CFP: Formal Ethics 2019

Call for papers: Formal Ethics 2019 | International Conference | Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science, Ghent University | June 19–21, 2019.

Keynote speakers: Edith Elkind (Oxford), Campbell Brown (LSE), and Ray Briggs (Stanford).

About Formal Ethics

Formal Ethics is a common denominator for the application of tools from logic, decision theory, game theory, and social choice theory to the analysis of concepts in moral and political philosophy and to the development of ethical theory. It is a rapidly growing field of research which goes back to the work of Kenneth Arrow, Amartya Sen, John Harsanyi, Georg Henrik von Wright and others. The field has recently gained new impetus with formal work on non-classical logic, freedom and responsibility, value theory and the evolution of norms and conventions.

Previous editions of this conference series were held in Groningen (2010), Munich (2012), Rotterdam (2014), Bayreuth (2015), and York (2017). Seewww.FE2019.ugent.be/about for information about previous Formal Ethics conferences.

Contributed Talks for FE2019

Formal Ethics 2019 will feature a single track for contributed talks of 40-45 minutes. Authors should submit an extended abstract (1000 words max, pdf format) via easychair: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=fe2019 by February 15, 2019.

Submissions in all areas of formal ethics, broadly construed, are welcome. For Formal Ethics 2019, submissions related to joint responsibility and collective decision-making are particularly welcome (cf. infra, the specific topic for this edition).
Contributions need not be formal in nature but should show familiarity with applying formal tools and results to ethical investigations. We aim at an inclusive conference in which speakers at different stages of their careers (including PhD students and post-docs) participate. We also aim at a strong representation of female scholars. An issue of a specialist journal, dedicated to the conference theme, is being planned.
   
Specific topic for FE2019: “joint responsibility and collective decision-making”.

We specifically welcome submissions on the theme of joint responsibility and collective decision-making. These notions are under investigation in various fields including computer science, (meta)ethics, and political theory. Our aim is to further stimulate the synergy between these different fields, and to provide a forum for both conceptual, ethical, and formal disputes on questions such as:

Does collective responsibility presuppose a notion of (intentional) collective agency?

• Does either notion reduce to a suitable configuration of individual attitudes or properties?
• How does or can a group deliberate towards a collective decision problem, i.e. how is the agenda for collective decision-making set?
• How should groups reach a decision, once they have settled on a set of alternatives to choose from?
• (How) can one compute the distribution of responsibility in a multi-agent system?
• How do collective responsibility and collective decision-making relate? Does the latter make for a stronger, or rather for a weaker type of collective responsibility?
• How should one interpret or overcome well-known limitative results regarding preference aggregation (cf. Arrow, Sen), collective decision-making (cf. Dietrich & List) and joint responsibility (cf. Braham & Van Hees)?

Important Dates

Deadline for submissions:                 15/2/2019, 23h59
Notification of acceptance:               29/3/2019
Conference:                                         19-21/06/2019

 
Organization of FE2019

Chairs: Frederik Van De Putte and Federico Faroldi  
Programme Committee: Albert Anglberger (Munich), Constanze Binder (Rotterdam), Matthew Braham (Hamburg), Jan Broersen (Utrecht), Hein Duijf (Utrecht), Federico Faroldi (Ghent), Conrad Heilmann (Rotterdam), Dominik Klein (Bayreuth and Bamberg), Paul McNamara (New Hampshire), Oliver Roy (Bayreuth), Alessandra Marra (Bayreuth), Joke Meheus (Ghent), Gillman Payette (Vancouver), Wlodek Rabinowicz (Lund), Justin Snedegar (St. Andrews), Katie Steele (Canberra), Allard Tamminga (Groningen and Utrecht), Johanna Thoma (LSE), Martin van Hees (Amsterdam), and Frederik Van De Putte (Ghent and Bayreuth).

Steering Committee of Formal Ethics Conference Series: Albert Anglberger (Munich), Constanze Binder (Rotterdam), Conrad Heilmann (Rotterdam), Paul McNamara (New Hampshire), Oliver Roy (Bayreuth)

 
Contact and further information: [email protected] and www.FE2019.ugent.be .