On Prizes

ABSTRACT This article discusses prize‐creation and prize‐allocation. Such activities may seem morally neutral, or perhaps even beneficial. A central thesis of this article is that such practices have significant moral implications and should be brought under the remit of moral reasoning. I suggest that in many cases, the harmful effects of prizes are overlooked, and that they stand in need of scrutiny, revision, and possibly abolition. This conclusion is reached via an examination of the nature of prizes, their functions, benefits, and harms, which generates guidelines that prize‐giving institutions should consider before instituting prizes and should use to periodically review them. This article advances philosophical theorising about prizes and has significant practical upshots.