Description
This seminar will take place over the course of 5 days (2-4 November in Eindhoven and 9-10 November online).
Moral philosophy before the mid-Twentieth Century developed under the implicit assumption that outcomes could be treated as determinate. Risks and probabilities, when mentioned, were treated as a side issue. By contrast, our current understanding of agency and causation is probabilistic and foregrounds issues of uncertainty. In addition, there is significant attention to the disruption surrounding fast-paced societal and technological change. Moral philosophy, epistemology, and applied ethics have adapted to this understanding, but the philosophical issues are far from settled. This is an exciting area of philosophical and interdisciplinary research.
This course starts with some basic distinctions and key concepts within the philosophy of risk. It then considers the questions ethical risk acceptability, risk-impositions, and normative uncertainties. We include several specific domains where the concept of risk is important, such as the ethics of technology, bioethics, and environmental ethics. Which exact topics we cover depends on what guest lectures participate. The course also contains a professional development component about writing and publishing.
After taking the seminar, students will be familiar with the most important concepts, distinctions, and normative principles in the philosophical literature on risk, as well as their application in some of the key sub-domains of risk research. For example, students will be familiar with different definitions of risk and uncertainty, the precautionary principle, and how ethical theories can be adapted or expanded to deal with risk and uncertainty. They will be able to formulate good objections and replies to major philosophical viewpoints about risk.
Practical Information
- Primary target group PhD candidates, PSTS Master Students, ReMA students
- If places available also open to -
- Type of activity 5-day intensive seminar (2-4 November Eindhoven; 9-10 November online)
- Certificate credit points 5 ECTS
- Organizer Philiph Nickel (p.j.nickel@tue.nl)
- Location University of Twente
- Date November 2 @ 08:00
- Venue Eindhoven University of Technology
Program
The seminar will take place over the course of 5 days (2-4 November in Eindhoven and 9-10 November online), with morning and afternoon sessions devoted to different aspects of the topic. There will be presentations by the course coordinators and a number of guest lecturers. There will also be student presentations, discussions of all the topics covered, and joint analysis of the course literature. Students are expected to spend time reading the assigned articles before the seminar begins.
Lecturer: Philip Nickel (TU Eindhoven)
Speakers: Madeleine Hayenhjelm (Umea Universitet), Sabine Roeser (Delft), Behnam Taebi (Delft), and Kritika Maheshwari (Delft)
Credit points
Study load is the equivalent of 5 ECTS.
Required preparations
Participants are expected to read all the assigned literature, do assignments, and actively participate in discussions, and write a paper at the end of the course. A presentation is recommended but not mandatory.
Costs and registration
Costs:
- Free to PhD students who are a member of the OZSW, 4TU and/or another Dutch research school in the Humanities (LOGOS);
- Free to Research Master students who are a member of the OZSW and/or another Dutch research school in the Humanities (LOGOS);
- All others pay a tuition fee of €300.
How to register:
- Members of the OZSW: make sure you are logged in on the OZSW website. After you have successfully registered for the course, it will appear in your ‘profile page’.
- PhD researchers and ReMA students may register via the registration button on the OZSW website.
- All others may apply for a waiting list (as the primary target group for this activity is PhD researchers) by sending an email to secretariaat@ozsw.nl
Registration for this course opens on September 9, 2026 and closes on October 16, 2026. If registration has been closed because the maximum amount of participants has been reached, you can submit your name to the waiting list by sending an email to secretariaat@ozsw.nl. Please also indicate whether you are a ReMA student, postdoc or PhD candidate and whether you are a member of the OZSW or not.
The OZSW registration and cancellation policy applies to this activity (to be found here).
More information
For information about the content of the course, please contact Philip J. Nickel at p.j.nickel@tue.nl. Or check the OZSW website.