Bielefeld Masterclass in Philosophy with Geoffrey Sayre-McCord (Chapel Hill): "The Nature of Normative Concepts" (May 31 - June 2, 2017)

On May 31 – June 2, the Department of Philosophy at Bielefeld University will host the annual Bielefeld Masterclass in Philosophy. This year’s guest lecturer is Geoffrey Sayre-McCord, Morehead-Cain Alumni Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Director of UNC’s Program in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Geoffrey Sayre-McCord has published extensively on metaethics, moral theory, epistemology, David Hume and Adam Smith. His masterclass will be on “The Nature of Normative Concepts”, a preliminary program of which can be found below. Interested M.A. students, Ph.D. students, and post-docs are warmly invited to participate. There is no fee, but please get registered by May 10 at the latest (fabian.wendt@uni-bielefeld.de). Required readings will be announced in due course.
 
Wednesday, May 31
14:00-16:15     Understanding normative concepts, a brief history (and, so, a whirlwind tour of cognitivism,
                          prescriptivism, expressivism and quasi-realism)
18:15-19:45     Public lecture (tba)
 
Thursday, June 1
10:00-12:15     The nature of normative concepts, an alternative account, first pass
14:00-16:15     Normative standards for normative concepts: eliding the distinction between a better theory of
                          morality and a theory of a better morality
 
Friday, June 2
10:00-12:15     Moral kind terms: moral twin earth visited and explained
14:00-16:15     Challenges, threats, and opportunities in understanding normative concepts
 
Website: www.uni-bielefeld.de/philosophie/ereignisse/meisterklasse.html