Do Group Agents Have Free Will?

Christian List (Ludwig Maximilians Universität, München, London School of Economics)

The Collective Ethics Seminar: Online Presentation – 10 June 2024 – 15.15 – 16.45 CET / 09.15 – 10.45 EST.

Christian List (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität) - Do Group Agents Have Free Will?

On Monday 10 June 2024, Christian List will give an online presentation at the Collective Ethics Seminar entitled ‘Do Group Agents Have Free Will?’.

Abstract: It is common to ascribe agency to some organized collectives, such as corporations, courts, and states, and to treat them as loci of responsibility, over and above their individual members. But since responsibility is often assumed to require free will, should we also think that group agents have freewill? Surprisingly, the literature contains very few in-depth discussions of this question (a notable exception is Hess 2014). I will argue that group agents can have free will not only in a relatively undemanding compatibilist sense, but also in a recognizably libertarian sense, which includes the possibility of doing otherwise. In developing this account of corporate free will, I will bring together recent work on group agency and recent work on free will.

The online seminar is open for all to attend. The session starts at 15.15 CET / 09.15 EST. You can join the session via the following link: https://univienna.zoom.us/j/62736288881?pwd=SndEdTNoNlZtSzJqcmpabm5NaWIyUT09

For more information about the seminar and the schedule for 2024S, please see https://social.univie.ac.at/events/collective-ethics-seminar/.

We hope to see you at the seminar!

Kind regards,

Gunnar Björnsson (Stockholm University), Olle Blomberg (University of Gothenburg), and Niels de Haan (University of Vienna)