► To stay informed about other upcoming events at the Centre for Ethics, opportunities, and more, please sign up for our newsletter.

Theories of Perverse Actions

We occasionally act in ways that are wrong—morally or otherwise—at least partially because of the wrongness, as when we break a rule just for the sake of breaking it. I explore different theories of such perverse actions, including failures of thought suppression, signalling, strategic behaviour, expressions of autonomy, and “hopeful monsters”. Some of these theories fail to properly explain perversity but some are more successful. I suggest that the study of perverse actions can tell us some interesting things about human nature.

► this event is in-person at the Centre for Ethics (Larkin building, room 200)

Paul Bloom
Professor
Psychology                                                               University of Toronto

Tue, Nov 29, 2022
04:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto
200 Larkin