During the Covid-19 pandemic, Savannah Pearlman—a Ph.D. candidate in our department—became deeply involved in Bloomington's local Mutual Aid group, whose goal is to redistribute wealth, resources, and social support to locals in need. From then on, Savannah became interested in philosophical questions related to our duty of beneficence and tactics in the philosophy of philanthropy. Savannah has since published three articles on Mutual Aid. In an article on the American Philosophical Association blog, "In Tension: Mutual Aid and Effective Altruism," Savannah previews the larger argument of her paper, "Solidarity Over Charity: Mutual Aid as a Moral Alternative to Effective Altruism," which is forthcoming in the Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal.
Graduate Research Spotlight
Another article, "Mutual Aid and a Pluralistic Account of Solidarity," is forthcoming in The Philosopher, the UK's longest running Public Philosophy Journal. Savannah has since been invited to Guest Edit a special issue of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal on the subject of Mutual Aid, along with Professor Mark Lance (Georgetown), this Spring.