June 3, 2013 - Victoria— Daniel Weinstock will weave together elements of an autobiographical account of his academic trajectory with a more theoretical account of what he views as the contribution of ethics to the elucidation of difficult public policy dilemmas. He will argue that in the face of intractable differences at the level of principle, there is room for building what American political philosopher John Rawls has called "overlapping consensuses" by focussing on consequences of public policy choices, and in particular on harm reduction.
Daniel Weinstock is a well-known Canadian political philosopher and a frequent public commentator on a wide-range of issues as diverse as public health and cultural accommodation. Currently, he is the MacDonald Professor of Law at McGill University, where he teaches both law and philosophy. Before moving to McGill, Weinstock held a Canada Research Chair in ethics and political philosophy at the Université de Montréal, where he was the founding director of the Centre de recherche en éthique de l'Université de Montréal. In 2004, Professor Weinstock was appointed a fellow of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation
What? Daniel Weinstock’s “Big Thinking” lecture
“So are you still a philosopher?”
Where? MacLaurin Building - A144 - David Lam Theatre
When? June 4, 2013, 12:15 -1:20 p.m.
The Big Thinking lecture series is presented by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences and the University of Victoria. Supporting sponsors are the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada and the Canada Foundation for Innovation. Daniel Weinstock’s address is sponsored by the Trudeau Foundation.
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For more information, please contact:
Laura Markle
613-282-3489
lmarkle@ideas-idees.ca
Mélanie Béchard
613-894-7635
mbechard@ideas-idees.ca
About the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences
Organized by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Congress is the largest interdisciplinary conference in Canada. Described as a “conference of conferences,” Congress involves nearly 70 academic associations that represent a rich spectrum of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, including literature, history, theatre, film studies, education, music, sociology, geography, social work and many others.