Abstract: I will explore a number of questions concerning the value of making choices in our life: In what ways do the choices we make contribute to the value of autonomy? Is having options really as important as we tend to assume? What is the relationship between freedom and autonomy? I will then draw on this discussion to outline a novel defence of liberal perfectionism: the view that (within limits) states are permitted to enact policies that promote a particular conception of the good life.

Bio: Massimo Renzo is the Yeoh Professor of Politics, Philosophy & Law at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London, where he directs the Yeoh Tiong Lay Centre for Politics, Philosophy and Law. He works in legal, moral and political philosophy. Professor Renzo has written on political authority, just war, human rights, and philosophy of the criminal law. He is currently interested in moral agency, with a focus on the notions of autonomy, responsibility and meaning in life.

 

*Please note that the topic of this talk has been updated as of 4/14.