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Green Light Ethics A Theory of Permissive Consent and its Moral Metaphysics
9/15/22

Hallie Liberto's book is about permissive consent—the moral tool we use to give another person permission to do what would otherwise be forbidden. For instance, consent to enter my home gives you permission to do what would otherwise be trespass. This transformation is the very thing that philosophers identify as consent—which is why we call it a normative power. It is something individuals can do, by choice, to change the moral or legal world. But what human acts or attitudes render consent? When do coercive threats, offers, or lies undermine the transformative power of consent? What intentions or conventions are necessary to render consent meaningful?

This book develops a novel theory that explains the moral features of consent in some of the most central domains of human life—but that also serves as a study in how to theorize normative power. It argues that consent is a moral mechanism with exactly the set of features that, when triggered, prevents another person's behavior from constituting a certain kind of wrongdoing. What kind of wrongdoing? It depends on what sort of permission is being granted. Sometimes consent permits others to enter, occupy, or act within some bounded domain wherein the consent-giver holds moral authority. In these cases, consent operates to prevent what the book calls: Invasive Wrongdoing. By identifying the moral features that underlie this special wrongdoing, we can learn what it takes to render consent.

Philosophy Professor Receives Humboldt Research Award
4/1/22

By Jessica Weiss ’05 

John Horty, professor of philosophy and affiliate professor in the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies and the Department of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, has been awarded a Humboldt Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany. 

The award, named after the late Prussian naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt, recognizes leading researchers of all disciplines across the world in recognition of their academic record to date. To promote international scientific cooperation, award winners are invited to spend a period of up to one year collaborating on a long-term research project with colleagues at a research institution in Germany. 

Horty is an internationally known expert on several topics that connect philosophy, logic and artificial intelligence (AI) and he was among the first philosophers to apply methods from computer science to philosophical questions concerning legal and moral reasoning. In recent years, his work has focused on the growing field of “machine ethics” or “humane AI,” whose goal is to develop the—conceptual and technical—framework needed to advance AI in a way that is ethical and that promotes human wellbeing. Horty’s work seeks to show ways in which autonomous AI systems can engage in normative reasoning in real time. That work could eventually help to make computational tools that would assist people in their thinking about legal and moral problems. 

Horty is the author of three books as well as papers on a variety of topics. He has received three fellowships from the National Endowment for Humanities and several grants from the National Science Foundation. He has also held visiting fellowships at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies and at the Center for Advanced Studies in Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. His forthcoming book will focus on the logic of precedent. He is also working with colleagues across campus to organize a center on “Ethics and AI” at the University of Maryland. 

Horty earned his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh. He holds a bachelor of arts in philosophy and classics from Oberlin College.

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