Ethics and Political Philosophy Group Talk (Alex Guerrero, Rutgers)

The Ethics and Political Philosophy Research Interest Group welcomes Alex Guerrero, the Henry Rutgers Term Chair and an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at Rutgers University. He also currently serves as the director of graduate admissions there, and as the director of the Rutgers Summer Institute for Diversity in Philosophy. He has worked on a variety of topics in moral, legal, and political philosophy, as well as in epistemology, especially social epistemology. He has further interests in African philosophy, Latin American philosophy, and Native American philosophy. He is currently working on a book that argues that we should use lotteries, rather than elections, to select our political officials.

Join the event at:

https://zoom.us/j/92132569119?pwd=QkNSYnk0TmN1YUxFOGR1TG52ZFQwZz09

Meeting ID: 921 3256 9119

Passcode: X866fX

Talk Title

Violence Is Not What Matters: Against “Violent Crime” as a Legally Significant Category

Talk Abstract

Violent crimes are typically met with more severe punishments and collateral consequences than non-violent crimes—even when the violent crimes cause less harm. Despite a decade of discussion of criminal justice reform, the refrain remains: violent crime is different; those convicted of violent crimes are different; and it is appropriate to punish violent crime differently. In this paper, I argue that the violent/non-violent distinction cannot bear the normative weight currently placed on it, and that we should move to thinking in terms of objectionable harm caused and risked. If we do this, many of our current practices of punishment require revision, and we should make those revisions.

About the Ethics and Political Philosophy Group

The Ethics and Political Philosophy Group meets periodically throughout the year to discuss topics in value theory and related fields, including meta-ethics, normative ethics, applied ethics, social and political philosophy, philosophy of law, moral psychology, practical reason, agency, and identity.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS TALK WAS RESCHEDULED FROM MARCH 2020