Lauener Foundation for Analytical Philosophy
Symposium
Thursday 25 August - Friday 26 August 2022
Haus der Universität, Bern, Switzerland
9th International Lauener Symposium on Analytical Philosophy
on Themes from Susan Wolf
Professor Susan Wolf
(UNC Chapel Hill)
Accentuating the Positive: Reflections on Praise and Credit
Philosophical work on responsibility has traditionally been tied to inquiry into the nature and conditions of blame. The notions of praise and praiseworthiness have been relatively neglected. This talk will address the imbalance by focusing on praise and related attitudes and practices. It will consider distinctions among praise, credit, (mere) positive attribution, and reward, making note of analogies and disanalogies with distinctions in the family of negative attitudes. And it will suggest that the notion of accountability, central to many discussions of responsibility and blame, has little or no place in the practices of praise. Attention to praise and its relatives, in addition to being important in itself, thus offers a different perspective on the more general concept of responsibility.