This event seeks to advance Arjun Appadurai’s idea of an ethics of possibility, which stands in contrast to a risk-reduction oriented ethics of probability. This we will do by connecting empirical insights with value considerations. While there are several approaches to empirical ethics, we focus on lines of tradition within philosophy and anthropology that build on a situated understanding of knowledge. We investigate what an empirically informed ethics of possibility entails, what it can offer, and what research methods could help inform its development. At the latter point, the event explores Amade M’charek’s notion of “the Art of Paying Attention” (2015), which provides a lens through which we can consider how attention shapes ethical practices. How can “paying attention” be understood and enacted, and under which conditions should it be regarded as a normative act of care—or neglect? In how far is attention normative?