ONLINE: Susanne Burri and Bryan Roberts (LSE): “The Good News About Killing People”

Due to the current COVID-19 situation this event will now take place online via Zoom. 

Everyone is welcome to join this event using a computer with access to the internet and Zoom. To take part just follow these instructions:

• Download Zoom
• Join the event anytime after 4pm via this link: https://lse.zoom.us/j/958704907
• At 4:30pm the event begins, with Q&A at 5:30pm. The event will end at 6pm.
• The slides will be available to view in a web browser via this link: http://personal.lse.ac.uk/robert49/talks/choicetalk

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Abstract: We propose a ‘Cautionary News Principle’ when justifying the decision to commit an irreversible act, such as one that involves killing. The principle states that whether such a decision is justified depends on the extent of possible cautionary news in the future, whereas confirmatory news can be disregarded. We show that such a principle can be derived in a consequentialist framework, deriving it as a theorem in a simple consequentialist model, which deviates from a simple cost-benefit analysis.