"Moral Progress": Philip Kitcher in conversation with Julia Hermann

What role can philosophy play in helping individuals and societies achieve moral progress more surely and more systematically? In this conversation with Julia Hermann, distinguished professor of philosophy Philip Kitcher discusses three historical examples of moral progress – the abolition of chattel slavery, the expansion of opportunities for women, and the increasing acceptance of same-sex love – to propose new methods for moral inquiry. Through a serious examination of the history and progression of moral practices, Kitcher will aim to reorient moral philosophy in a new and accessible direction, enabling it to regain its proper role of speaking to the “problems of life”. Philip Kitcher is the John Dewey Professor of Philosophy emeritus at Columbia University. He has written seventeen previous books, several of which have won awards. He is well-known internationally for his work in many fields of philosophy, including the philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of science, ethics, epistemology, political philosophy, and studies of philosophical themes in literature and music. His latest book "Moral Progress" was published this year by Oxford University Press. Julia Hermann in assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Twente, Netherlands. Her research interests include moral justification, moral progress, evolutionary explanations of morality, the role of context in ethics, the ethics of citizen science, and the technological disruption of epistemic certainty. Her current research focuses on the ways in which new and emerging technologies, in particular biomedical technologies, affect fundamental concepts. https://people.utwente.nl/j.s.hermann