The Systemic Stance: Culpability and Obligation in Unjust Systems

BOOK MANUSCRIPT WORKSHOP
The Systemic Stance: Culpability and Obligation in Unjust Systems
book-in-progress by Stephanie Collins

Injustices resulting from social systems are difficult to pin on agents. This gives rise to a widely-discussed question: who has responsibility for systemic injustice? This book proposes a new two-part answer, which adopts a new perspective called ‘the systemic stance.’ When we adopt the systemic stance, we target our indignation, resentment, anger, and rage at the system itself. This is the first part of the book’s two-part answer: negative reactive attitudes concerning systemic injustice fittingly target the social system. This conclusion contradicts the widely-held assumption that reactive attitudes are apt only when they target agents. The second part of the systemic stance concerns moral obligations: moral obligations concerning systemic injustice are held by agents, starting from where those agents are in the system. Obligations from within the systemic stance call upon agents to pull the levers the system makes available to them to engage in a practice the book calls ‘contextual care.’ The account of moral obligations under systemic injustice is applied to public organizations, private organizations, and individual humans.

Each session will begin with a brief overview of the chapter by Collins, followed by a 10-15 minute critique by a commentator, before the conversation is opened for general discussion.

Participants are not expected to read the book in advance. Handouts summarising each chapter will be available, to accompany the chapter overviews that begin each session. If you would like to read the book or the handouts, that's awesome: please email [email protected].

For catering purposes, please email [email protected] by 26 May, including any dietary or accessibility requirements.

SCHEDULE

10.45: Coffee and pastries available

11.00: Welcome and Overview

11.10-11.55: Chapter 1 “Theorising Responsibility for Structural Injustice.”
Commentator: Suzy Killmister (Monash)

12.00-12.45: Chapter 2 “Standard Theories of Reactive Attitudes” and Chapter 3 “System-Targeting Reactive Attitudes.”
Commentator: Luke Russell (Sydney) The commentary will focus on Chapter 3.  

12.45-1.30: Lunch (provided)

1.30-2.15: Chapter 4 “Moral Obligation from the Systemic Stance.”
Commentator: Katrina Hutchison (Macquarie)

2.20-3.05: Chapter 5 “Moral Obligations in Public Organizations.”
Commentator: Luara Ferracioli (Sydney)

3.05-3.30: Afternoon tea

3.30-4.15: Chapter 6 “Moral Obligations in Private Organizations.”
Commentator: Will Tuckwell (Charles Sturt)

4.25-5.10: Chapter 7 “Individuals’ Obligations and Social Norms”
Commentator: Jeremy Moss (UNSW)