Speaker: Alex Madva,  Associate Professor of Philosophy at Cal Poly Pomona and Director of the California Center for Ethics & Policy

Title: "Changing Everything Everywhere All at Once?"

Abstract: In popular, social-scientific, and philosophical discussions about the best ways to tackle major challenges like racism and the climate crisis, people often claim that some interventions are “simpler” and “more direct” (and therefore better) than others. For example, a 2021 article by social psychologists Keith Payne and Jason Hannay claims that “policies that directly increase racial equality and participation, such as voting rights legislation and affirmative action policies, are likely to have more impact than changing attitudes.” My talk will ask what people have in mind when they draw contrasts like this. I’ll argue, however, that the apparent contrast between simple/direct and complex/indirect interventions is typically false, nonsensical, or at best misleading. Worse, attempts to draw this distinction obscure both the nature of the challenges we face and the full range of actions we must take to address them.