Photo Credit: David Paterson
The Kant Lecture series is an annual tradition of the Stanford Philosophy Department. It takes place over the course of three days and includes two lectures and a discussion seminar, which are presented by a distinguished philosopher.
Dr. Elizabeth Anderson is the speaker for 2022.
May 18: Lecture 1: ‘What should the work ethic mean for us today?’
Abstract: The work ethic was invented by Puritan theologians nearly 400 years ago. From the start, it contained contradictory ideas: one rationalizing the subjection of workers to drudgery for maximum profit; the other honoring workers for advancing human welfare and calling for their dignified and equitable treatment. Both ideas were developed and institutionalized over time in the U.S. and Europe, leaving a contradictory legacy for us today. I show how the neglected second work ethic tradition can be revived and updated for 21st-century American workers.
5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Building 380-380c and via Zoom
May 19: Lecture 2: ‘Outsourcing, the Criminalization of Poverty and the Proletarianization of the Professional-Managerial Class
Abstract: In this talk, I link three notable trends in 21st century neoliberal policy: (1) the outsourcing of state functions to private, for-profit firms; (2) the criminalization of poverty, and (3) the demotion of a large portion of the professional-managerial class to a deskilled, subordinated, precarious status, stripped of autonomy over how they perform their duties. All three trends are legacies of what I call the "conservative" work ethic, a secularized descendant of the Puritan work ethic of the 17th c. Although better-known than its "progressive" or pro-worker version, the conservative work ethic amounts to a hijacking of the work ethic by its original targets of critique--the idle and predatory rich. Bentham was a leading proponent of the first two trends. I shall show how the third follows from the first, by the logic of profit-maximization.
5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Building 380-380C and via Zoom
May 20: Discussion
3:30 PM to 5:30 PM
Building 380-380W (in person only)