Gustaf Arrhenius more information

Current and Recent Projects

• The Mimir Institute for Long Term Futures Studies
• Climate Ethics and Future Generations
• Sustainable Population in the Time of Climate Change
• Anxieties of Democracy
• The Boundary Problem in Democratic Theory
• Valuing future lives
• International Panel on Social Progress
• The Franco-Swedish Program in Economics and Philosophy

 Interviews and broadcasted lectures (selection)

• "Filosofen som blev framtidsspanare", interview in Tidningen Curie, March 22, 2023.
• "Går det verkligen att sia om framtiden?", interview for the collection Vår Framtid by Nordiska museet, January 24, 2023.
• "Så stoppas klimatkatastrofen: 'Det är extremt kontroversiellt'", interview in Dagens Industri, September 20, 2022.
• "Framtider: Hur mår demokratin?", interview by Lotta Nylander for IFFS Play, June 27, 2018.
• ”Svenska värderingar: extremistiska normer i Landet Lagom?” (“Swedish Values: Extremist Norms in the Country “Lagom””), together with Lasse Dencik and Alice Teodorescu, Recording of ”Filosofiska rummet” (for the Swedish public service radio broadcaster), Göteborg Book Fair, September 24, 2016.
• ”Vilket ansvar har vi för kommande generationer?” (”Which Responsibility do we have to Future Generations?”), conversation with Torbjörn Tännsjö, Professor of practical philosophy at  Stockholm University, Filosofiscenen,  Göteborg Book Fair, September 23, 2016.
• ”Svenska värderingar?” (”Swedish Values”), conversation with Folke Tersman, Professor of philosophy at Uppsala University, Filosofiscenen, Göteborg Book Fair, September 22, 2016.
• ”Det skriande behovet av att erkänna målkonflikter” (”The Tremendeous Need to Recognize Conflicting Objectives”), seminar, Step 3, Journal Syre, Almedalen, July, 2016.
• ”Hur mycket kostar ett kontor i Rosenbad?” (”What is the Cost for an Office in Rosenbad?”), discussion, Natur o Kultur, Almedalen, July 6, 2016.
• ”Globaliseringen och välfärdsstatens utmaningar” (”Globalization and the Challenges of the Welfare State”, Invited speaker, Makro Sveriges Samhällsekonomiska forum, Sandhamn, June 2-3, 2016.
• “Politisk filosofi idag”, Interview, Tidskrift för politisk filosofi nr 1 2016. 
  (in Swedish)
• “På besök i varandras verkligheter”, Interview, Curie, 14 January, 2016.
  (in Swedish)
• ”Kan positiv särbehandling vara rätt”, Jämställdhet i akademin: från siffror till handling, Chalmers, Göteborg, 30 January, 2014. Visas på UR Samtiden
  (in Swedish)
•  Fjärde uppgiften: Filosofen som tänker på kommande generationer, ekonomi och politik, interview, January 2013 (in Swedish)
• Installationsföreläsning “Vår moral och framtida generationer”, lecture, September 2012 (in Swedish) [Swedish printed version]
• Filosofi och ekonomi, interview, November 2012 (in Swedish)

Publications 

Articles, Chapters:

1. ”Enfranchising All Subjected: A Reconstruction and Problematization”, Politics, Philosophy and Economics 23 (2):125-153, together with Robert E. Goodin, 2024.
2. ”Population ethics under risk”, Social Choice and Welfare, with Orri H. Stefánsson, 2023. (PDF)
3. ”Population Ethics and Conflict-of-Value Imprecision”, in Jeff McMahan, Tim Campbell, James Goodrich and Ketan Ramakrishnan (eds.), Ethics and Existence: The Legacy of Derek Parfit, Oxford, 2022.
4. "A World Climate Bank: A response”, in John Broome & Duncan Foley, A World Climate Bank, Global Challenges Foundation, 2022. (PDF)
5. ”Democratic Representation of Future Generations and Population Ethics”, in Joe Roussos & Paul Bowman (eds.), Studies on climate ethics and future generations, 4, Stockholm: Institute for Futures Studies, 2021.
6. ”Etiska avvägningar i pandemitider” in Eliasson, Jonas & Lena Unemo (eds.), I en tid av pandemi – en ESO–antologi med samhällsvetenskapliga reflektioner. Rapport till Expertgruppen för studier i offentlig ekonomi 2021:1, Statens offentliga utredningar, together with Krister Bykvist, Rebecca Thorburn Stern and Folke Tersman, 2021.
7. "Does climate change policy depend importantly on population ethics? Deflationary Responses to the Challenges of Population Ethics for Public Policy”, in Budolfson, Mark; McPherson, Tristram & David Plunkett (eds.), Philosophy and Climate Change, Oxford University Press, together with Mark Budolfson and Dean Spears, 2021. (PDF)
8. ”Positive Egalitarianism Reconsidered”, Utilitas 34:1, s. 1–20, together with Julia Mosquera, 2021.
9. ”The Repugnant Conclusion”, in Edward N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, together with Torbjörn Tännsjö and Tim Campbell, 2021.
10. ”Population paradoxes without transitivity”, in Arrhenius G.; Bykvist, K.; Campbell, T. & E. Finneron-Burns, (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Population Ethics, 2021.
11. ”Constructivist Contractualism and Future Generations” in Gardiner, Stephen M. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Intergenerational Ethics, New York: Oxford University Press, together with Emil Andersson, 2021. (PDF)
12. "Incommensurability and Vagueness in Population Axiology", in Henrik Andersson and Anders Herlitz (eds.), Value Incommensurability, Routledge, 2021.
13. “The Repugnant Conclusion: An Overview” in Gardiner, Stephen M. (red.), The Oxford Handbook of Intergenerational Ethics, New York: Oxford University Press, together with Emil Andersson, 2021.
14. ”Governing for Future Generations: How Institutional Trust Shapes Attitudes towards Climate and Debt Policies”, Frontiers in Political Science, section Political Participation, together with Malcolm Fairbrother, Krister Bykvist and Timothy Campbell, 2021. (PDF)
15. ”How Much Do We Value Future Generations? Climate Change, Debt, and Attitudes towards Policies for Improving Future Lives”, in Paul J. Bowman & Katharina Berndt-Rasmussen (eds.), Studies on climate ethics and future generations, Vol 2, Stockholm: Institute for Futures Studies, together with Malcolm Fairbrother, Krister Bykvist and Timothy Campbell, 2020.
16. ”Does Climate Change Policy Depend Importantly on Population Ethics? Deflationary Responses to the Challenges of Population Ethics for Public Policy”, in Paul J. Bowman & Katharina Berndt-Rasmussen (eds.), Studies on Climate Ethics and Future Generations, Vol. 2, Stockholm: Institute for Futures Studies, together with Mark Budolfson and Dean Spears, 2020.
17. ”AI – nästa steg”, in Nathalie Besèr (ed.), Perspektiv på digitalisering, together with Emma Engström, Karim Jebari and Pontus Strimling, 2019.
18. ”Positive Egalitarianism”, in Paul Bowman and Katharina Berndt Rasmussen (eds.), Studies on Climate Ethics and Future Generations, Vol. 1, Working Paper Series, Stockholm: Institute for Futures Studies, together with Julia Mosquera, 2019.
19. “Democracy for the 21st Century: Research Challenges”, in Elkana, Y., Randeria, S., & Wittrock, B., Sociology Looks at the Twenty-first Century: From Local Universalism to Global Contextualism, Brill, Leiden and Boston, 2019.
20. “The Democratic Boundary Problem Reconsidered”, Ethics, Politics & Society. A Journal in Moral and Political Philosophy, N. 1, 2018, pp.89-122 (PDF)
21. “Climate Change Risk and Population Ethics”, in: Global Warming, Global Ethics, Publisher: Shiizukobundoshobo Co. Ltd., 2018.
22. ”The Problem of Optimal Population Size”, in Marc Fleurbay (ed.), International Panel on Social Progress 1st Annual Report, together with Tim Campbell, 2018. (PDF)
23. "Global Health and the Changing Contours of Human Life”, Ch. 18 in Rethinking Society for the 21st Century, International Panel on Social Progress (eds.), Cambridge University Press 2018 (with Ama de-Graft Aikins, Dan Wikler, Pascale Allotey, Uli Beisel, Melinda Cooper, Nir Eyal, Dan Hausman, Wolfgang Lutz, Ole Norheim, Elizabeth Roberts, Denny Vagero, and Karim Jebari. Together with Jebari, I wrote section 5.1. What is enhancement?, 5.2. Enhancement and priority in health care, 5.3. The Limits of Human Enhancement, 5.4. Enhancement and global inequality, and 5.5 Conclusions)
24. “The Repugnant Conclusion”, in Edward N. Zalta (ed.) The Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, together with Jesper Ryberg and Torbjörn Tännsjö, 2017 (revised version of (14) with renewed peer review).
25. "Précis Population Ethics", Ars Vivendi Journal No. 8/9, 2017.
26. “Population Ethics and Different-Number-Based Imprecision”, Theoria, Volume 82, Issue 2, May 2016.
27. “Value Superiority” in I. Hirose and J. Olson Oxford Handbook of Value Theory, Oxford UP, together with Wlodek Rabinowicz, 2015.
28. “The Value of Existence” in I. Hirose and J. Olson, Oxford Handbook of Value Theory, Oxford UP, together with Wlodek Rabinowicz, 2015.
29. “The Affirmative Answer to the Existential Question and the Person Affecting Restriction” in I. Hirose and A. Reisner (eds.) Weighing and Reasoning, Oxford UP, 2015.
30. “Egalitarian Concerns and Population Change” in Ole Frithjof Norheim (ed.) Measurement and Ethical Evaluation of Health Inequalities, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. (PDF)
31. “The Repugnant Conclusion” in H. La Follette (ed.), International Encyclopaedia of Ethics, Oxford: Blackwell, 2013.
32. « ¿Es mejor ser que no ser? »,Discusiones Filosóficas. Año 13 Nº 21, julio – diciembre 2012.
33. “Life Extension versus Replacement”, in L. H. Meyer (ed.) Intergenerational Justice, Ashgate, 2012 (reprint).
34. “Etica delle popolazioni e metaetica”, Iride, numero 1, April 2012.
35. ”Politisk och ekonomisk demokrati” in B. Rothstein (ed.) Tillsammans: en fungerande ekonomisk demokrati, Stockholm: SNS Förlag, 2012.
36. “Vår moral och framtida generationer“ (“Our Moral and Future Generations”), Inaugural Lecture, Programme Ceremony of the Inauguration of New Professors and Conferment of Doctoral Degrees, Stockholm University, 2012.
37. “The Impossibility of a Satisfactory Population Ethics” in H. Colonius and E. Dzhafarov (eds.) Descriptive and Normative Approaches to Human Behavior, Advanced Series on Mathematical Psychology, World Scientific Publishing Company, 2011.
38. “Defining Democratic Decision Making” in F. Svensson & R. Sliwinski (eds.) Neither/Nor – Philosophical Essays Dedicated to Erik Carlson on the Occasion of His Fiftieth Birthday, Uppsala Philosophical Studies, vol. 58, Uppsala: UPS, 2011.
39. “Future Generations, Power, and Democracy”, Perspectives: Journal Réseau français des instituts d’études avancées,n. 4, printemps-été 2011.
40. “Better to Be than not to Be?” in The Benefit of Broad Horizons: Intellectual and Institutional Preconditions for a Global Social Science, Leiden: Brill, 2010, together with Wlodek Rabinowicz.
41. “Life Extension versus Replacement”, in Ruud ter Meulen, Julian Savulescu, Guy Kahane (eds.) Enhancing Human Capacities, Wiley- Blackwell, 2010 (reprint).
42. “One More Axiological Impossibility Theorem”, in R. Sliwinski & J. Österberg (eds.) Logic, Decision, and All That Jazz, Uppsala Philosophical Studies, vol. 55, Uppsala: Department of Philosophy, Uppsala University, 2009.
43. “Can the Person Affecting Restriction Solve the Problems in Population Ethics?”, in Roberts & Wasserman (eds.)Harming Future Persons, Ashgate, 2009. [penultimate version March 09.
44. “Egalitarianism and Population Change” in A. Gosseries & L. Meyer (eds.), Theories of Intergenerational Justice, Oxford UP, 2009. [penultimate version Nov 08, download in pdf-format]
45. “Life Extension versus Replacement”, Journal of Applied Philosophy, Vol. 25, No. 3, 2008.
46. “Measuring and distributing influence”, CERSES News: La lettre du Centre de Recherche Sens, Ethique, Année 1, n° 1, Avril 2008.
47. “Meritarian Axiologies and Distributive Justice” in T. Rønnow-Rasmussen, B. Petersson, J. Josefsson & D. Egonsson (eds.) Hommage à Wlodek: Philosophical Papers Dedicated to Wlodek Rabinowicz, 2007.
48. “Desert as Fit: An Axiomatic Analysis”, in Richard Feldman, Kris McDaniel, Jason R. Raibley and Michael J. Zimmerman (eds.) The Good, the Right, Life and Death: Essays in Honor of Fred Feldman, Ashgate, 2006.
49. “The Repugnant Conclusion”, Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, together with Jesper Ryberg and Torbjörn Tännsjö, 2006 (revised 2010).
50. “Superiority in Value” in Michael Zimmerman and Toni Rønnow-Rasmussen Recent Work on Intrinsic Value, Springer Verlag, 2006 (reprint).
51. “The Boundary Problem in Democratic Theory”, in Folke Tersman (ed.) Democracy Unbound: Basic Explorations I,Stockholm: Filosofiska institutionen, Stockholms Universitet, 2005.
52. “Superiority in Value”, Philosophical Studies, Vol. 123, 2005.
53. “Vem bör ha rösträtt? Det demokratiska avgränsningsproblemet” (“Who Should Have the Right to Vote? The Boundary Problem in Democratic Theory”), Tidskriften för politisk filosofi, vol. 2, 2005.
54. “Value and Unacceptable Risk: Temkin’s Worries about Continuity Reconsidered”, Economics & Philosophy, vol. 21:2, 2005, together with Wlodek Rabinowicz.
55. “Millian Superiorities”, Utilitas, vol. 17, no. 2, July 2005, together with Wlodek Rabinowicz.
56. “The Paradoxes of Future Generations and Normative Theory” in Jesper Ryberg & Torbjörn Tännsjö (eds.) The Repugnant Conclusion, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publisher, 2005.
57. “The Person Affecting Restriction, Comparativism, and the Moral Status of Potential People”, forthcoming Ethical Perspectives, no. 3-4, 2003
58. “Feldman’s Desert-Adjusted Utilitarianism and Population Ethics”, Utilitas, 2003.
59. “Value and Unacceptable Risk: Temkin’s Worries about Continuity Reconsidered”, in Wlodek Rabinowicz and Toni Rønnow-Rasmussen Patterns of Value: Essays on Formal Axiology and Value Analysis, vol. 1, Lund Philosophy Reports, 2003:1, together with Wlodek Rabinowicz.
60. “On Millian Discontinuities”, in Wlodek Rabinowicz and Toni Rønnow-Rasmussen Patterns of Value: Essays on Formal Axiology and Value Analysis, vol. 1, Lund Philosophy Reports, 2003:1, together with Wlodek Rabinowicz.
61. “The Very Repugnant Conclusion” i Krister Segerberg & Rysiek Sliwinski (red.) Logic, Law, Morality: Thirteen Essays in Practical Philosophy, Uppsala Philosophical Studies, vol. 51, Uppsala: Department of Philosophy, Uppsala University, 2003.
62. “What Österberg’s Population Theory has in Common with Plato’s”, in Erik Carlson & Rysiek Sliwinski (eds.) Omnium-gatherum, Uppsala Philosophical Studies 50, Uppsala: Department of Philosophy, Uppsala University, 2001.
63. “An Impossibility Theorem for Welfarist Axiologies”, Economics & Philosophy, October, 2000.
64. “An Impossibility Theorem in Population Axiology with Weak Ordering Assumptions”, in Rysiek Sliwinski (ed.)Philosophical Crumbs, Uppsala Philosophical Studies 49, Uppsala: Department of Philosophy, Uppsala University, 1999.
65. “Mutual Advantage Contractarianism and Future Generations”, Theoria, Vol. LXV, part 1, 1999.

 Monographs:

• The Oxford Handbook of Population Ethics, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022.
• Future Generations: A Challenge for Moral Theory, FD-Diss., Uppsala: University Printers, 2000 [Errata]
• Population Axiology, PhD -Diss., Dept. of Philosophy, University of Toronto, 1999.
• Future Generations and Interpersonal Compensations: Moral Aspects of Energy Use, Uppsala Prints and Preprints in Philosophy, 1995:21, Uppsala University, 1995. With Krister Bykvist.

Recent Invited Talks and Conference Presentations (selection)

1. “Unequal Participation, Responsiveness, and Democratic Anger”, Democracy and the Future, Institute for Futures Studies, 10 November, 2016.
2. “An Introduction to some Impossibility Theorems in Population Ethics”, Epistemic utility theory meets population ethics, Institute for Futures Studies, 17 November, 2016.
3. “Förtroende för politiker och institutioner” (“Trust in Politicians and Institutions”), lecture for the Social Democratic Party’s members of parliament, Andrakammarsalen, 11 October, 2016.
4. “Closing statement, Population and Ethics: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Birth and Death”, Cumberland Lodge, 26 September, 2016.
5. “Climate Change, Risk, and Population Ethics”, Tore Browald lecture, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg, 24 May, 2016.
6. ”Imprecision in Population Ethics”, Moral Philosophy Seminar, Oxford, 16 May, 2016.
7. “Superior Values”, Conference on Population Ethics, Oxford, 21-23 November, 2015.
8. “The All Affected Principle and Future Generations”, Research Seminar in Practical Philosophy and Political Theory, Gothenburg University, 13 November, 2015.
9. “The All Affected Principle and Future Generations”, keynote speaker, Nordic Network for Political Theory, Copenhagen, 6 November, 2015.
10. “Climate Change, Risk, and Population Ethics”, Uehiro-Carnegie-Oxford Conference on Global Warming-Environmental Ethics and Its Practice, New York, 29 October, 2015.
11. “Population Ethics and Superiority”, Workshop on Well-being and Population Ethics, Institute for Futures Studies, 19 October, 2015.
12. “Population Ethics, Imprecision, and Lexical Superiority”, Franco-Swedish Program in Philosophy and Economics Final conference, Uppsala, 8 June, 2015.
13. “Population Ethics in the Time of Global Warming”, Etiske hensyn til nålevende kontra fremtidige generasjoner og enkeltindivid, Award Ceremony: Berit og Peter Wessel Zapffes fond ,Oslo Universitet, 25 April, 2015.
14. “Population ethics in the time of global warming”, SUDA (Stockholm University Demography Unit), Stockholm University, 12 March, 2015.
15. “Population Ethics”, Ritsumeikan University, Japan, 12 January, 2015.
16. “Democracy for the 21st Century: Research Challenges”, Inaugural Lecture (honorary professorship), Department of Political Science and Government, University of Aarhus, 11 December, 2014.
17. “Population Ethics, Imprecision, and Superiority in Value”, Rutgers University, 13 November, 2014. 
18. “Future Generations, Population Ethics, and Imprecision”, Royal Academy of Science, October 21, 2014.
19. “Imprecision and the Repugnant Conclusion”, The Swedish Collegium of Advanced Study, September 9, 2014.
20. “The Affirmative Answer to the Existential Question and the Person Affecting Restriction”, Celebration conference for Wlodek Rabinowicz, Lund University, April 2014.
21. “Democracy and Future Generations”, Democracy’s Others, Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, November 14, 2013.
22. “Inequality and Population Change”, Justice, Rationality, and Autonomy, University of Turku, Dept. of Philosophy, October 10-11, 2013.
23. “Defining Majoritarian Democracy”, Political Philosophy in the Fields III, Monte das Cebolas, Campinho, Portugal, 9-11 September, 2013.
24. “The Value of Existence”, ARC Workshop: Procreative Responsibility and Population Size, l’Université catholique de Louvain, April 25-26, 2013.
25. “Political and Economic Democracy”, Perspectives on Economic Democracy, Collège d’Etudes Mondiales, April 29-30, 2013.
26. “The Value of Existence”, Social Ethics and Inequalities, Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, March 20, 2013.
27. “Inequality and Population Change”, Economics and Philosophy Workshop, Princeton University, Nov 26, 2012.
28. “Inequality and Population Change”, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University, Nov 28, 2012.
29. “Political and Economic Democracy”, Economic Democracy: Reflections on the Past and the Future, Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, November 14, 2012.
30. “Inequality and Population Change”, Topics in Economics and Philosophy, Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, October 24-25, 2012.
31. “Inequality and Population Change”, Workshop Insel Reichenau, University of Konstanz, Reichenau, Oct 3-6, 2012.
32. “Our Moral and Future Generations”, Inaugural Lecture, Ceremony of The Inauguration of New Professors and Conferment of Doctoral Degrees, Stockholm City Hall, Sept. 28, 2012.
33. “Population Meta-Ethics”, invited speaker, Intergenerational equity and climate change, Collège d’Etudes Mondiales, Paris, 14-15 June 2012.
34. “Population Meta-Ethics”, invited speaker, ARC Workshop on Optimal Population, l’Université catholique de Louvain, 9 Feb, 2012.
35. “Egalitarian Concerns and Population Change”, plenary speaker, Distributive Justice in Health, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, 5- 7 Oct, 2011.
36. “On the Possibility of a Satisfactory Population Ethics”, Pro Futura Conference, The Swedish Collegium of Advanced Study, 20 Sept, 2011.
37. “The Democratic Boundary Problem I-II” (2 lectures), NTNU PhD Course on Globalization, Dept. of Philosophy, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 12-13 Sept, 2011.
38. “On the Possibility of a Satisfactory Population Ethics”, plenary speaker,  ISUS XI, 11th Conference of the International Society for Utilitarian Studies: The Ethics of Economic Development, Lucca, 23-25 June, 2011.
39. “The Democratic Boundary Problem Reconsidered”, keynote speaker, Nordic Network for Political Ethics Conference 2011, Vejlefjord, May 30th-June 3rd, 2012.
40. “Values, Welfare, and Economics”, Institute for International Economic Studies, Stockholm University, April 8th, 2011.
41. “The Impossibility of a Satisfactory Population Ethics”, Center for Ethics and Policy & Dept. of Philosophy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, 28 March, 2011.
42. “The Impossibility of a Satisfactory Population Ethics”, invited speaker at the conference Population Ethics, McGill University, March 25, 2011.
43. “Better to Be Than Not to Be”, invited speaker at the workshop Justice and Reproduction, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Nov 30–Dec 1, 2010.
44. “Democracy, Knowledge, and the Common Good”, the Tampere Club’s Annual Meeting, Tampere, August 2010.
45. “Den ekonomiska demokratins politiska teori”, workshop Ekonomisk Demokrati, Steningevik, August 2010.
46. “Population Change and Inequality”, invited speaker at Brocher Summer Academy in Global Population-level Bioethics, Harvard University, Foundation Brocher, and Geneva University, Geneva, 12 – 16 July, 2010.
47. “Debunking the Repugnant Conclusion”, invited speaker at the Oxford –Scandinavian Seminar on Moral Philosophy, James Martin 21st Century School, University of Oxford, 3-4 June 2010.
48. “The Impossibility of a Satisfactory Population Ethics”, l’Université catholique de Louvain, 20 May 2010.
49. “The All Affected Principle and Future Generations”, The Swedish Collegium of Advanced Study, May 2010.

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