Anna Folland: "Bads, Harms and Misfortunes"

Anna Folland, Uppsala universitet: "Bads, Harms and Misfortunes"

Abstract
My presentation will primarily focus on four properties that events and states of affairs can have: being harmful to someone, being bad for someone, being an impediment to someone’s wellbeing, and being a misfortune for someone. There are several prima facie plausible, and commonly accepted, claims about the relationships between these properties. For instance, it seems correct to claim that something harms someone if and only if it is bad for her, and that something is a misfortune for someone if and only if it is very bad for her. Although philosophers often assume, and rely on, such claims in philosophical argumentation, issues regarding these relations remain obscure and opaque. In my presentation, I will take a closer look at arguments for and against such claims about bads, harms and misfortunes – including those just mentioned.