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Depopulation: an ethical perspective

Hosted by the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method and the School of Public Policy

In-person and online public event (LSE campus, venue tbc to ticketholders)

Speaker

Dr Luara Ferracioli

Chair

Professor Alex Voorhoeve

Join us for the annual Auguste Comte lecture which this year will be delivered by Luara Ferracioli, a leading thinker on the philosophy of immigration and the philosophy of the family. 

Reduced birth rates in key economies could lead to population collapse by 2100. Demographic change disrupts retirement systems, income distribution, and government services like healthcare and aged care. How should liberal states respond to this challenge?

The lecture explores the ethical complexities around potential solutions like boosting fertility, delaying retirement, and increasing skilled migration.

Meet our speaker and chair

Luara Ferracioli is a leading thinker on the philosophy of immigration and the philosophy of the family. She is Associate Professor in Political Philosophy at the University of Sydney and has held appointments at Oxford, Princeton, and Amsterdam. Her first book, Liberal Self-Determination in World of Migration, was published in 2022 with Oxford University Press. Her latest book, Parenting and the Goods of Childhood, was published in 2023 with Oxford University Press.

Alex Voorhoeve is Professor of Philosophy and the incoming Vice-President (and Pro Vice-Chancellor) for Faculty Development at LSE. He works on the theory and practice of distributive and procedural justice in health. He has held positions at Harvard, Princeton, the National Institutes of Health, U.S., and Nuffield College, Oxford and has worked as a consultant researcher on justice in health to the WHO and the World Bank.

More about this event

Join us on campus or register to watch the event online at LSE Live. LSE Live is the home for our live streams, allowing you to tune in and join the global debate at LSE, wherever you are in the world. If you can't attend live, a video will be made available shortly afterwards on LSE's YouTube channel.

This is the annual Auguste Comte lecture, a prestigious lecture series at the intersection of philosophy and social science.

The Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method (@LSEPhilosophy) is the world-leading place for interdisciplinary, socially relevant philosophy.

The LSE School of Public Policy (@LSEPublicPolicy) is an international community where ideas and practice meet. Our approach creates professionals with the ability to analyse, understand and resolve the challenges of contemporary governance.

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How can I attend? Add to calendar

This public event is free and open to all. This event will be a hybrid event, with an in-person audience and an online audience.

For the in person event: You can request one ticket via the online ticket request form, which will open after 12noon on Monday 8 September. The ticket line will stay open until all tickets have been allocated. 

For the online event: Registration for this event will open in early September.

For any queries email events@lse.ac.uk.

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