Philosophy & What Matters. Ep. 17: Collective Agents with Holly Lawford-Smith (UniMelb)
Channel: Jeremiah Joven Joaquin
Date: 2020-10-26

"Philosophy & What Matters" deals with questions that matter to us from a philosophical point of view.

In 1999, the US Department of Justice sued several tobacco companies for having misled the public about the risks of smoking. The outcome of this landmark case? In 2006, the US Court of Appeals found Big Tobacco liable for fraudulently covering up the health risks associated with smoking and for marketing their products to children. 

One thing to think about this litigation is the parties involved in it and their actions. You have the US DOJ suing and holding Big Tobacco culpable for misleading the public about the hazards of smoking. But how can the US DOJ and Big Tobacco do such intentional actions? Are they even capable of doing anything -- let alone be culpable or responsible for any action?  

To talk about the ontological status of these collective agents and why it matters, we have Holly Lawford-Smith, Senior Lecturer of Political Philosophy at the University of Melbourne, and the author of Not In Their Name: Are Citizens Culpable for Their States’ Actions?

The "Philosophy & What Matters" website can be found here: https://sites.google.com/site/jeremiahjovenjoaquin/philosophy-what-matters.