Choices About Children: The Ethics of Procreation, Parenting, and Education

This workshop brings together Australia and Canada-based philosophers to examine how families, schools, and societies negotiate the responsibilities and expectations of raising children. Presentations will explore the evolving landscape of parental rights and identities, the impact of low expectations on children’s development, and the processes through which values are transmitted across generations. Speakers will also analyse how educational systems reproduce or challenge social class hierarchies, and debate who should bear the financial and social costs of childrearing. Together, these discussions aim to illuminate the tensions and possibilities at the heart of contemporary childhood and family policy.

Speakers: Lauren Bialystok (Toronto), Ryan Cox (Sydney), Luara Ferracioli (Sydney), Amy Mullin (Toronto), Andrew Fanklin-Hall (Toronto), Sarah Hannan (Manitoba)

SCHEDULE (subject to change)

• 9:00 — Introductory remarks
• 9:10-10:20 — 1st Presentation: Ryan Cox (Sydney)
• Morning Tea/Break
• 10:40-11:50 — 2nd Presentation: Luara Ferracioli (Toronto)
• 11:55-13:05 — 3rd Presentation: Amy Mullin (Toronto)
• Lunch Break
• 14:05-15:15 — 4th Presentation: Andrew Franklin-Hall (Toronto)
• Afternoon tea/Break
• 15:35-16:45 — 5th Presentation: Sarah Hannan (Manitoba)
• 16:50-18:00 — 6th Presentation: Lauren Bialystok (Sydney)

Coffee/Tea will be provided. Lunch will not be provided.

We hope to see you there!

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This is a workshop presented by the University of Toronto's Centre for Ethics that is free to attend and open to the public. Please also fill out this form if you're attending in person.
The talk will also be streamed online with live chat here [to be posted].

About the Centre for Ethics (http://ethics.utoronto.ca):

The Centre for Ethics is an interdisciplinary centre aimed at advancing research and teaching in the field of ethics, broadly defined. The Centre seeks to bring together the theoretical and practical knowledge of diverse scholars, students, public servants and social leaders in order to increase understanding of the ethical dimensions of individual, social, and political life.

In pursuit of its interdisciplinary mission, the Centre fosters lines of inquiry such as (1) foundations of ethics, which encompasses the history of ethics and core concepts in the philosophical study of ethics; (2) ethics in action, which relates theory to practice in key domains of social life, including bioethics, business ethics, and ethics in the public sphere; and (3) ethics in translation, which draws upon the rich multiculturalism of the City of Toronto and addresses the ethics of multicultural societies, ethical discourse across religious and cultural boundaries, and the ethics of international society.

The Ethics of A.I. Lab at the Centre For Ethics recently appeared on a list of 10 organizations leading the way in ethical A.I.: https://ocean.sagepub.com/blog/10-organizations-leading-the-way-in-ethical-ai