Guest Speaker, Michal Masny (Princeton)

Guest speaker, Michal Masny from Princeton will be here on Friday, February 3, at 3:00pm in DeBartolo Hall, room 131

.

TalkTitle: The Shape of History

Abstract: Some philosophers believe in progress: they think that humanity’s current situation is better than that of our ancestors and that future generations will fare even better. Others believe in decline: they claim that the condition of humanity has deteriorated and will continue to do so. What has been neglected, however, is a purely normative question of whether it is better if the history of humanity features a pattern of improvement rather than deterioration, holding other things equal. Many people have the intuition that it is. In this talk, I will develop a theoretical rationale for this judgment which appeals to a broadly conservative view about value.