UPEI to host Research on Tap on December 3

UPEI will host a Research on Tap event on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at 6 pm, at the Salvador Dali Café, 155 Kent Street, Charlottetown, PEI.

Dr. Malcolm Murray, professor of philosophy, will give a talk titled “Can Morality Accommodate Supererogation?” His talk will be followed by a question-and-answer discussion.

“A supererogatory (or super nice) act goes beyond moral duty, is morally approved, and carries no moral condemnation for failure to comply,” he said. “This demarcation raises the following puzzle: ‘How can we morally praise an action that is not morally required?’ Conversely, we may wonder how acting outside the set of morality is still moral.”

Here is an example of supererogation: During a heavy snowstorm, your neighbour is safe in their home, but their driveway becomes buried in snow. You have no obligation to help—your neighbour didn’t ask, and it isn’t your responsibility. But you decide to shovel their entire driveway for them. Shovelling the driveway was a generous, above-and-beyond act—a classic example of supererogation: something morally good but not required.

Research on Tap is free and open to the public. All are welcome to attend.