Situationism is a view arising out of experimental psychology, suggesting that human cognition and behavior are far more susceptible to the influence of immediate variables in a person’s environment than is otherwise acknowledged. Among philosophers taking the implications of situationism seriously, some have suggested we exploit this tendency to be shaped by situational variables toward desirable ends; if experimental studies produce reliable, probabilistic predictions about the effects of situational variables on behavior—for example, how people react to the presence or absence of various sounds, objects, and their placement—then we should deploy those variables that promote prosocial behavior, while avoiding those that don’t. Put another way, some have suggested that we tweak situations to nudge people toward the good. A question arises: Isn’t this manipulative? In this presentation, I describe some existing proposals and consider the manipulation worry. I conclude by claiming that, when all is considered, it is chimerical to think we can decide whether to manipulate others or not. We must rather accept that manipulation is part of social existence. Once we do, the only remaining question is how to manipulate. I suggest that this should make us conceive ourselves in an ‘object-ive’ fashion.

Read more about our visitor at http://www.hagopsarkissian.com/

Philosophy Seminar Series
Date: Thursday, 19 May 2016
Time: 2pm – 5pm
Venue: AS3 #05-23
Speaker: Associate Professor Hagop Sarkissian
Moderator: A/P Tan Sor Hoon

About the Speaker:

Hagop Sarkissian is an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the Baruch College, City University of New York, where he teaches classes in ethics, moral psychology, Chinese philosophy, philosophy of religion, and experimental philosophy. Most of his research is in moral psychology, broadly construed. He is a methodological pluralist, and use resources from other relevant disciplines to inform his work, such as evolutionary biology and experimental psychology. He also draw extensively from the history of Chinese philosophy, especially the classical period (ca. 6th to 2nd century BCE).He is a faculty advisor to the Metro Experimental Research Group, co-chair of the Columbia Society for Comparative Philosophy, and Core Project Member of the Oneness in Philosophy and Psychology project.