The Limits of Duty

There is much contemporary research into and public interest in the duties we have to others as moral agents and also to, for example, future generations, global poor, animals, compatriots, immigrants and to ourselves. Much of this current research, however, relies on essential but under-theorised assumptions regarding the limits of duty and those actions that go beyond these limits. Research into the structure and justification of these limits and those acts that transcend them remains relatively unexplored.  This workshop will bring this critical area of inquiry to the fore and investigate these central questions directly.

The purpose of this workshop is primarily to foster engagement with issues of supererogation, (over)demandingness, and the value and foundation of duty, and other issues surrounding the limits of duty broadly construed. The questions that this workshop hopes to address therefore include, but are not limited to, the following:

• How demanding are the requirements of morality?
• Are there supererogatory actions?
• What are the foundations of our duties?
• Do we need a pluralist theory of morality in order to account for our duty and its limits?
• What is the value of our duty?

If you would like to join our mailing list, please go to
https://lists.cam.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/ucam-limits-of-duty

If you have any questions, please contact Claire Benn or Amanda Cawston
(workshop organisers) at: [email protected]

Register before May 15th at the following rates:
Student/unwaged: £10
Faculty/waged:     £20

After May 15th, the rates will increase to:
Student/unwaged: £15
Faculty/waged:     £25

Registration will close on June 6.  There will be no registration on the day of the workshop.

Register online:
http://onlinesales.admin.cam.ac.uk/browse/extra_info.asp?compid=1&modid=2&prodid=704&deptid=141&catid=419
(you will need to set up a customer account to use the registration system)

STUDENT BURSARIES
Bursaries
We are pleased to be able to offer a small number of student bursaries (£25)
to help with expenses incurred in attending the workshop.  If you would like
to apply, please email the following to [email protected] with
‘student bursary application’ in the subject header:

1. Your name
2. Your address and contact details
3. A brief statement outlining the costs associated with your attendance and your reasons for applying for the student bursary (approx. 100 words).

The bursaries will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis. Please note that you will still need to register for the workshop and pay the registration fee (see above). The bursaries will be distributed to successful applicants on the day of the workshop.

If you would like to join our mailing list, please go to
https://lists.cam.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/ucam-limits-of-duty
If you have any questions, please contact Claire Benn or Amanda Cawston
(workshop organisers) at [email protected]

Workshop website: