The Population and the Individual

We're delighted to announce a one-day workshop on 'the Population and the Individual', featuring talks from Alex Voorhoeve (London School of Economics), Bastian Steuwer (Rutgers University), Susanne Burri (London School of Economics), and Caspar Hare (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). 

We can think about policies designed to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, such as mass vaccination, from at least two very different perspectives: in terms of how they affect the prospects of each affected individual; and in terms of their expected population-level effects. Policies that look best from the second, ex-post, perspective may look more problematic when viewed through the former, ex-ante, lens. For example, vaccinating children may be an effective way to stop transmission of disease, and, hence, improve population outcomes, but problematic when we consider that, given their low risk, children stand to gain little from a vaccine with unknown side effects. How, then, should we conceptualise the relationship between these two perspectives on policy? Do these perspectives shift depending on whether we are thinking about cases of risk imposition or risk reduction? If we prefer the ex-ante perspective, what is the most ethically perspicacious way of classifying the population? And, how do these issues relate to other debates around the identified victim bias? By bringing together four leading experts, this workshop attempts to address these important ethical questions regarding our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Schedule

13:30 BST: Start

13:45 BST: Alex Voorhoeve

Why the Value of a Statistical Life is the wrong metric for balancing lives and livelihoods

15:00 BST: Bastian Steuwer

Identifiable, Anonymous and Statistical Victims

16:15 BST: Break

16:30 BST: Susanne Burri

How Should We Think About Morally Permissible Risk Imposition When a Threat is Poorly Understood? A Duties of Care Approach

17:45 BST: Break

17:50 BST: Caspar Hare

To be confirmed

19:05 BST: Discussion

19:30 BST: End

Zoom links will be emailed to those who register for the event. You can register for the event through this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-population-and-the-individual-tickets-142771991871.

This event is part of a series of workshops at the University of Cambridge funded by the British Academy as part of a larger project on 'Rethinking the Ethics of Vaccination'. For further information on the planned events, get in touch with the organisers, Stephen John or Emma Curran ([email protected]).