Philosophy Lecture: Is Hell Fair?  

On Monday, February 12th from 4-5:30 p.m. in the Chancellor's Suite, the Philosophy Club will feature the renowned philosophy professor Dr. David Hershenov to address the question "Is Hell Fair?"

Dr. Hershenov's work in both Catholic and secular publications has been enormously influential in the philosophical literature. In this talk Hershenov will consider, and rebut, two popular objections that have been raised against the idea that Hell (consisting of eternal punishment) is just. Christians who defend a traditional conception of Hell as occupied and inescapable and harmful will have to answer two related charges of unfairness. The first has to do with the inequity of an eternal punishment. The punishment seems disproportionate to the sin. The second and related problem is due to the vagueness of drawing the line between those sins are met with eternal punishment and those that don't keep one from endless pleasures of Heaven. It would seem there could be very little difference between the acts and character of those in Heaven and those in Hell. Hershenov will argue that an appeal to a debt-atonement conception of punishment can handle these objections.

David Hershenov is Professor of Philosophy at the University at Buffalo and head of the Romanell Center for Clinical Ethics and the Philosophy of Medicine. His research primarily focuses on metaphysics, bioethics, and the philosophy of medicine. He has authored over 70 articles, many in the discipline's best journals, including the Journal of Philosophy, Mind, and the Australasian Journal of Philosophy. He is currently working on two books. One is titled "The Metaphysical Foundations of Bioethics" and the other, co-authored with Rose Hershenov, is titled "Health, Harm and Potential: A Philosophical Analysis of the Abortion Debate."

You can find out more about Professor Herhenov on his website here »