Lund Philosophical Society: Stephen Darwall "Two Kinds of Intrinsic Human Value"

We are very excited to announce our second speaker of 2026: Stephen Darwall, professor of philosophy at Yale University. Stephen Darwall is one of today’s most influential philosophers – for instance, he is among the top 100 most cited contemporary philosophers in the Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. His book The Second-Person Standpoint, for example, is a highly influential work in contemporary ethics. In Lund, he will give a talk titled “Two Kinds of Intrinsic Human Value” on Wednesday March 11th at 18:15 in LUX:B237.

Abstract: I argue that human beings have two kinds of intrinsic human value. The more familiar kind, Kantian dignity, means that we are entitled to respect. I have argued that this kind of value is ultimately second personal – that we have the standing to demand respect (and the obligation to give it) and that we stand in relations of mutual accountability. We can think of this as Kant's Kingdom of Ends. More recently, I have argued that there is another form of intrinsic human value and that it is ultimately second personal also. We are all worthy of love, where love of the relevant kind is a standing in a "beloved community," as Martin Luther King, Jr., put it. The relation of mutual love is one of mutual open-heartedness.

The talk will be followed by an informal reception.