Thursday, May 7, 12:30 – 1:30 PM
Harvard Chan School of Public Health
Building 1, Room 1208
677 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA [Map]
The essays in Identified versus Statistical Lives: An Interdisciplinary Approach address the identified lives effect, namely, the greater human proclivity to assist persons and groups identified as at high risk of great harm than ones who will (or already) suffer similar harm, yet remain unidentified. Because of this effect we often allocate resources reactively rather than proactively, prioritizing treatment over prevention. The practical and the ethical questions this raises extend to almost every aspect of human life and health policy. The book discusses the psychology of the identified lives effect, pits thinkers who deem it to reflect an irrational aspect of our thinking against ones who deem it to be rational, and explores practical questions ranging from environmental health to “treatment as prevention” for HIV/AIDS.
Read the front matter of the book online!
