Law, Ethics and Justice Seminar by Talita Ferrantelli and Adam Hudson (LSE Philosophy)

Title: Sexual Agency in a Sceptical Scenario

Abstract: How can people meaningfully exercise their sexual agency if it is often rational for them to suspect that their sexual partners are or could be potential perpetrators? This paper addresses this question by taking seriously the alarming data concerning sexual violations and the epistemic difficulties in learning who the perpetrators are. First, I argue that we live somewhere close to a local sceptical scenario when exercising our sexual agency since we don’t know about people’s dispositions to sexual assault. Second, I discuss whether we could scaffold epistemic conditions for exercising sexual agency in long-term relationships. The conclusion is that some people, and especially women in relationships with men, may face a dilemma. The epistemic practices that couldhelp them scaffold agency in the sceptical scenarios directly conflict with normative demands of meaningful relationships.

Talita Ferrantelli is a PhD candidate in LSE's Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method. Her current research focuses on intersections of social and legal epistemology, feminist philosophy, and the role of consent in sexual ethics and criminal law. She is also the co-chair of the Philosophy, Law & Politics UK Graduate Forum and the editorial assistant of the European Journal of Political Theory.

Title: Faring Better in Expectation

Abstract: Political power (e.g. authority, coercion) is often justified instrumentally. It is justified with respect to a subject when the subject fares better under it. What makes such justifications instrumental is not the kind of good appealed to but their structure: the justification is owed to each subject individually, and turns on her own interests, rights and duties. This is straightforward in simple cases, where an official acts for the good of a single individual. But political power typically operates over many individuals at once, all with competing interests and uncertain prospects. The paper explores the challenges instrumental justifications face in this setting.

Adam Hudson is a PhD student at LSE's Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method. His current research focuses on the ethics of distributing and compensating for harm, especially harms committed by the state or other authorities. He's interested in how these questions apply to important social institutions like the police, military or courts, and the insights we might draw regarding our rights to protest or respond to state injustices.

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