The next session of the UvA Philosophy and Public Affairs colloquium will take place on Wednesday 10 April, 4-6 pm.

Pauline Kleingeld (RUG) will present a paper entitled

How to Use Someone ‘Merely as a Means’

Location: Faculteitskamer/Faculty Room, Oude Turfmarkt 147 (entrance at 141), Department of Philosophy, University of Amsterdam.

Abstract

The prohibition on using others ‘merely as means’ is one of the best-known and most influential elements of Immanuel Kant’s moral theory. It is widely regarded as impossible, however, to specify with precision the conditions under which this prohibition is violated. In this paper I develop a novel interpretation of Kant’s prohibition and argue that this reading has strong textual support and significant philosophical advantages over alternative accounts.

Pauline Kleingeld will give a short introduction followed by comments from Beate Rössler

Pauline Kleingeld is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Groningen. She is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Royal Holland Society of Arts and Sciences. Her research focus is in ethics and political philosophy, with an emphasis on Kantianism and the work of Immanuel Kant.

Beate Rössler is Professor of ethics at the University of Amsterdam and chair of the Department of Philosophy. Her research fields include theories of freedom and autonomy, theories of privacy, the ethics of technology, justice and equality, ethics and the good life, and feminist theories.

Please contact Henri Wijsbek (h.w.j.m.wijsbek@uva.nl) if you want to receive a copy of the paper.