Longtermist Political Philosophy: An Agenda for Future Research

Andreas T. Schmidt (University of Groningen)

This online seminar series brings together researchers from philosophy, political science, psychology, and related disciplines to explore how humans think or should think about decisions concerning future generations.

We examine both empirical findings about our psychological tendencies regarding temporal distance, future discounting, and intergenerational concern, as well as normative questions about our obligations to future people and how institutions might better represent their interests.

Topics include but are not limited to: temporal moral biases, the psychology of long-term thinking, electoral institutions and time horizons, intergenerational justice, future generations in democratic theory, climate ethics and psychology, and empirical approaches to future-oriented moral cognition.

Each session lasts no more than one hour, comprising approximately 25 minutes of presentation followed by 25 minutes of questions and exchange. The seminars provide an informal setting for presenting recently published work and work in progress, testing new ideas, and stimulating interdisciplinary exchange.

All interested researchers and students are welcome to join. To participate, please send an email with the subject line "Participation in Seminar Moral Psychology and Ethical Futures" to [email protected] and [email protected]. You will receive the online meeting link and updates about upcoming sessions.