The 36.2 issue of Social Philosophy & Policy focuses on the problem of self-ownership.
We asked participants to reflect on self-ownership: its practical and philosophical roles, its history, rights and/or duties it entails, and its economical and ethical relationship with responsibility. Authors considered a variety of questions, such as: How does the idea of self-ownership actually work in the real world? Do some (or all) of our relationships presuppose that we are relating to each other as self-owners? What are the contours of self-ownership in actual practice, and when do we disagree about them? What does self-ownership entail, and how is it different from other sorts of ownership? Does self-ownership rule out a right to impose negative externalities on each other? Does it entail a person’s right to say no to plans to use her body (or her labor) in a certain way? Does the idea of a society of free and responsible individuals imply more than is implied by the idea of a society of (merely?) free individuals? Does the idea of self-ownership entail that market participants have a right to walk away from offers that they find unattractive? Does economic efficiency presuppose legal self-ownership?
By bringing together scholars and luminaries in philosophy, economics and political theory, we hope to create a productive and stimulating weekend. Papers from this conference will be featured in the winter 2019 issue of Social Philosophy & Policy. The guest editor for this issue is Bas Van der Vossen, associate professor in the Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy, as well as the philosophy department at Chapman University.
Our distinguished list of authors include:
- Ben Bryan, Scholar in Residence, University of Colorado at Boulder
- Ian Carter, Professor of Political Philosophy, University of Pavia
- Ann Cudd, Professor of Philosophy, Boston University
- Jessica Flanigan, Assistant Professor, University of Richmond
- Amanda Greene, Lecturer, University College London
- Chandran Kukathas, Professor, London School of Economics
- Seth Lazar, Associate Professor, Australian National University
- Alejandra Mancilla, Associate Professor, University of Oslo
- Dan Moller, Assistant Professor, University of Maryland
- Johan Olsthoorn, Research Fellow, University of Warwick
- Dan Russell, Professor of Philosophy, University of Arizona
- Victor Tadros, Professor, University of Warwick
- John Thrasher, Assistant Professor, Chapman University