Local terminal risk as an analogue of existential risk: theoretical and empirical dimensions

International workshop organized by par Jean-Paul Vanderlinden, Director of the Culture, Environnement Arctiques, Représentations, Climat laboratory (CEARC, Paris-Saclay University, University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines), Principal Investigator of the PREFER project (ERC Advanced Grant 2021), with the support of the Paris IAS.

Onsite event, only in English.
Open to the public with registration at this adress: https://framaforms.org/inscription-prefer-workshop-1745284252

Presentation

The aim of this workshop is to clarify the theoretical and empirical dimensions associated with local terminal risks as axiological sources for the analysis of existential risk. Half-days will be devoted either to current and emerging theoretical issues, or to news from the field.

This international workshop is part of the PREFER project (ERC AdG 2021), which focuses on the mobilization of lay ethics and everyday ethics in the context of existential risk. The project explores questions such as: “When humanity itself is at stake, what are the values that drive humanity to act? Where do these values come from? How can we prioritize the risks that require special attention? What criteria should guide the choice of solutions in the face of unspeakable disaster?”

These are the questions that the workshop's presentations and discussions will help to answer at an important stage. During these two days, the aim is to bridge the gap between theory and real-world experience, giving an insight into how people conceptualize and confront the risks that threaten their humanity - individual, collective, specific, interspecific - and the collective future of mankind.

Program

Under construction, final version available on May 5.

Wednesday May 14
9.30am - 10am: Welcome
10am - 1pm: Theoretical framing
2pm - 5pm: Methodological challenges of analogy

Thursday May 15
9.30am - 10am: Welcome
10am - 1pm: News from the field
2pm - 5pm: Linking theory and the field, and the challenges ahead

Organizers and partners

- Culture, Environnement Arctiques, Représentations, Climat Laboratory (CEARC) 
- PREFER project (ERC Advanced Grant 2021)
- Paris-Saclay University
- University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
- European Research Council (ERC)

Social media

CEARC: @cearc.bsky.social
UVSQ: @uvsq.bsky.social
Université Paris-Saclay: @univparissaclay.bsky.social