Lecture Explores Climate Change, Responsibility

Elmira, NY (10/25/2019) — The Elmira College Division of Humanities and Creative Arts will host Dr. Danny C. Shahar from the University of New Orleans for a lecture entitled, "Living in Harm's Way: When Are Victims Responsible?" on Monday, October 28 at 4:30 p.m. in the Gannett-Tripp Library Lecture Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Over the coming years, climate change will harm billions of people around the world. Yet, who is morally responsible for these harms? Intuitively, it would seem to be those who have caused climate change. But what if most of the eventual victims will have known about the dangers they faced and had decades to prepare? Will they also bear some responsibility for the choices they make that leave them exposed to harm? In this talk, Shahar explores the complex issue of assigning responsibility for the long-term impacts of climate change. He claims that standard assessments of climate change impacts distort our understanding by exaggerating the moral significance of many climate-induced harms. In his view, the real problems associated with climate change involve people who cannot get out of harm's way, whether because of poverty, lack of education, or legal and political obstacles to movement. He argues that properly attending to these issues would imply a new orientation for climate policy-one that focuses not on minimizing harm but rather on empowering people to choose what risks they will bear.

Shahar is an assistant professor of philosophy-research at the University of New Orleans and a member of the Urban Entrepreneurship and Policy Institute. His research focuses on the implications of environmental challenges for liberal societies and their members. With David Schmidtz, he is co-editor of the latest edition of the popular textbook, Environmental Ethics: What Really Matters, What Really Works. He also teaches courses in ethics, political philosophy, and philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE).

Before arriving at UNO, he was a research assistant professor of philosophy, politics, and economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before that, he completed his Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Arizona, where he was also a visiting assistant professor of philosophy and a fellow at the UA Center for the Philosophy of Freedom.

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The Elmira College Division of Humanities and Creative Arts will host Dr. Danny C. Shahar from the University of New Orleans for a lecture entitled, "Living in Harm’s Way: When Are Victims Responsible?" on Monday, October 28 at 4:30 p.m. in the Gannett-Tripp Library Lecture Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public.