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AEF: Erica Preston-Roedder
April 26, 2023 @ 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm
APPLIED ETHICS FORUM · DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY
‘What can philosophy say about mass shootings?’
Erica Preston-Roedder (Occidental College)
Wednesday 26 April 2023 • 3:30pm–5:30pm • LA5–355
Abstract: Mass shootings are a horrific aspect of modern life. In the wake of such violence, we often manifest complex normative and emotive responses: we recoil at the indiscriminate slaughter of innocents; we find ourselves shaken by the sense that no place is safe; and we wrestle with the fears induced by this contemporary form of violence. Can philosophy help us make sense of the normative contours of mass shootings, as well as our own emotive reactions to such events? Ultimately, I argue that mass shootings involve a specific kind of violence, indiscriminate killing, one which is distinct from other kinds of murder. Additionally, I consider the publicity of mass shootings and the way their dominance in public imagination distorts how we see the world and each other.