U Connecticut
Arthur Ripstein, U Toronto
Mathias Risse, Harvard
Laura Valentini, London School of Economics
Ekow Yankah, Cardozo School of Law
A syllabus of papers by the above participants and several others will be circulated in advance of the workshop, and all participants are expected to read the papers prior to attendance. There will be no formal presentations or reading of papers at the workshop, in order to maximize time for discussion. Participants are asked to be available to participate for the whole duration of the workshop (all day Saturday, March 25, and the morning of Sunday, March 26.)
Topics likely to be discussed at the workshop include:
- The concept and definition of coercion
- Coercion and moral responsibility
- Coercion, justice, and the state
- Coercion and immigration/citizenship
- Applied philosophical issues involving coercion
In order to ensure that emerging scholars are able to gain from this event, spaces have been reserved in this workshop for a small number of current PhD students and recent PhD graduates whose work relates to coercion and associated issues in ethics and social and political philosophy. Successful applicants will have their expenses paid for transportation, accommodation, and meals during the two-day workshop. (Details of these arrangements will be provided on request.) There is no expectation for applicants to submit a paper or make a presentation during the workshop, but if you have work that might be of interest to the topics of the workshop, it will be considered for inclusion on the list of readings.
To apply to participate in the workshop, please send a message stating your interest to scott dot anderson (*at*) ubc dot ca, including the following information:
- Name, current and recent institutional affiliation(s), date of PhD expected or completed.
- A brief statement of up to 400 words explaining the relevance of coercion in your philosophical work, and/or the relevance of your work to thinking about the topic of coercion.
- A current CV (an informal or abbreviated CV from current graduate students is fine).
- If you have a piece of your writing you think might be suitable for discussion at the workshop, or that is relevant for understanding your interest in the topic of the workshop, you may send it as well (papers in draft form are perfectly acceptable for this purpose). Submission of such writing is optional, however.
- The location from which you would be traveling here (as the cost of transportation may be a consideration outside for applications from outside of Canada or the U.S.).
We will make every effort to accommodate applicants requiring special arrangements to be able to attend; everyone who is interested is encouraged to apply regardless of such requirements.
Please submit your application for participation by Monday, January 30. Invitations to accepted participants will be made as soon after this date as is feasible. Questions about this workshop may also be directed to scott dot anderson (*at*) ubc dot ca.
Please encourage any likely interested persons to apply to this workshop.
