CFP: Risk and Uncertainty in Ethics

We invite abstract submissions for a 2-day workshop on risk and uncertainty in ethics, hosted by the Centre for Aesthetic, Moral, and Political Philosophy (CAMP) at the University of Leeds. 

Risk and uncertainty pose challenges throughout ethical theory and practice: when we make choices while uncertain about the relevant moral principles or non-moral facts, when we face questions about the permissibility of taking risks on behalf of others, and in foundational debates about the nature of normative judgements themselves. 

The aim of this workshop is to explore these issues, through work in metaethics, normative ethics, ethics and decision theory, applied ethics, and moral epistemology. Talks may address questions such as: 

- How should we act under moral uncertainty? 

- What are the moral constraints on our attitudes to risk and ambiguity? 

- What is the moral significance of imposing risks on others? 

- How should risk and uncertainty be handled in domains such as medicine, law, and public policy? 

- What do deontological or virtue-ethical theories say about decisions under risk and uncertainty? 

- How should we understand the dimension of certitude in our ethical judgements? 

- Can the tools of formal epistemology and decision theory be fruitfully applied to questions about our moral judgements and choices? 

Please submit your anonymised abstract of no more than 500 words, suitable for a 45 minute presentation.

Abstracts should be sent to: [email protected]. 

The deadline is 20th March 2026.

We welcome abstracts from people at all career stages, though have reserved several slots for early career researchers. We hope to be able to offer some financial support to speakers, but will prioritise support for those most in need.