The Centre for Social Innovation of Trinity Business School is delighted to invite you to the next event of the virtual Trinity Business Ethics Speaker Series.
The guest speaker for the upcoming event on March 18, 5 pm Dublin time is Dr. Kendy Hess. Kendy is the Brake Smith Associate Professor in Social Philosophy and Ethics at College of the Holy Cross. With a background in philosophy and previous practice in environmental law, Kendy is one of the leading international scholars on corporate moral responsibility, on which she has published widely.
Kendy will give a talk based on the paper, "…and There be Dragons": Modern Corporations as Political Actors. Despite decades of debate about the moral status of corporate agents, there has been surprisingly little exploration of their political status. This talk thus begins with an overview of Kendy's account of corporate agents – from metaphysics to moral obligation – and then moves on to explore some of the political implications. Setting aside the question of political rights and duties, Kendy considers the permissibility of three modes of political engagement: (1) as an extension of the government, under government direction; (2) as subjects, attempting to influence government action, and (3) as the government, exercising governmental authority in their own right. She suggests that the first two are unproblematic (if complicated), while the third is inevitable to some extent: any functional government will necessarily qualify as a corporate agent in its own right. There is another possibility for the third, however: proponents of so-called "political corporate social responsibility" argue that, in the absence of a successful state, literal "corporations" (a subset of corporate agents) should step in and govern. The talk closes by considering what Kendy's theory of corporate agency reveals about the latter possibility.
The event will be accompanied by an exclusive piano music performance by Josef Barnickel.
Register here for this event on Mar 18, 5pm Dublin time:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JvztHWoDTcqRqQsvFfYT2w
The series is delivered online and will usually be presented at 5 pm Dublin time on Thursdays throughout the academic year, exploring important contemporary issues in the field of business ethics. Leading international scholars and practitioners will present their insights on a wide range of topics, including corporate sustainability, responsible business, corporate corruption, ethics in a digital age, corporate agency as well as business and human rights.
The sessions are open to all Trinity staff, students and the general public. The full schedule with dates and registration links is available here: https://www.tcd.ie/business/ethics-speakers-series/index.php
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Maximilian Schormair
Assistant Professor
Trinity College Dublin
Dublin
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