Friday Philosophy Colloquium: Kenny Walden

The Philosophy Department's Friday Colloquium, with guest speaker, Kenny Walden (Dartmouth; ethics, aesthetics, agency). Reception to follow. Title: “A value that entitles you to be appreciated singularly, in and by yourself” Abstract:Some moral philosophers tell us that persons have a special kind of value that demands we be valued "singularly" and "in ourselves". That sounds great, but what does it mean? I approach this question by considering what kind of value a person has in virtue of their ability to value. To this end, I suggest a model on which our relationship to value is like the sculptor's relationship to their medium. If this model is correct, then valuing someone "in themselves" will involve the kind of attention more familiar from our engagement with art, a kind of attention that is a condition on a work's success.