Upcoming Duke Philosophy Colloquium

[Nancy Pfeiffer]

Hello Everyone,

 

Our next Duke Philosophy Colloquium will be held on Friday, November 7, 2025. The speaker is Daniel Hausman, Herbert A. Simon and Hilldale Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Madison. His title and abstract follows:

 

Health and Well-Being: Some Complications

 

Abstract

 

Health is in itself good for people, and it contributes to other good things. If one supposes, as economists do, that preference satisfaction is a guide to well-being, one can determine the contribution of health to well-being by eliciting preferences. Yet it is problematic to measure health by its contribution to well-being and well-being by the satisfaction of preferences. The contribution of health to well-being is not separable from the contributions of other goods, and individuals who have serious health deficits may restructure their lives so as to attain a level of well-being fully comparable to the well-being of those who have no health problems. Moreover, from a public perspective in a liberal state, the contribution that health makes to opportunity may be a better measure of the value of health than its contribution to well-being. Yet, measuring health by its contribution to well-being apparently makes the burdens of ill-health commensurable with other goods, and, moreover, it is questionable whether there is a feasible alternative to measuring health by well-being and well-being by preferences.

 

Here is the colloquium schedule:

 

12:30 pm                     Grad student lunch with speaker

2:00-2:45 pm               Coffee and cookies in the Philosophy Lounge

2:45-3:00 pm               Colloquium setup

3:00-5:00 pm               Colloquium, West Duke Building, Room 202

5:00-6:00 pm               Reception in the Philosophy Lounge

 

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

Duke Philosophy Department