The Burman lectures 2026. 2: Responsibility, Causation, & the Problem of Collective Harms
Wed
20
May
Wednesday 20 May, 2026at 13:15 - 15:00
91´«Ã½ÔÚÏß, Humanities Building, Lecture Hall HUM.D.220 – Hjortronlandet
The Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies invites you to the annual Burman lectures in philosophy. This years invited lecturer is Carolina Sartorio, Rutgers University. She will give three open lectures over three days on the theme of Responsibility for Consequences.
Lecture 2: Responsibility, Causation, and the Problem of Collective Harms
Abstract: What is the relation between (non-basic) moral responsibility and causation? Some think that we can only be responsible for what we cause, and that our responsibility for an outcome is always grounded in having caused it; in contrast, others think that we can be responsible for outcomes that we don’t cause, as in the case of collective harms, and that our responsibility in those cases is grounded in other factors. I first argue against both views—I argue that they fail for the same reason: they are too dependent on the truth of controversial metaphysical assumptions. I then put forth an alternative view that is more metaphysically neutral (and independently plausible). Finally, I draw consequences for the problem of collective harms.
