Schedule
May 4, 2026
Areti Theofilopoulou (Warwick): “Is It Control or Boundary-Setting?”
Boundaries inform our partners how we expect them to treat us or behave with others. For example, we set boundaries when we set monogamy or polyamory as a condition for our relationship, or when we express that we want our relationship to contain sexual activity or no such activity at all. The problem is that we have no principled way of distinguishing boundaries from controlling behaviour, as both communicate how person A is willing to act in a relationship, how A wants B to act in their relationship, and what consequences can arise from not complying with these desires. How can we then distinguish coercive control, which is impermissible, from boundary-setting, which is permissible? In answering, I’ll examine (and reject) arguments about the timing of the requests, the role of intentions, and how central the concessions are to the victim’s conception of the good. I’ll defend a twofold answer: first, coercive control undermines victims’ autonomy in a way that boundary-setting doesn’t, and second, our powers to set boundaries should be sensitive to wider power structures. When two individuals with asymmetric power form a relationship (for example due to economic or gender power asymmetries) the range of behaviours that are permissible as boundary-setting diminishes.
May 11, 2026
Christie Hartley (Georgia State) and Ashley Lindsley-Kim (British Columbia): “Equality and the Right to Abortion”
Most work on the ethics of abortion focuses on the moral status of the fetus and/or a pregnant person’s right to bodily or reproductive autonomy, as does most work on whether there should be a legal right to abortion. Little attention is given to equality arguments for the right to abortion, that is, arguments that aim to establish that either considerations of sex equality or equal citizenship are central to abortion rights. We propose an argument for legal abortion rights that centers equality. We briefly review some equality arguments for abortion rights: two sex equality arguments and a recent equal treatment argument. Notably, these arguments offer contingent or conditional support for abortion rights. By contrast, we aim to justify abortion rights in all practically realizable circumstances on the grounds that the practice of state-forced pregnancy and birth is incompatible with equal citizenship. We identify four conditions of inferiority created by abortion bans: 1) powerlessness and lack of authority over one’s body; 2) the subjugation of a person’s interests to the interests of a particular other; 3) exploitation; and 4) violability. We argue the creation of these conditions is unjustifiable if citizens are equals.
May 18, 2026
Nanette Ryan (Singapore); (co-authored with Joshua Lucza): “Cultivating Frugal Preferences in Children: A Response to the Climate Crisis”
In the context of the global climate crisis, the question of how to raise children as ethically engaged citizens becomes increasingly urgent. The values and preferences cultivated in childhood shape not only how children understand themselves and their place within society, but also the very structure of that society and what is possible now and into the future. Endorsing a consumer culture that is sustained by patterns of natural and social exploitation—such as fast fashion, resource-intensive diets centred on industrial meat production, and fuel-intensive travel—is widely recognised as having a devastating impact on ecological systems, social equity, and the material and social conditions necessary for present and future generations to live secure, healthy, and autonomous lives.
In response to the environmental concern, many institutions have turned to children’s education to encourage pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours. These efforts include initiatives such as the “reduce, reuse, recycle” program endorsed by the United Nations, the integration of sustainability-focused curricula in primary and secondary schools, and the incorporation of environmental themes into children’s media and public awareness campaigns.
Online Seminar Series jointly organised with Tom Bailey (John Cabot University). To obtain the link, please write an email to justparenthood.project@gmail.com
Just Parenthood 