Conference Announcement "Fairness: Its Role in Our Lives" A Social Research Conference New School for Social Research New York, NY (USA) 14-15 April 2005
Fairness is a central motivating force in our private and public lives. Who gets what, how is it distributed, and how do we feel about that parceling out of power, resources, access, even attention? When allocation and distribution lead to indignation, the results can be explosive: witness the civil rights movement in the United States or, earlier, the Revolutionary War; the overthrow of apartheid in South Africa; the experiment of the Soviet Union. Current examples abound, from the struggle for a Palestinian state to questions of how to handle taxation, health insurance, and social security in the USA. Equality, justice, and social change all have their roots in our perceptions of fairness, and the very ability to perceive fairness is itself rooted in the behavior of our animal ancestors. It arises early in childhood, when it is echoed in the familiar cry of Thats not fair. Understanding what drives those perceptions, and examining how issues of fairness have played out through history, is key to effecting lasting change. This conference brings scientists, policy makers, historians, philosophers, and economists together in a public forum, to explore research on perceptions of fairness and consider historical case studies in the context of that science. Our shared purpose is to move toward informed solutions to some of the serious social problems that now confront us. Contact: Tanya Suphatranand Conference Coordinator Social Research 65 Fifth Ave. Room 375 New York, NY 10003 USA Phone: +1-212-2292488 Fax: +1-212-2295476 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.socres.org/fairness/ _________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org/ Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://agd.polylog.org/cal/
