Conference Today: Parfit Meets Critics at Reading

PARFIT MEETS CRITICS –
Critical Evaluations of Climbing the Mountain

University of Reading
Department of Philosophy
NOVEMBER 2–3, 2006

About the Conference: Derek Parfit's manuscript Climbing the Mountain has
been circulating for years and is now near completion and submission to
Oxford University Press. The eventual book is widely predicted to have a
significant impact on moral theory for years to come. It offers a novel
interpretation of Kantian ethics, and attempts to show that such a view is
also compatible with the best versions of both rule-consequentialism and
contractualism. This conference gives seven first-class ethicists an
opportunity to investigate Parfit's penultimate draft and try out
criticisms of it before its final submission. Parfit himself is extremely
keen to get this feedback on his manuscript even at this late stage in its
development, and will actively take part in the discussions at the
conference. The manuscript is downloadable from Derek Parfit’s website
(http://individual.utoronto.ca/stafforini/parfit/parfit_-_climbing_the_mountain.pdf).

Program:
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 2
12am – 1pm                Registration
1pm – 2:30pm                JAMES LENMAN        (University of Sheffield)
2:45pm – 4:15pm                SEIRIOL MORGAN         (University of Leeds)

4:15pm – 4:45pm         Coffee and Tea
4:45pm – 6:15pm                JENS TIMMERMANN (University of St Andrews)
                         Parfit’s Kant
6:15pm – 7:45pm                Dinner
7:45pm – 9:15pm                GIDEON ROSEN (Princeton)

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 3
1pm – 2:30pm                MICHAEL RIDGE         (University of Edinburgh)
            Parfit’s Kantian Contractualist Argument for Consequentialism
2:30pm – 3pm        Coffee and Tea
3pm – 4:30pm                MICHAEL SMITH         (Princeton)
4:45pm – 6:15pm                MICHAEL OTSUKA        (University College
London)
                         Climb Every Mountain?

This program is also available on-line at
http://www.rdg.ac.uk/Phil/Conferences/Parfit%20conference.doc.

Location and Registration: The conference will take place at Room 106 in
the Palmer Building located at the Whiteknights Campus, University of
Reading. You can find a map of the venue and links for the instructions of
how to get there from http://www.info.rdg.ac.uk/maps/maps-display.asp.
Advance registrations for the conference can be sent by email to Jussi
Suikkanen (j.v.suikkanen@reading.ac.uk). There will be room for 50
participants. The conference fee will be £30 (£20 for students). It is
payable during the registration at the conference and includes the dinner
on Thursday. For links to reserve accomodation see the online version of
this advert. The Whiteknights Campus and its surroundings offer various
possibilities for having lunch, coffee, etc, during the stay. Further
information will be posted later.

Please direct any enquiries concerning the conference to Jussi Suikkanen at:
j.v.suikkanen@reading.ac.uk
Philosophy department
University of Reading
Reading RG6 6AA
UK