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Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Since Kant, scholars have tended to assume that the critical method is a fundamental part of doing philosophy. But can it help us address the challenges of the twenty-first century, such as globalization and climate change? Some scholars now suggest that the critical method is domineering and Eurocentric, hopelessly outdated and overly negative. So should we embrace different ways of thinking and knowing, and what might they be? Join us as we discuss whether critique can help us address our current political crises and what role it should play in philosophy.

 

Speakers
Frida Beckman
Professor of Comparative Literature, Stockholm University

Tom Boland
Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University College Cork

Chair
Danielle Sands
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Thought, RHUL

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Wolfson Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

Podcast Archive

The Forum on Social Media

BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

This Valentine’s Day, what better pursuit than to overthink relationships? Marking the death of Stanley Cavell, we explore the philosophy of film in general, and the rom-com in particular. Can we take philosophical lessons from film? From Bringing up Baby and Roman Holiday to My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Love Actually, what makes a film a rom-com, and can this genre teach us anything about the ethics of relationships?

 

Speakers
Sarah Churchwell
Chair of Public Understanding of the Humanities & Professorial Fellow in American Literature, School of Advanced Study, University of London

Robert Hanks
Journalist

Catherine Wheatley
Senior Lecturer in Film Studies, KCL

 

Chair
Shahidha Bari
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Professor of Fashion Cultures, UAL

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Sheik Zayed Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

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The Forum on Social Media

BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

A free press is a fundamental pillar of a healthy democracy. It is a vehicle for free expression, informs public debate, and holds government to account. Is there a right to a free press and is this distinct from the freedom of speech of citizens in a democracy? Given the press is often accused of overstepping the mark, invading people’s privacy or publishing material that is harmful to the national interest, where might the limits of press freedom lie? We explore the nature, importance, limitations, and challenges of maintaining a free press in our digital age.

 

Speakers
Chandrika Kaul
Reader in Modern History, University of St Andrews

Sue Mendus
Morrell Professor Emerita in Political Philosophy, University of York

Peter Oborne
Journalist, author, and commentator

 

Chair
Sarah Fine
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, KCL

 

Co-sponsored by the Royal Institute of Philosophy

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

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The Forum on Social Media

BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

Due to the current COVID-19 situation and the importance of taking measures to prevent its spread, this event has been cancelled. We apologise for any inconvenience and disappointment caused.

 


 

Record numbers of measles cases are emerging and vaccination rates are on the decline. Despite the research that fuelled the anti-vaccination scare being discredited, the anti-vax movement appears as strong as ever. Why does this medical scepticism persist, and how might it be tackled? Or might there be times when scepticism is justified? And if so, how are we to determine when we should and when we should not trust the experts? We discuss the causes of and cures for distrust in medical expertise.

 

Speakers

Rohin Francis
Cardiologist, UCL & comedian

Katherine Furman
Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Liverpool

Heidi Larson
Professor of Anthropology, Risk and Decision Science, LSHTM

Chair
Jonathan Birch
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Associate Professor of Philosophy, LSE

 

Co-sponsored by the British Society for the Philosophy of Science

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

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The Forum on Social Media

BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

Due to the current COVID-19 situation and the importance of taking measures to prevent its spread, this event has been cancelled. We apologise for any inconvenience and disappointment caused.

 


 

A fierce opponent of the over-reach of science and a lifelong advocate of the humanities, Mary Midgley’s writing ranges across animal ethics, religion, science, and the natural world. In all of these areas, she appealed to a philosophy that is humble and attentive, and connected philosophical thought to lived experience. Join us to celebrate Midgley’s life, work, and legacy, and ask what can she teach us about how to live.

 

Speakers
Gregory McElwain
Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies, The College of Idaho

Ellie Robson
Doctoral Researcher in Philosophy, Birkbeck

Panayiota Vassilopoulou
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Liverpool

 

Chair
Danielle Sands
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Thought, RHUL

 

Co-sponsored by the British Society for the History of Philosophy

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

Podcast Archive

The Forum on Social Media

BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

Due to the current COVID-19 situation and the importance of taking measures to prevent its spread, this event has been cancelled. We apologise for any inconvenience and disappointment caused.

 


 

‘We may go even further than this, and … believe that musical sounds afforded one of the bases for the development of language.’
—Charles Darwin

 

Music is thought to have played an important role in human evolution and in this event we explore the phenomenon and evolution of music. How deep does music go in human history and does music today have anything in common with music in prehistory? What role does music play in the evolution of the mind? And is the ability to hear music uniquely human or something we share with other animals?

 

Speakers
Ian Cross
Professor of Music and Science, University of Cambridge

Diana Omigie
Lecturer in Cognitive Neuroscience, Goldsmiths

Barry Smith
Professor of Philosophy & Director, Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London.

 

Chair
Jonathan Birch
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Associate Professor of Philosophy, LSE

 

Co-sponsored by the British Society for the Philosophy of Science

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Wolfson Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

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BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

Part of the LSE Festival 2020: Shape the World

All welcome | Free to attend | Ticketed

Tickets will be available from 12 noon on Monday 10 February 2020 here

 

Scientists agree that nature and nurture are essential ingredients in human development. But if both the blank slate and genetic determinism have been rejected, why do researchers still disagree and what is it that they disagree about? Join us as we’ll explore the issues at stake, taking a wide variety of perspectives, from the philosophy of science to epigenetics, and behavioural science to developmental psychology.

 

Speakers
Tom Dickins
Professor of Behavioural Science, Middlesex University & Research Associate, CPNSS, LSE

Eva Jablonka
Professor of Evolutionary Biology, Tel Aviv University & Visiting Fellow, CPNSS, LSE

Sophie von Stumm
Professor of Psychology in Education, University of York

 

Chair
Jonathan Birch
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Associate Professor of Philosophy, LSE

 

Co-sponsored by the Centre for Philosophy of the Natural and Social Sciences, LSE

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Sheik Zayed Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | Ticketed

Tickets will be available a month before the event here

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

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The Forum on Social Media

BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

What you think is the point is not the point at all but only the beginning of the sharpness.’

 

The Philosopher’s Book Club is back! We discuss Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman, a novel about the consequences of a murder occasioned by the narrator’s desire to publish a book about his favourite philosopher, de Selby. From bicycles and wooden legs to dualism and the nature of reality, O’Brien’s absurdist tale contains more philosophical themes (and footnotes) than you can shake a stick at. Join us as we bring philosophical and literary minds together to answer the question, ‘Is it about a bicycle?’.

At the Philosophers’ Book Club, we select a work of fiction or biography for philosophical dissection by our panel. Although you are encouraged read the book in advance, it is by no means necessary.

 

Speakers

Caitlín Doherty
Poet and historian

Paul Fagan
Editor, The Parish Review: Journal of Flann O’Brien Studies
Founder, The International Flann O’Brien Society

David Papineau
Professor of Philosophy, KCL/CUNY

 

Chair
Clare Moriarty
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
IRC Postdoctoral Fellow, Trinity College Dublin

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Wolfson Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Join the mailing list

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BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Thousands of foreign nationals are held in immigration detention across the country. Some are detained on arrival, and others after having lived here for years. Some detainees will be deported, others will be released into the community. Currently in the UK there is no time limit on how long a person can be held in immigration detention. Our panel will reflect on politics and philosophy of immigration detention. Should the state be allowed indefinitely detain people who have committed no crime? What are the alternatives to detention? What does detention tell us about the ethics of immigration control more generally?

 

Speakers
Mishka
Campaigner and Advocate, Freed Voices

Mary Bosworth
Professor of Criminology, University of Oxford

Matthew Gibney
Professor of Politics and Forced Migration, University of Oxford

 

Chair
Sarah Fine
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, KCL

 

Co-sponsored by the Royal Institute of Philosophy

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Sheikh Zayed Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

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The Forum on Social Media

BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Peace is highly valued, but how is it achieved? Why are some periods in world history relatively peaceful compared to others? What, if anything, can be done to ensure peace now? Are there limits to what we are justified in doing to ensure peace? Is pacifism a justified response to war? Join us as we discuss the history, ethics, and politics of peace.

 

Speakers
Louise Arimatsu
Distinguished Policy Fellow, LSE

Robin Dunford
Principal Lecturer, Centre for Spatial, Environmental and Cultural Politics, University of Brighton

Rachel Julian
Reader in Peace Studies, Leeds Beckett University

Michael Neu
Senior Lecturer, Centre for Applied Philosophy, Politics and Ethics, University of Brighton

Chair
Jonathan Birch
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Associate Professor of Philosophy, LSE

 

Co-sponsored by the Centre for Philosophy of the Natural and Social Sciences, LSE

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

Podcast Archive

The Forum on Social Media

BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Where do our ideas of right and wrong come from? Can the evolutionary processes that produced human beings explain the moral frameworks adopted by human societies? And what can developmental biology tell us about the emergence of ethical behaviour in children? From anthropology to cognitive science, philosophy to evolutionary biology, we shed some light on the complex story of Homo moralis.

 

Speakers
Zanna Clay
Assistant Professor of Comparative and Developmental Psychology, Durham University

Philip Pettit 
L. S. Rockefeller University Professor of Politics and Human Values, Princeton University
Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Australian National University

Simone Schnall
Reader in Experimental Social Psychology, University of Cambridge

Chair
Clare Moriarty 
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
IRC Postdoctoral Fellow, Trinity College Dublin

 

Organized in conjunction with the Royal Institute of Philosophy

 

This event forms part of the ‘Shape the World’ series, held in the run up to the LSE Festival, a week-long series of events taking place from Monday 2 to Saturday 7 March 2020, free to attend and open to all, exploring how social sciences can make the world a better place. The full  programme will be available online from January 2020.

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

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The Forum on Social Media

BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

‘Home’ means more than a roof over our heads. It can be crucial to our sense of ourselves and our well-being. So what might it mean to have a right to a home? And what is lost when we lose our home? We discuss the politics, philosophy, and poetry of home, exploring the fundamental connection between home and human well-being.

 

Speakers
Cara Nine
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University College Cork

Yousif M. Qasmiyeh 
Doctoral Researcher, University of Oxford
Writer-in-Residence, Refugee Hosts
‘Creative Encounters’ Editor, Migration and Society

Beth Watts 
Senior Research Fellow, Heriot-Watt University

Chair
Sarah Fine  
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, KCL

 

This event forms part of the ‘Shape the World’ series, held in the run up to the LSE Festival, a week-long series of events taking place from Monday 2 to Saturday 7 March 2020, free to attend and open to all, exploring how social sciences can make the world a better place. The full  programme will be available online from January 2020.

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

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BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

The importance of grammar is apparent when learning a new language, but there’s much more to grammar than meets the eye. As the system and structure of languages, it plays a vital role in facilitating basic communication. ‘The greater part of the world’s troubles are due to questions of grammar’, wrote de Montaigne. Join us as we probe the philosophical underpinnings of grammar and how it functions in communication, understanding, and even humour.

 

Speakers
Richard Hudson
Emeritus Professor of Linguistics, UCL

Guy Longworth
Reader in Philosophy, University of Warwick

Hazel Pearson
Senior Lecturer in Linguistics, QMUL

Chair
Clare Moriarty
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
IRC Postdoctoral Fellow, Trinity College Dublin

 

Organized in conjunction with the Royal Institute of Philosophy

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

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The Forum on Social Media

BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Aristotle is one of the most famous and influential philosophers. His work on logic, metaphysics, politics, and ethics were all pioneering, sowing the seeds of much later philosophical thought. But almost two and a half millennia later, could this rebellious student of Plato possibly have anything to say about the complexities and concerns of modern life? We explore whether Aristotle can still usefully inform our thinking today, on everything from sex and friendship to animals and politics.

 

Speakers
Joachim Aufderheide
Lecturer in Philosophy, KCL

Sophie Grace Chappell 
Professor of Philosophy, Open University

Sophia Connell 
Lecturer in Philosophy, Birkbeck, University of London

Chair
Clare Moriarty 
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
IRC Postdoctoral Fellow, Trinity College Dublin

 

This event is dedicated to the memory of Stephen Lewis, friend of the Forum and Honorary Treasurer for many years, who knew more about Aristotle, spycraft, and the pools than most.

 

Organised in conjunction with the British Society for the History of Philosophy

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

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The Forum on Social Media

BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Does fashion allow us to express our individuality or is it a case of the Emperor’s new clothing? Can we judge a book by its cover or is beauty just another manifestation of sexist and racist ideals? Does is even make sense to think of our judgements about beauty as being ethically right or wrong? Whether you wear your heart on your sleeve for fashion or think beauty should be given the boot, join us to discuss the cultural, political, and philosophical dimensions of fashion and beauty.

 

Speakers
Shahidha Bari
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Professor of Fashion Cultures, UAL
Author, Dressed: The Secret Life of Clothes

Yashka Jessica Moore 
Designer and writer

Heather Widdows 
John Ferguson Professor of Global Ethics, University of Birmingham
Author, Perfect Me: Beauty as an Ethical Ideal

Chair
Sarah Fine 
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, KCL

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

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The Forum on Social Media

BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Join us as we delve into the mystic just in time for Halloween. Philosophy often presents itself as founded on logic and rationality, but even the most rigorous of us must concede that the world can be a strange place. So how does philosophy contend with the mysterious and the inexplicable? Can it really be logic all the way down, or might rationality stand on something a little spookier?

 

Speakers
Lauren Kassell 
Professor of History of Science and Medicine, University of Cambridge

Richard Pettigrew 
Professor of Philosophy, University of Bristol

Nisha Ramayya
Lecturer in Creative Writing, QMUL

Chair
Shahidha Bari 
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Professor of Fashion Cultures, UAL

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

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The Forum on Social Media

BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

There is a rich tradition of claiming therapeutic powers for philosophy, but if philosophy is the love of wisdom, is ignorance bliss? Is philosophy only about sharp arguments and subtle distinctions, or can it help us find better ways to live? Join us as we discuss whether thinking philosophically can be a form of self-help.

 

Speakers
Beverley Clack
Professor in Philosophy, Oxford Brookes

Molly Macdonald
Lecturer in Literary Theory, QMUL

John Skorupski
Professor of Moral Philosophy, St. Andrews

Chair
Shahidha Bari
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Professor of Fashion Cultures, UAL

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

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The Forum on Social Media

BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

The welfare and flourishing of animals is now enshrined in national and international law. But what should we do when cultural or religious traditions appear to conflict with current ideas about animal welfare? How does globalization affect the scale and type of animal exploitation? In a world where animal rights are often used as a cover for racism, how can we advocate for animals without reinstating cultural imperialism?

 

Speakers
David Grumett
Senior Lecturer in Theology and Ethics, University of Edinburgh

Angie Pepper
Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Birmingham

Varun Uberoi
Reader in Political Theory, Brunel University

Chair
Danielle Sands
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

Image credit: “cows #2” by Anna-Maria Pangilinan is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

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The Forum on Social Media

BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Workers of the world, unite! We discuss the history, politics, and ethics of strikes, and their place in the labour movement. Why do they happen and what makes for a successful strike? What justifies workers in withdrawing their labour to push bosses for improved pay and conditions? And will this event be cancelled due to strike action?!

 

Speakers
Jo Grady
Senior Lecturer in Employment Relations, Sheffield

Martin O’Neill
Senior Lecturer in Political Philosophy, York

Waseem Yaqoob
Lecturer in the History of Modern Political Thought, Cambridge

Chair
Sarah Fine
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, KCL

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

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The Forum on Social Media

BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

The hallmark of good science is often supposed to be experiments that produce the same results when repeated. But over the last number of years, scientists have replicated a number of established, high-profile experiments and produced different results. Does it point to serious flaws and biases in the sciences? Or it is evidence of the power of science to self-correct? And what can be done to make science more replicable? We explore whether the replication crisis undermines our trust in science.

 

Speakers
Alexander Bird
Peter Sowerby Professor of Philosophy and Medicine, KCL

Laura Fortunato
Associate Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Oxford

Marcus Munafò
Professor of Biological Psychology, University of Bristol

Chair
Jonathan Birch
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Associate Professor of Philosophy, LSE

 

In association with the British Society for the Philosophy of Science

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

Podcast Archive

The Forum on Social Media

BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

William Molyneux posed the following question: Consider a person who has been born blind and who has learnt to distinguish a globe and a cube by touch. If this person could suddenly see, would they be able to distinguish these objects by sight alone? This seventeenth-century thought experiment, known as ‘Molyneux’s problem’, received attention from some of philosophy’s greatest minds. We discuss how thinkers like Locke and Leibniz, as well as artists with visual impairments, responded to Molyneux’s challenge.

 

Speakers

Marjolein Degenaar
Author, Molyneux’s Problem: Three Centuries of Discussion on the Perception of Form

Barry Ginley
Equality and Access Adviser, Victoria & Albert Museum

Brian Glenney
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Norwich University

Chair
Clare Moriarty
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Teaching Fellow in Philosophy, UCD

 

In association with the British Society for the History of Philosophy

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

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Schopenhauer’s work prefigured important developments in philosophy, psychology, and political thought. On the two-hundredth anniversary of the publication of his The World as Will and Representation, we examine the life and work of Arthur Schopenhauer. How can we better understand his relationship with Eastern philosophy? How can his work help us address current questions in art and ethics? And what can he teach us about human suffering?

 

Speakers
Christine Battersby
Reader Emerita in Philosophy, University of Warwick

Christopher Janaway
Professor of Philosophy, University of Southampton

Christopher Ryan
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Education, London Metropolitan University

Chair
Danielle Sands
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Wolfson Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

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Philosophers have long assumed that plants are inferior to humans and animals: static, inert, and unreflective. But recent scientific advances suggest that we may have underestimated plants. They can process information, solve problems, and communicate. We explore what plants can teach us about intelligence and agency, and ask whether plants think.

 

Speakers
Karine Bonneval
Visual Artist

Paco Calvo
Director, Minimal Intelligence Lab, University of Murcia

Tom Greaves
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, UEA

Chair
Danielle Sands
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Wolfson Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

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At the Philosophers’ Book Club, we select a work of fiction or non-fiction and our panel discusses its philosophical themes. For this inaugural gathering, we’ll be reading Deborah Levy’s new memoir, The Cost of Living. ‘Levy explicitly recuperates De Beauvoir’s position, not only by engaging closely with The Second Sex, but by going deeply into the philosopher’s personal struggles to reconcile sexual love with intellectual liberty’, says Kathryn Hughes.

We encourage you to read the book in advance, but it is by no means necessary. Either way, join us for lively discussion and thoughtful company.

 

Speakers
Edward Harcourt
Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Oxford

Kathryn Hughes
Professor of Life Writing, University of East Anglia

Deborah Levy
Poet, playwright, and author
Fellow, Columbia Institute of Ideas and Imagination

Chair
Shahidha Bari
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Senior Lecturer in Romanticism, Queen Mary University of London

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

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The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

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Many people see themselves as allies, not themselves marginalized but nonetheless standing alongside members of marginalized groups in their struggle for social justice. The role of more powerful groups can be important, but some attempts at solidarity can also badly fail the very people they intend to help. We reflect on the significant questions and challenges involved in being an ally amidst the changing social justice movements of the twenty-first century. What does being an ally mean? When and why are allies important? And why do some attempts end in failure?

 

Speakers
Carys Afoko
Activist
Co-Founder, Level Up
Dawn Foster

Journalist, The Guardian
Sridhar Venkatapuram
Senior Lecturer of Global Health and Philosophy, KCL

Chair
Sarah Fine
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, KCL

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for Clement House is available here. Hong Theatre has step-free access, wheelchair space, and hearing loop system. Image of theatre here.

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

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Mental disorders are widely held to have a chemical basis best treated with medication, and contemporary psychiatry is more closely allied with the neuro- and behavioural sciences than with philosophy. So what, if anything, does philosophy have to offer psychiatry today? Exploring both historical examples and contemporary psychiatric practice, we ask what the theoretical and therapeutic benefits of a philosophically informed psychiatry might be.

 

Speakers
Lisa Conlan
Consultant Psychiatrist, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Jean Khalfa
Senior Lecturer in French Studies, Trinity College, Cambridge
Stella Sandford
Professor of Modern European Philosophy, Kingston University London
Alistair Stewart
Consultant Psychiatrist,Fairfield General Hospital, Bury

Chair
Danielle Sands
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

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7 December 2021

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Part of the LSE Festival 2019 & in conjunction with the European Institute, LSE

 

All welcome | Free to attend | Ticketed

FULLY BOOKED – RETURNS QUEUE IN OPERATION
Further details available on LSE Festival 2019: New World Disorders – Ticket Information

 

Marx famously wrote in the nineteenth century of the spectre of communism haunting Europe, and the end of the Cold War might be considered to mark its exorcism. But has communism really been laid to rest? Despite the fall of the Berlin Wall, Derrida certainly thought not. He argued that in the ‘new world disorder’, ideologies like neo-liberalism were enmeshed with communism, haunted by the spectre of communisms yet to come. Is Derrida’s analysis still applicable to the post-9/11 world? And have new spectres appeared in our midst?

 

Speakers
Robert Eaglestone
Professor of Contemporary Literature and Thought, Royal Holloway, University of London
Simon Glendinning
Professor of European Philosophy, LSE
Maja Zehfuss
Professor of International Politics, University of Manchester

Chair
Danielle Sands
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for Clement House is available here. Hong Theatre has step-free access, wheelchair space, and hearing loop system. Image of theatre here.

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

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Disgust is deceptively simple: physical repulsion to something revolting or potentially contagious. Behind this straightforward exterior, however, lies the ‘rich universe of the disgusting’ (William Ian Miller). Within this universe dwell questions about ugliness and beauty, the animal and the civilized, even life and death. We delve deep into disgust and the many ways it has shaped our thought, our art, and our sense of self.

 

Speakers
Jo Applin
Reader in the History of Art, The Courtauld Institute of Art
Tina Chanter
Professor of Philosophy and Gender Studies, Kingston University
Sophie Russell
Lecturer in Social Psychology, University of Surrey

Chair
Danielle Sands
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Wolfson Theatre in particular, available here.

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

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Moritz Schlick

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W. E. B. Du Bois is usually remembered as a sociologist and civil rights campaigner, and his analysis of race and racism continues to shape the way social scientists think about these issues today. But a genuine polymath, he was also a skilled philosopher and in this event we will consider Du Bois’s philosophical thought, from art, propaganda, and science, to the very purpose of philosophy itself.

 

Speakers
Liam Kofi Bright
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, LSE
Brian Kelly
Reader in History, Queen’s University Belfast
Meera Sabaratnam
Senior Lecturer in International Relations, SOAS

 

Chair
Jonathan Birch
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Associate Professor of Philosophy, LSE

 

In association with the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, LSE

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

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Moritz Schlick

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Mood is an ephemeral thing, changing with the seasons and eluding our control. Why are our moods so susceptible to drugs, the weather, and music alike? Hegel wrote of Geist and Heidegger rhapsodized over Stimmung, so can an age have a mood too? And if so, how do we read a Zeitgeist or measure the spirit of a time? Join us as we get moody.

 

Speakers
Ben Highmore
Professor of Cultural Studies, University of Sussex
Carolyn Pedwell
Reader in Cultural Studies, University of Kent
Anil Sebastian
Singer, composer, producer
Co-founder and director of London Contemporary Voices choir

Chair
Shahidha Bari
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Senior Lecturer in Romanticism, Queen Mary University of London

 

Image credit: Heath Harris, ‘hardday‘ (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Wolfson Theatre in particular, available here.

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

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Moritz Schlick

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Though often overlooked in discussions of the Enlightenment, Ireland was a vibrant centre for intellectuals of many stripes. Jonathan Swift, Edmund Burke, George Berkeley, and many others made lasting contributions to literature, philosophy, politics, and science. How did the turbulent political times of eighteenth-century Ireland affect this intellectual landscape? Is there something distinctively Irish about this writing? We discuss the thought and times of this remarkable group of thinkers.

 

Speakers
Ian McBride
Foster Professor of Irish History, Hertford College, Oxford
Katherine O’Donnell
Associate Professor in History of Ideas, UCD
Tom Stoneham
Professor of Philosophy, University of York

Chair
Clare Moriarty

Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Teaching Fellow in Philosophy, UCD

 

In association with the British Society for the History of Philosophy

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Wolfson Theatre in particular, available here.

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

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The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

Part of the LSE Festival 2019

 

All welcome | Free to attend | Ticketed

Tickets available on LSE Festival 2019: New World Disorders – Ticket Information

 

In this age of utopian technologies, we can design mechanical limbs for amputees and chemically engineer happiness for depressives. From the fluoride in our water to genetically modified babies, scientific advances pose complex new ethical questions. We explore the major bioethical issues of our time. Is philosophy braced for this brave new world? Are scientists and engineers morally obliged to design a utopia? Or are things best left to ‘nature’?

 

Speakers
Richard Ashcroft
Professor of Bioethics, Queen Mary University of London
David Healy
Professor of Psychiatry, Bangor University
Emily Jackson
Professor of Law, LSE

Chair
Shahidha Bari
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Senior Lecturer in Romanticism, Queen Mary University of London

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for Clement House is available here. Hong Theatre has step-free access, wheelchair space, and hearing loop system. Image of theatre here.

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

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Moritz Schlick

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World-class athletes push themselves beyond normal limits and transform their bodies through training and diet. But in the wake of various scandals across the world of sport, we know pharmaceuticals can also play a role. Doping is considered a form of cheating, but should it be? And with the arrival of ‘smart drugs’, this is no longer only a worry for sports. Can we ensure a level playing field, in sports and beyond, or will the advances in drug development always outpace regulation? We explore the philosophy behind all things doping, competing, and cheating.

 

Speakers
John William Devine
Lecturer in Sports Ethics and Integrity, Swansea University
Vanessa Heggie
Lecturer in the History of Medicine, University of Birmingham
David Papineau
Professor of Philosophy, KCL

Chair
Clare Moriarty
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Teaching Fellow in Philosophy, UCD

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for Clement House is available here. Hong Theatre has step-free access, wheelchair space, and hearing loop system. Image of theatre here.

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

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Memorials have been fiercely debated in recent times. What roles do memorials play in a society and how do these acts of remembering contribute to a community’s sense of identity? What gets remembered and what forgotten, and who decides? When, if ever, should memorials be removed? We discuss past and present controversies around public memorializing, from Ground Zero and Confederate monuments to Rhodes Must Fall and Trafalgar Square.

 

Speakers
Michelle Codrington-Rogers
Activist; Junior Vice-President, NASUWT
Margaret O’Callaghan
Reader in History, Queen’s University Belfast
Rahul Rao
Senior Lecturer in Politics, SOAS

Chair
Sarah Fine
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, KCL

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Sheik Zayed Theatre in particular, available here.

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

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Moritz Schlick

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War scars human history and continues to mar lives across the globe. Is war part of human nature? Is it ever morally justified? And with the development of advanced weapon technologies, will future wars be more destructive than ever before? Bringing together philosophy, history, and cultural evolution, we explore the past, present, and future of war and ask what, if anything, can be done to make war less likely.

 

Speakers
Susanne Burri
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, LSE

Michael Muthukrishna
Assistant Professor of Economic Psychology, LSE

Michael Robillard
Research Fellow, Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics
Joseph Maiolo
Professor of International History, Department of War Studies, KCL

Chair
Jonathan Birch
Fellow, Forum for Philosophy
Associate Professor of Philosophy, LSE

 

In association with the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, LSE and the Royal Institute of Philosophy

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Sheik Zayed Theatre in particular, available here.

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

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Moritz Schlick

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Lab-grown meat promises a future of burgers, meatballs, and even foie gras, without the side order of animal suffering and environmental damage. But is fake meat a real solution to these problems? And will its success lead to the extinction of farm animals? If lab-grown meat is the ethical option, how can we persuade consumers to overcome their aversion to it? In this Forum event, we’ll discuss the science, ethics, and meaning of artificial meat.

 

Speakers
Anat Pick, Reader in Film Studies, Queen Mary, University of London
Mark Post, Professor of Vascular Physiology, Maastricht University
Adam Shriver, Research Fellow, Oxford Uehiro Centre for Applied Ethics and Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities

Chair
Danielle Sands, Fellow, Forum for Philosophy; Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London

 

Organized in conjunction with the Royal Institute of Philosophy

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for Clement House is available here. Hong Theatre has step-free access, wheelchair space, and hearing loop system. Image of theatre here.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

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Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Science is often mistakenly thought to involved nothing but cold reason. In reality, very human acts of creativity appear everywhere. We explore the role of imaginative thinking in science. Are thought experiments sources of knowledge or just hypotheses? Can a story or narrative also be a scientific explanation? And how should a scientist balance creative thinking with respect for the facts?

 

Speakers
Steven French, Professor of Philosophy of Science, University of Leeds
Melanie Keene, Fellow, Homerton College, University of Cambridge
Alice Murphy, Postgraduate Researcher, University of Leeds

Chair
Jonathan Birch, Fellow, Forum for Philosophy; Associate Professor of Philosophy, LSE

 

Supported by the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, LSE.

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Sheik Zayed Theatre in particular, available here.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

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Moritz Schlick

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When the French philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau set out to write his Confessions in 1782, he proposed ‘to set before my fellow-mortals a man in all the truth of nature; this man shall be myself’. Philosophers have long engaged with the confessional form, from Plato and Augustine to Derrida and Cixous. Is biography an inherently philosophical medium? How does life inflect the philosophy of any given thinker? Or should we make a distinction between the facts of a philosopher’s life and their philosophical thought? Join us at the Forum for this discussion of philosophy and the art of biography.

 

Speakers
Hannah Dawson, Senior Lecturer in the History of Political Thought, KCL; Author, Life Lessons from Hobbes
Robert Rowland Smith, Quondam Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford; Author, Autobiophilosophy and Driving with Socrates
Helen Tyson, Lecturer in 20th and 21st Century British Literature, University of Sussex

Chair
Shahidha Bari, Fellow, Forum for Philosophy; Senior Lecturer in Romanticism, Queen Mary University of London

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for Clement House is available here. Hong Theatre has step-free access, wheelchair space, and hearing loop system. Image of theatre
here.

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

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Moritz Schlick

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What is protest art? What are its limits and what are its possibilities? Might there be a unique role for art in protest or does the political statement diminish the art? And once a piece of art becomes popular in the art world, can it still be protest art? We bring together those at the forefront of making and thinking about protest art to discuss what it has been, what it is, and what it might be.

 

Speakers
Sacha Golob, Director, Centre for Philosophy and the Visual Arts, King’s College London
Robert Montgomery, Poet and artist; Author of Echos of Voices in the High Towers
Stephanie Schwartz, Lecturer in American Modernism, UCL

Chair
Sarah Fine, Fellow, Forum for Philosophy; Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, KCL

 

Supported by Centre for Philosophy and the Visual Arts, King’s College London.

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

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What are black holes, why are physicists so sure they exist, and how did we come to know about them? Can we know, or at least imagine, what happens inside a black hole? The science of black holes has long inspired science fiction writers, but might science fiction help us understand science fact? We discuss black holes, philosophy, and the long-standing and productive relationship between science and sci-fi.

 

Speakers
Stephen Baxter, Author of Xeelee: Vengeance, Obelisk, the Long Earth series with Terry Prachett, and the Time Odyssey series with Arthur C. Clarke
Amelie Saintonge, Associate Professor of Astrophysics, UCL
Karim Thébault, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy of Science, University of Bristol

Chair
Jonathan Birch, Fellow, Forum for Philosophy; Assistant Professor of Philosophy, LSE

 

Supported by the British Society for the Philosophy of Science

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for Clement House is available here. Hong Theatre has step-free access, wheelchair space, and hearing loop system. Image of theatre here.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

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Language allows us to communicate. It also allows us to charm, shock, delight, and offend. It is political and we can use it to harm and manipulate. And some words are just not okay in polite company. Should there ever be restraints on what can be said? If so, what kind? We navigate the deeper issues around swearing, slurring, and slander. Swear-jars at the ready!

 

Speakers
Emma Byrne, AI Researcher; Author, Swearing Is Good for You: The Amazing Science of Bad Language
John Gallagher, Lecturer in Early Modern History, University of Leeds
Rebecca Roache, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, Royal Holloway, University of London

Chair
Clare Moriarty, Fellow, Forum for Philosophy

 

Supported by the Royal Institute of Philosophy

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

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Philosophers have diligently examined consciousness, but what do they have to say about our nightly loss of consciousness? In an age of mindfulness, is there something to be said for sleepfulness too? And for those of us still rubbing our eyes at 4am, what is it that keeps us awake in the wee small hours? With apparently two-thirds of Britons suffering from sleep problems, this Forum event promises to be your wake-up call, exploring the science, philosophy and literature of sleep.

 

Speakers
Marina Benjamin, Author, The Middlepause and Insomnia; Senior Editor, Aeon
Russell Foster, Professor of Circadian Neuroscience, University of Oxford
Simon Morgan Wortham, Professor in Humanities, Kingston University

Chair
Shahidha Bari, Fellow, Forum for Philosophy; Senior Lecturer in Romanticism, Queen Mary University of London

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Sheik Zayed Theatre in particular, available here.

 

Photo credit: Janne Moren, ‘Commute’ (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

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7 December 2021

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Moritz Schlick

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The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

Humans are not mere brains in vats. We are living, moving creatures, and this fact matters for not only for how we think about ourselves, but also how we think about thinking itself. We consider dance’s contribution to philosophical debates about knowledge. What can we learn from dance? And can we learn through dance? Might dance itself be unique way of knowing?

 

Speakers
Laura Cull Ó Maoilearca, Reader in Theatre and Performance, University of Surrey
Hamish MacPherson, Choreographer and researcher
Anna Pakes, Reader in Dance, University of Roehampton

Chair
Sarah Fine, Fellow, Forum for Philosophy; Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, KCL

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

What if instead of worrying about truth as a fundamental, objective notion, we just focused on what works? What if we just believed in what is practical or beneficial to us to believe? Pragmatism is the great American contribution to philosophy, and it has serious implications for politics, philosophy, and science. Join us to discuss the history of this idea, and what might be entailed by ‘doing what works’.

 

Speakers
Matthew Festenstein, Professor of Politics, University of York
Clara Fischer, Marie Curie-Sklodowska Fellow, Centre for Gender, Feminisms and Sexuality, University College Dublin
Paniel Reyes Cardenas, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, UPAEP, Puebla México

Chair
Clare Moriarty, Fellow, Forum for Philosophy

 

Supported by the Royal Institute of Philosophy

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

 

Photo credit: Nicolaitan (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

Humans have always co-existed with animals, using them as tools, resources, and, more recently, companions. More abstractly, animals help us to understand ourselves; they are ‘good to think with’ (Claude Lévi-Strauss). What roles do animals play in our understanding of issues as wide as ethics, art, friendship, and technology? And what does it mean for understanding ourselves if we seriously acknowledge our relationships with other animals? Coinciding with the publication of The Edinburgh Companion to Animal Studies, we will consider the relevance of animals to a wide range of contemporary concerns.

Speakers
John Ó Maoilearca, Professor of Film, Kingston University
Undine Sellbach, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Dundee
Lynn Turner, Senior Lecturer in Visual Culture, Goldsmiths, University of London

Chair
Danielle Sands, Fellow, the Forum and Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

Women and minority groups are significantly underrepresented in politics and various other walks of life. ‘Affirmative action’ is one response in tackling this enduring issue. But what is it? Who is it for? And why does it generate so much controversy? We discuss these questions and explore the relationship between affirmative action and social justice.

Speakers
Elizabeth Anderson, John Dewey Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy, University of Michigan
Omar Khan, Director, Runnymede; Governor, University of East London

Chair
Sarah Fine, Fellow, the Forum; Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, KCL

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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‘All that I know most surely about morality and obligations, I owe to football’, observed Albert Camus. And it is football, above all other sports, that so many philosophers revere. So there’s everything to play for in this panel discussion exploring the relationship between football and philosophy. We give it 110% in our exploration of what makes for a ‘good game’ and whether philosophical principles can be put into play on the pitch.

Speakers
Simon Critchley, Han Jonas Professor of Philosophy, New School for Social Research, NY
Gerald Moore, Associate Professor of French, University of Durham
Emily Ryall, Reader in Applied Philosophy, University of Gloucestershire

Chair
Shahidha Bari, Fellow, the Forum; Senior Lecturer in Romanticism, Queen Mary University of London

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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‘Reason’ and ‘knowledge’, and the relationship between them, were major themes in Enlightenment philosophy, and drew the attention of some of the most respected philosophers of the time, including Decartes, Leibniz, and Spinoza, often referred to as the rationalists, and Locke, Berkeley, and Hume, the so-called empiricists. Since then, the empiricists have tended to have the upper hand in intellectual life, if not always in philosophy. In this event, we discuss what was at stake in these debates, what we might say about these ideas today, and whether we’ve been too quick to dismiss rationalism.

Speakers
Alexander Douglas, Lecturer in Philosophy, University of St. Andrews
Peter Millican, Gilbert Ryle Fellow and Professor of Philosophy, Hertford College, Oxford University
Kirsten Walsh, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Nottingham

Chair
Clare Moriarty, Fellow, the Forum

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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For Victor Hugo, ‘all forms of the multiple reality, actions and ideas, man and humanity’ can be found in Shakespeare. Perhaps this is the reason why, over 400 years after his death, we continue to study, perform, and re-read his plays in search of truths about ourselves and the world. Should we think of Shakespeare as a philosopher? Can reading him philosophically add to our understanding of his work, or is it simply another way of trying to contain this ‘myriad-minded’ (Coleridge) thinker?

Speakers
Jessica Chiba, Teaching Fellow in English, Royal Holloway, University of London
John Crace, Journalist, critics, and author of the Penguin Incomplete Shakespeare series
Tim Crouch, Playwright and theatre maker

Chair
Danielle Sands, Fellow, the Forum; Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

Is everything we do the product of unconscious brain processes that are beyond our control? If so, what happens to moral and criminal responsibility if a defendant can always argue, ‘my brain made me do it’? And if free will does exist, could other animals possess it too? We bring together a philosopher, a psychiatrist, and a neuroscientist to discuss what recent research into the brain might mean for our understanding of free will.

Speakers
Matthew Broome, Chair in Psychiatry and Youth Mental Health, University of Birmingham
Nura Sidarus, Postdoctoral Researcher in Cognitive Science, Institut Jean Nicod, Ecole Normale Supérieure
Helen Steward, Professor Professor of Philosophy of Mind and Action, University of Leeds

Chair
Jonathan Birch, Fellow, the Forum; Assistant Professor of Philosophy, LSE

In conjunction with the British Society for the Philosophy of Science

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

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‘To philosophize is to learn to die’, writes Michel de Montaigne, in a lineage of death-preoccupied thinkers reaching back to Plato’s Socrates. Can philosophers fulfil such a lofty injunction? How might learning to die teach us how to live, or how to live-on while mourning another’s death? We bring together practitioners and thinkers to discuss how medicine, technology, art, and philosophy might make a good death possible.

Speakers
Conor Cunningham, Associate Professor in Theology and Philosophy, University of Nottingham
Laura Salisbury, Professor in Medicine and English Literature, University of Exeter
Louise Winter, Funeral Director, ‘Poetic Endings’; Founder and organizer, Life. Death. Whatever Festival

Chair
Danielle Sands, Fellow, the Forum; Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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How seriously should philosophical worries about mathematics be taken? And should mathematical results ever force our philosophical hands? Philosophers and mathematicians have often found plenty to disagree about throughout history, but there have been many fruitful interactions too. We indulge in a bit of group therapy, examining some key cases of philosophical and mathematical interaction. Does infinitesimal mathematics commit us to an infinitely divisible world? Do the prime mating cycles of cicadas tell us something about the existence of mathematical objects? Let’s run the numbers…

 

Speakers

Nicholas Bingham
Professor of Mathematics, Imperial College London

Tim Button
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Cambridge

Mary Leng
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of York

Adam Ostaszewski
Professor of Mathematics, LSE

 

Chair
Clare Moriarty
Fellow, The Forum

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Wolfson Theatre in particular, available here.

 

 

All welcome  |  Free to attend  |  First come, first served at the door

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Looking for love? Ask your computer, since 1 in 5 couples now first meet online. Have we outsourced love to abstract algorithms? And what about elections or our summer getaways? From the targeted marketing of political campaigns to the predictive typing that preempts your Google search, machines may know us better than we know ourselves. We explore how far modern life is mediated by the computation of data, and ask whether we should trust in the algorithm or find ways to outwit it.

 

Speakers
Abeba Birhane
Postgraduate Researcher in Cognitive Science, University College Dublin

Neil Lawrence
Professor of Machine Learning, University of Sheffield
Director of Machine Learning, Amazon

Martin Robbins
Writer for The Guardian, Vice, and Little Atoms on AI

 

Chair
Shahidha Bari
Fellow, The Forum
Senior Lecturer in Romanticism, Queen Mary, University of London

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Wolfson Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome  |  Free to attend  |  First come, first served at the door

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

 

Race continues to shape the political, cultural, and economic character of our societies, with communities and resources determined along racial lines. But what is race and why is it so significant? Is it simply another form of social classification grounded in inequality, conflict, and violence? If so, how are we to understand race as a resource for cultural cohesion rooted in shared histories? Our speakers will consider what we understand by race, and the relationships between race, inequality, and prejudice.

In association with the Royal Institute of Philosophy

 

Speakers
Kwame Anthony Appiah
Professor of Philosophy and Law, New York University

Priyamvada Gopal
Reader in Anglophone and Related Literature, University of Cambridge

Nasar Meer
Professor of Sociology, University of Edinburgh

 

Chair
Danielle Sands
Fellow, The Forum
Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Sheik Zayed Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome  |  Free to attend  |  First come, first served at the door

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

All welcome | Free to attend | First come, first served at the door

 

What is disability and how has it been understood through history and across different cultures? How is disability presented in the arts and in our changing idea of what it means to be human? Is the term ‘disability’ useful for the development of disability rights or does it fail to capture the diversity of disabled experience? We will address these questions and consider the nature of disabled experience and the ways in which society is disabling.

 

Speakers
Claire Jones, Lecturer in the History of Medicine, University of Kent
Fiona Kumari Campbell, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, University of Dundee
Hannah Thompson, Professor of French and Critical Disability Studies, Royal Holloway University of London

Chair
Danielle Sands, Fellow, Forum for Philosophy; Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for Clement House is available here. Hong Theatre has step-free access, wheelchair space, and hearing loop system. Image of theatre
here.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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This event is free and open to all, but requires a ticket. Tickets will be available from 12 noon on Tuesday 6 February 2018

Part of the LSE Festival | For full details see Ticket Information

 

If evolution is a ‘struggle for existence’, why do we witness so much altruism in nature? From bacteria to baboons, the natural world is full of spectacular examples of organisms cooperating with one another. In the early 1960s, W. D. Hamilton changed the way we think about how such behaviour evolves, and his pioneering work kick-started a research programme now known as ‘social evolution theory’. Our panel of biologists and philosophers of biology will discuss the legacy of Hamilton’s ideas, and the evolution of altruism in microbes, insects, humans, and the cells of our own bodies.

 

Speakers
Jonathan Birch
Fellow, The Forum
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, LSE

Heikki Helanterä
Group Leader, Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, University of Helsinki

Hannah Rubin
Postdoctoral Researcher in Theoretical Philosophy, University of Groningen

 

Chair
Bryan Roberts
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, LSE

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building here. Specific information about the theatre will be made available when room in confirmed.

 

All welcome  |  Free to attend  |  First come, first served at the door

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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**Please note unusual venue**

One of the twentieth century’s greatest philosophers, Wittgenstein published only one book. To celebrate its centenary, we revisit Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. An unusual work of philosophy by any standard, it was written on the front lines during World War I and purported to distinguish sense from nonsense. Wittgenstein felt that in the Tractatus he had solved all the problems of philosophy. Appropriately, once finished writing the book, he abandoned philosophy, only returning years later to focus on ordinary language and its philosophical potential. In this panel, we take a look back at the man, his early life and work, and consider why his thinking has been of such enduring interest.

In association with the Royal Institute of Philosophy

 

Speakers
Ian Ground
Visiting Research Fellow in Philosophy, University of Hertfordshire
Vice-President, The British Wittgenstein Society

Stephen Mulhall
Professor of Philosophy, University of Oxford

Chon Tejedor
Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Valencia
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Hertfordshire

 

Chair
Clare Moriarty
Fellow, The Forum

 

Venue information: There is wheelchair access via a secondary route and 10 standard height steps, with a handrail on both sides to the main entrance. There is basic seating, and a partially accessible toilet. There is a hearing loop by request in advance. This isn’t a gender neutral toilet, a bsl interpreter, a designated quiet space, general car parking, or blue badge parking.  You can contact us about access on j.garvey@royalinstitutephilosophy.org.

 

All welcome  |  Free to attend  |  First come, first served at the door

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Are bats conscious, and how can we tell? What is it like to use sound to navigate? In a classic paper called ‘What Is It Like to Be a Bat?’, Thomas Nagel used the bat’s capacity for echolocation to introduce philosophical problems concerning conscious experience. But the example is usually discussed in ignorance of what the lives of bats are actually like. This dialogue brings together a philosopher and a bat scientist to discuss the latest research into the minds of bats.

In conjunction with the CPNSS, LSE

 

Speakers
Alison Fairbrass
Postgraduate researcher in biodiversity and the built environment, UCL

Craig French
Assistant Professor in Philosophy, University of Nottingham

 

Chair
Jonathan Birch
Fellow, The Forum
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, LSE

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Wolfson Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome  |  Free to attend  |  First come, first served at the door

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Marriage is an odd mix of sex, religion, and politics. Our speakers ask what marriage is and whether there is there any distinctive moral value in it. Should the state promote it? Is it possible to have an ‘equal’ marriage, or is marriage fundamentally an oppressive institution? Should marriage be rejected in favour of civil partnerships, or something else, or perhaps nothing else?

 

Speakers
Clare Chambers
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Cambridge

Sir Paul Coleridge
Former high court judge and Chairman, The Marriage Foundation

Peter Tatchell
Activist and Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation

 

Chair
Sarah Fine
Fellow, The Forum
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, King’s College London

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for Clement House is available here. Hong Theatre has step-free access, wheelchair space, and hearing loop system. Image of theatre here.

 

All welcome  |  Free to attend  |  First come, first served at the door

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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‘Hell is other people’, noted Jean Paul Sartre—rather rudely, it might seem to an outside observer. But is the pursuit of philosophical understanding an inherently solitary pursuit by its nature? From Augustine to Kant, philosophy has cherished the image of the deep thinker immersed in solitudinous reflection. But how does solitude differ from loneliness? And in an age of increasing social atomization, can we think about our lonely condition in ways that might allow us to overcome it? We explore the idea of loneliness as an aesthetic and socio-political phenomena, as well as an existential question.

 

Speakers
John Burnside
Professor in Creative Writing, St Andrews University
Poet and novelist, winner of both the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and the Whitbread Poetry Award

Barbara Taylor
Professor of Humanities, Queen Mary, University of London

James Warren
Professor of Ancient Philosophy, University of Cambridge

 

Chair
Shahidha Bari
Fellow, The Forum
Senior Lecturer in Romanticism, Queen Mary, University of London

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Sheik Zayed Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome  |  Free to attend  |  First come, first served at the door

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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From the recent destruction of Palmyra and the looting of the National Museum of Iraq, cultural artefacts are one of the many casualties of armed conflict. What exactly is cultural property and whose property is it? How should we weigh its value against other priorities during times of conflict? What risks should be taken to protect it, and who is responsible for rebuilding and restoring when the conflict is over? Our speakers discuss the political and ethical issues around culture in war zones.

 

Speakers
Helen Frowe
Professor of Practical Philosophy and Director of the Stockholm Centre for the Ethics of War and Peace, Stockholm University

Issam Kourbaj
Lector in Art, University of Cambridge
Syrian artist

Vernon Rapley
Director of Cultural Heritage Protection and Security, Victoria & Albert Museum
Special Advisor for Cultural Protection Fund, The British Council

Eleanor Robson
Professor of Ancient Middle Eastern History and Director of the Nahrein Network, UCL

 

Chair
Sarah Fine
Fellow, The Forum
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, King’s College London

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

All welcome  |  Free to attend  |  First come, first served at the door

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Is it possible to express the richness, variety, and depth of our inner experience, our thoughts and feelings? If so, what is the best way to do it? Should we turn to literature or to philosophy? And what can they teach each other about understanding, expressing, and performing the self? In this event, award-winning novelist Eimear McBride will discuss these questions with writer and academic Kaye Mitchell.

 

Speakers
Eimear McBride
Inaugural Creative Fellow at the Beckett Research Centre and author of A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing and The Lesser Bohemians

Kaye Mitchell
Senior Lecturer in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, University of Manchester

 

Chair
Danielle Sands
Fellow, The Forum
Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London

 

Image credit: Matias Sierra, ‘Self-taught

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Sheik Zayed Theatre in particular, available here.

 

All welcome  |  Free to attend  |  First come, first served at the door

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Adam Roberts, Professor of Nineteenth Century Literature, Royal Holloway, University of London
Bryan W. Roberts, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, LSE
Emily Thomas, Lecturer in Philosophy, Durham University

Chair
Clare Moriarty, Fellow, The Forum; Doctoral Researcher, King’s College London

Born of science fiction, thinking about time travel has allowed us to visit possible and lost worlds, and rediscover the past through modern eyes. It also raises big puzzles: If you travelled back in time and killed your grandfather when he was a young man, would you still exist? Would changing the past mean you returned to a different present? What about travelling to the future? Two philosophers and a science fiction writer discuss time travel, and how thinking and writing about it has changed science and philosophy.

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the New Academic Building in general, and the Wolfon Theatre in particular, available here.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Serena FerenteSenior Lecturer in Medieval European History, King’s College London
Carmen Pavel, Lecturer in International Politics, King’s College London
David Runciman, Professor of Politics, University of Cambridge

Chair
Sarah Fine, Fellow, The Forum; Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, King’s College London

The Brexit debate saw a revival in talk of ‘sovereignty’. But what exactly is it, and why is it so highly prized? What are its essential features and what are its limits? In a globalized world, is sovereignty something modern states can achieve? We will explore this elusive concept, and ask whether it is still a useful concept in the twenty-first century.

 

Quick accessibility map here. Full access information for the Old Building in general, and the Old Theatre in particular, available here.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Nicky Clayton, Professor of Comparative Cognition, University of Cambridge
Mark Cocker, Author and naturalist

Chair
Jonathan Birch, Fellow, The Forum; Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE

What is it like to be a bird? What do they think and how do they feel? What can comparative psychology tell us about the intelligence of birds? And what can we learn about birds, and about ourselves, from our encounters with them? In this dialogue, world-leading comparative psychologist Nicola Clayton and author and naturalist Mark Cocker give us a bird’s eye view on the world, and consider how human thought and culture have been shaped by interaction with birds.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Luke Brunning, British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Oxford
Luna Dolezal, Lecturer in Philosophy and Medical Humanities, University of Exeter
MM McCabe, Emeritus Professor of Ancient Philosophy, King’s College London

Chair
Clare Moriarty, Fellow, The Forum; Doctoral Researcher, King’s College London

Does anger impede political progress or is it essential for change? Does love make us biased or is it the foundation of ethical thinking? Might shame alter not merely our perception of the world, but the very world itself? Reason is often contrasted with emotion, but what if emotion is essential for understanding traditional philosophical ideas? And how did we end up thinking that reason could ever do without emotion?

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7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Victoria Dutchman-Smith, Journalist and commentator
Emmy Eklundh, Teaching Fellow in Spanish and International Politics, King’s College London
Matthew Ratcliffe, Professor for Theoretical Philosophy, University of Vienna

Chair
Danielle Sands, Fellow, The Forum; Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London

At the intersection of the personal and the political, we explore the relationship between mental health and economics, politics, and society at large. Is it even possible to distinguish between mental illness that derives from an individual’s physiology or childhood experience and that which has broader social or political causes? Why do particular mental illnesses appear to characterize certain eras? Could social change limit the spread of mental illness in contemporary society?

Image credit: James Box, ‘Balance

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7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Ahmad Al-Rashid, Author; Syrian campaigner; Violence, Conflict and Development Postgraduate, SOAS
Phillip Cole, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of West England, Bristol
Elspeth Guild, Jean Monnet Professor ad personam, Queen Mary, University of London

Chair
Sarah Fine, Fellow, The Forum; Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, King’s College London

Some people crossing borders are called refugees while others are not. But who is a refugee? What precisely is the relationship between migration and seeking refuge? Can we justify the distinction between refugees, migrants, and displaced people? Our panel discuss whether current legal definitions are need of modification, and if so, what should be altered and why.

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7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Organized in conjunction with the British Society for the Philosophy of Science

Speakers
Fay Dowker, Professor of Theoretical Physics, Imperial College London
Eleanor Knox, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, King’s College London
Simon Saunders, Professor of Philosophy of Physics, University of Oxford

Chair
Jonathan Birch, Fellow, The Forum; Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE

Is Schrödinger’s cat alive or dead? This thought experiment was devised to illustrate a fundamental puzzle in quantum mechanics. A radical solution is that the cat is both alive and dead, but in different, parallel universes. This is the ‘many-worlds interpretation’ of quantum mechanics and our panel of philosophers and physicists will discuss why it is controversial and its strange consequences.

Image credit: Les Chatfield, ‘Mirror mirror

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7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
David Berry, Professor of Digital Humanities and Co-director of the Sussex Digital Humanities Lab, University of Sussex
Legacy Russell, writer, artist, and founding theorist of Glitch Feminism
Laurence Scott, Senior Lecturer English and Creative Writing, Arcadia University; author of Four-Dimensional Human

Chair
Shahidha Bari, Fellow, The Forum; Senior Lecturer in Romanticism in the Department of English, Queen Mary, University of London

How does our ubiquitous digital culture affect our sense of self? Is the self distorted, or do we now possess an invigorating digital selfdom? Should we revise our philosophical conceptions of the self in the light of social media? Our panel of writers, artists, and political theorists explore what happens to memory, emotion, and thought in the age of Google.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Fred Pearce, Science journalist and author
Chris Thomas, Professor of Biology, University of York
Emma Townshend
, Author and gardening columnist for The Independent on Sunday

Chair
Danielle Sands, Fellow, The Forum; Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London

From parakeets to grey squirrels, signal crayfish to Japanese knotweed, with the help of human beings, non-native species have adeptly squawked, crawled, and rooted themselves in unfamiliar ecosystems. Should we welcome these invaders as a sign of cross-species cosmopolitanism or attempt to remove them? Are some non-native species friends and others foes? When does conservation become ‘green xenophobia’ (Fred Pearce)? In this event, we discuss theoretical and practical responses to non-native species.

Image credit: Eamonn Butler, ‘Palace of Culture Energetik

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7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Mark Currie, Professor of Contemporary Literature, Queen Mary, University of London
Alison GibbonsReader in Contemporary Stylistics, Sheffield Hallam University
James Ladyman, Professor of Philosophy, University of Bristol
Hilary Lawson, Director of the Institute of Art and Ideas

Chair
Shahidha Bari, Fellow, The Forum; Senior Lecturer in Romanticism in the Department of English, Queen Mary, University of London

Did Derrida make us do it? Is our current situation the inevitable outcome of the intellectual adventuring of the twentieth century that critiqued grand narratives and challenged absolute truths? Or should we call upon the critical scepticism of post-modernism and post-structuralism with renewed vigour, to better see through the smoke and mirrors of contemporary culture? We ask what the relationship is between facts, alternative facts, and fiction, and explore the precarious status of truth in the twenty-first century.

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7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Ulrika Carlsson, Assistant Professor in Philosophy, National Research University, Higher School of Economics, Russia
Stephen Grosz, Psychoanalyst and author
Erin Plunkett, Teaching Fellow, Royal Holloway, University of London

Chair
Danielle Sands, Fellow, The Forum; Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London

The history of art and literature is a history of unrequited love, which reminds us both of the tragic nature of human experience and of the extraordinary human capacity to transform suffering into beauty. Should we mourn or celebrate unrequited love? What can it teach us about ourselves? Is anyone to blame? In this event, we will explore responses to unrequited love from philosophy, psychoanalysis, and art.

Image credit: Adriano Agulló, ‘noches de insomnio

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7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Björn Brembs, Professor of Neurogenetics, University of Regensburg
Chris Frith, Professor Emeritus, Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, UCL; Honorary Research Fellow, Institute of Philosophy, University of London
Eva Jablonka, Professor of Evolutionary Biology and Philosophy of Biology, Tel-Aviv University
David Papineau, ​Professor of Philosophy, KCL; Professor of Philosophy, City University of New York Graduate Center

Chair
Jonathan Birch, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method (LSE) and Fellow, Forum for European Philosophy

Other than humans, which animal species are conscious? When did consciousness first evolve, and what is its function? What brain structures are required for consciousness? Recent developments in the neuroscience and evolutionary biology of consciousness promise to shed new light on these tantalising puzzles. In this panel discussion, we consider what we know, what we don’t know, and what we may never know about the origins of consciousness.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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In conjunction with the TORCH research network ‘Crisis, Extremes and Apocalypse‘, University of Oxford

Speakers
Franklin Ginn, Lecturer in Cultural Geography, University of Bristol
Suzanne Hobson, Senior Lecturer in Twentieth Century Literature, Queen Mary, University of London
John Milbank,Emeritus Research Professor of Religion, Politics and Ethics, University of Nottingham
Florian Mussgnug, Reader in Italian and Comparative Literature, UCL

Chair
Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London and Fellow, Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

Within our apparently secular, globalised, and technology-driven world, we are witnessing a return of apocalyptic thinking. What are its current incarnations and why have they emerged now? Or did apocalyptic thinking ever really leave us? Is it inescapably linked to our belief in progress? What are the politics of apocalypse? Does it paralyse or inspire us? In this event, the panel will consider philosophical, ecological, literary, and theological manifestations of apocalyptic thinking.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Lenny Abrahamson, filmmaker, director of Adam & Paul (2004), Frank (2014), and the Oscar-winning Room (2015)
Maximilian de Gaynesford, Professor of Philosophy, University of Reading
Francine Stock, writer, critic, and broadcaster, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s The Film Programme

Chair
Shahidha Bari, Lecturer in Romanticism in the Department of English, Queen Mary, University of London and Fellow, Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

‘Film is made for philosophy’, wrote Stanley Cavell, ‘it shifts or puts different light on whatever philosophy has said about appearance and reality, about actors and characters, about scepticism and dogmatism, about presence and absence’. Does the language of cinema lend itself to questions of metaphysics and mortality? How can a character, a close up, or a cut represent a concept? In this panel, a filmmaker, a film critic, and a philosopher explore the ways in which film has engaged with philosophy and ask how far we might consider film itself a philosophical medium.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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The Ralph Oppenheimer Memorial Lecture

Introduction by David Edmonds, philosopher, author, and producer of the Philosophy Bites podcast

Speaker
Jonathan Wolff, Blavatnik Professor of Public Policy, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford

Chair
Peter Dennis, Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and Fellow, Forum for European Philosophy

For much of the early part of the twentieth century, political theorists debated the moral and economic merits of capitalism in competition with communism. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and its satellites, and the triumph of the market economy, those on the political left briefly flirted with the idea of market socialism. But critics of capitalism are running out of alternative ideas, to the point that a placard at an anti-capitalism march proclaimed ‘Replace Capitalism with Something Nice!’. Are we stuck with capitalism? How far can it be modified? How far should it be modified?

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Simon Blackburn, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge; Professor of Philosophy, New College of the Humanities
Olivier Driessens, Lecturer in the Sociology of Media and Culture, University of Cambridge
Edith Hall, Professor of Classics, King’s College London

Chair
Peter Dennis, Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and Fellow, Forum for European Philosophy

If video killed the radio star, how are we to understand celebrity in a world of Twitter, YouTube, and reality TV? Has the social function of celebrity changed, or are new kinds of celebrities performing the same function in different ways? Our panel will consider what celebrities are for, what their rights and responsibilities might be, and what our attitude towards celebrities ought to be.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Marco Cinnirella, Senior Lecturer of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London
Katharine Jenkins, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Nottingham
Joe Mulhall, Senior Researcher, Hope Not Hate
Amir Saeed, Senior Lecturer in Journalism and Media, University of Huddersfield

Chair
Peter Dennis, Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and Fellow, Forum for European Philosophy

With recent political events and a spike in the reporting of hate crime, the concept of prejudice has become prominent once more. But are we more or less prejudiced than at other points in our history? And is prejudice always wrong, or even avoidable? If it is avoidable, how can this be achieved? We put these questions to a philosopher, psychologist, sociologist, and activist.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Joanna Burch-Brown, Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Bristol
Jussi Suikkanen, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Birmingham
Demetris Tillyris, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Canterbury Christ Church University

Chair
Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London, and Fellow, Forum for European Philosophy

Why do we tend to judge hypocrites more harshly than those whose actions, however bad, appear consistent with their beliefs? Is hypocrisy better understood as inevitable weakness of the will or as inexcusable deception? In this event, the panel will ask: Is hypocrisy a moral dead-end or a step on the path to better behaviour? Is there such a thing as ‘honest’ hypocrisy? Which contemporary issues tend to make hypocrites of us, and are we, the hypocrites, really all that bad?

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Joseph Cohen, Lecturer in Continental Philosophy, University College Dublin
Simona Forti, Professor of Philosophy, University of Piedmont; Visiting Professor of Philosophy, The New School for Social Research, New York.
Brian Klug, Senior Research Fellow in Philosophy, St Benet’s Hall, University of Oxford; Contributor, The Guardian

Chair
Peter Dennis, Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

Nazism pervaded every level of German society, and philosophers were not immune. While much scholarship has understandably focused on recriminations of key figures, tonight’s panel reflect on some broader questions raised: Can philosophy help us understand the nature of evil? And does thinking philosophically really help us live better lives?

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Alessandro Allegra, Doctoral Researcher, University College London; Science Policy Advisor
Berris Charnley, Researcher, St. Anne’s College, University of Oxford
Stephen John, Hatton Senior Lecturer in Philosophy of Public Health, University of Cambridge
Jenny Molloy, Coordinator, Synthetic Biology SRI and OpenPlant, University of Cambridge

Chair
Peter Dennis, Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

From medicine and GMOs to cyber-security and climate change, scientific research is vital to modern life. On the other hand, many of us struggle to get to grips with its increasingly complexity. How does this fit with our ideals of democracy? And in an era of mistrust of experts, does science have a legitimacy problem? Our panel considers a radical proposal to rethink the distinction between scientist and citizen.

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7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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In conjunction with the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, LSE

Speakers
Philip Hoare, Professorial Fellow in English, University of Southampton; Author of Leviathan, or The Whale (Fourth Estate, 2008)
Luke Rendell, Reader in Biology, University of St Andrews

Chair
Jonathan Birch, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method (LSE) and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

What is it like to be a whale? How do they think and what do they feel? How are their social groups structured, and how do whale ‘cultures’ arise? And how has human thought and human culture been influenced by interaction with whales? In this dialogue, two internationally recognized whale experts — prize-winning author Philip Hoare and marine biologist Luke Rendell — discuss the inner lives of whales.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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This event is part of  LSE Literary Festival 2017: Revolutions

This event is free, but requires a ticket. Tickets will be available from 10am, Tuesday 31 January here.

Speakers
Luce Irigaray, Director of Research in Philosophy, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France
Mahon O’Brien, Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Sussex
Tanja Staehler, Reader in Philosophy, University of Sussex

Chair
Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London, and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

In this event, world-renowned philosopher Luce Irigaray will speak about her new book, To Be Born, which reflects upon the nature of human existence through an analysis of birth. Examining the mysteries of human origins, Irigaray will discuss the ways in which, despite the accidents of our birth, we can take responsibility for our own lives. Respondents Tanja Staehler and Mahon O’Brien will consider the philosophical, practical, and political implications of Irigaray’s claims.

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7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Juliet Haysom, Artist and Tutor, The Architectural Association, London
Kristen Kreider, Professor of Fine Art, Goldsmiths College, University of London
Peg Rawes, Professor in Architecture and Philosophy, University College London

Chair
Shahidha Bari, Lecturer in Romanticism in the Department of English, Queen Mary, University of London and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

This panel will consider the ways in which philosophers have engaged with architecture and explores how architects have thought philosophically about their own work.  Are there are philosophical ideals at the heart of civic building projects and social housing programmes? What are the principles of good design and how could a three dimensional space represent an idea? Is the primary purpose of a building aesthetic, social or moral?  Do we judge a building on the beauty of its structure, the practicality of its form or the human interaction it enables?  And how should we imagine the skyline of the future?

Image credit: AUJIK, ‘Spatial Bodies

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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This event is free, but requires a ticket. Tickets will be available from approx. 12pm on 31 January here.

Speakers
Nimrod Borenstein, Composer
Adrian Moore, Professor of Philosophy, St Hugh’s College, University of Oxford

Pianist
Clélia Iruzun

Chair
Catherine Audard, Chair, Forum for European Philosophy Fellow; Visiting Fellow, LSE

In the film Amadeus, Mozart remarks that ‘his composition has the exact amount of notes’, hinting at some kind of Absolute. For contemporary composer Nimrod Borenstein, there is only one solution: the right number of notes at the right place, as if his music had always existed. Are there philosophical arguments that support such claims? We bring together a composer, a pianist, a piano, and a philosopher to explore this question.

Image credit: Peter Greenwood

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7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Esther Leslie, Professor of Political Aesthetics, Birkbeck, University of London
Daniel Miller, Professor of Anthropology, University College London
Carolyn Shapiro, Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies, Falmouth University

Chair
Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London, and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

We tend to pay more attention to living beings than objects, failing to notice the complexities of the things that surround us, neglecting the differences between ‘the obsidian fragment, the gypsum crystal, the capsicum pepper, and the propane flame’ (Ian Bogost). But what if we are wrong to think of objects as inert and unimportant? What if objects can act? What if objects can help us to bridge the perceived gap between ourselves and the world around us? Our panel will consider the significance of objects between the personal and philosophical.

Image credit: Billy Apple, ‘Portrait of the Artist in Drip Dry Suit

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Helen Hester, Associate Professor of Media and Communications, University of West London
Nick Srnicek, Lecturer in International Political Economy, City, University of London
Jamie Woodcock, LSE Fellow, Department of Management, LSE

Chair
Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London, and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

From the impact of de-industrialization to the emerging forms of labour generated by technological advances, we are witnessing a transformation of work. What impact does the digital economy have on our understanding of work? Does it alter our conception of the labouring body? Where should we look to make sense of work in the contemporary, globalized world?

Image credit: Seymour Fogel, ‘The Wealth of the Nation’

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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In conjunction with the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, LSE

Speakers
Kevin Foster, Professor of Evolutionary Biology, University of Oxford
Sara Mitri, Senior Researcher in Microbiology, University of Lausanne
Maureen O’Malley, Research Professor of Philosophy, University of Bordeaux

Chair
Jonathan Birch, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method (LSE) and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

What are microbial societies? In what ways do they resemble human societies and in what ways do they differ? Can the same ideas that explain cooperation in larger animals also explain cooperation in microbes? And what can we learn from microbes about what it is to be human? In this panel discussion, philosopher Maureen O’Malley and microbiologists Kevin Foster and Sara Mitri discuss the social lives of microbes.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Philip Goodchild, Professor of Religion and Philosophy, University of Nottingham
Waltraud Schelkle, Associate Professor of Political Economy, LSE
Susan Steed, Co-founder and former Director of the Brixton Pound; Visiting Tutor, New College for the Humanities; Doctoral Researcher, University of Bristol

Chair
Peter Dennis, Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

What is money, where does it come from, and why does it sometimes fail to make us better off? The banality of money makes it appear neutral with respect to political, religious, or moral values. Should we try to answer these questions in a value-neutral way, or does money shelter a value system hiding in plain sight?

Image credit: Ethan Doyle White, ‘Coin Tree

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Josh Cohen, Professor of Modern Literary Theory, Goldsmiths, University of London
Tommy Lynch, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy of Religion, University of Chichester
Alenka Zupancic, Researcher, Institute of Philosophy, Ljubljana

Chair
Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London, and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

What does the infinite mean to us as finite beings? Can we root our thinking in the finite, or does the idea of the infinite always return? Does thinking philosophically about the infinite inevitably lead us to theology? Thinkers from philosophy, psychoanalysis, and literary studies will assess whether the idea of the infinite is something that we should cultivate, avoid, or simply try to understand.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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The Maurice Fraser Memorial Lecture 

This event is part of  LSE Literary Festival 2017: Revolutions

This event is free, but requires a ticket. Tickets will be available from 10am, Tuesday 31 January here

Speakers
Sarah Bakewell, Author of At the Existentialist Cafe and How to Live.
Andy Martin, Author of The Boxer and the Goalkeeper: Sartre vs Camus and Lecturer in French, University of Cambridge
Stella Sandford, Professor of Modern European Philosophy, Kingston University, London

Chair
Shahidha Bari, Lecturer in Romanticism in the Department of English, Queen Mary, University of London and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

‘Why are there beings at all instead of nothing?’, asks Martin Heidegger in his Introduction to Metaphysics. In this panel, we explore the ideas of being and nothing as described by existentialism’s most famous thinkers: Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Albert Camus. We ask what is the allure of the existentialists that their reputations should endure in popular and contemporary culture? And how is it that existentialist philosophy can be, at once, avidly consumed by modern audiences and unapologetically esoteric? Coffee, French cigarettes, and black polo necks not provided; intelligent discussion and provocative questions most definitely are.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
John Cottingham, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Reading
Beverley Clack, Professor of Philosophy of Religion, Oxford Brookes University
Tim Mulgan, Professor of Moral and Political Philosophy, University of St Andrews and Professor of Philosophy, University of Auckland

Chair
Peter Dennis, Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

The traditional answer to this question is that God has a plan for the universe and we are part of it. Almost as traditionally, atheists have countered that the universe has no purpose since a benevolent God does not exist. But what if the purpose of the universe does not involve us—or God—at all? Tim Mulgan explores this possibility in his recent book Purpose in the Universe (Oxford University Press, 2015). He joins a panel of metaphysicians and philosophers of religion to debate his view.

Image credit: Greg Goebel, ‘Paley’s watch

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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This event is free to attend and no registration is required. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis.

Speakers
Beatrix Campbell, Writer, journalist, and political activist
Peter Hallward, Professor of Modern European Philosophy, Kingston University London
Edward Kanterian, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Kent

Chair
Peter Dennis, Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

Winston Churchill famously described democracy as ‘the worst form of government except for all the others that have been tried’. While not exactly a resounding endorsement, something like this sentiment is strongly held by most people in Western societies. Those who challenge it are branded ‘extremists’ or ‘ideologues’, with special suspicion reserved for those who incorporate unfamiliar cultural or religious beliefs. However, there have always been those who think alternatives to democracy are possible, and indeed preferable. So what are the philosophical arguments in favour of democracy, and do they stand up to scrutiny?

Image credit: Emiliano Ponzi, The Journey of the Penguin

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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This event is free to attend and no registration is required. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis.

Speakers
Andrew Bowie, Professor of Philosophy and German, Royal Holloway, University of London
Laura Cull Ó MaoilearcaReader in Theatre and Performance, University of Surrey
Andy Hamilton, Professor of Philosophy, Durham University

Chair
Shahidha Bari, Lecturer in Romanticism in the Department of English, Queen Mary, University of London and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

From Nietzsche’s dalliances with tragic drama and Adorno’s adoration of Schoenberg to Badiou’s writing on dance, philosophy’s love affair with the performing arts has been long and thoughtful. In this debate, we discuss the ways philosophy thinks about performance. Is the logic of philosophy in tension with the imaginative and improvisational aspects of performance? Or is there a place for improvisation in philosophical thinking too? ‘Jazz is like bananas—it must be consumed on the spot’, declared Sartre. Join us for musings and some music too. Bring your own bananas.

Image credit: Wassily Kandinsky, ‘Improvisation 26 (Rowing)’

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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This event is free to attend and no registration is required. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis.

Speakers
Larissa Conradt, Affiliated Researcher, Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development
Elli Leadbeater, Reader in Biology, Royal Holloway, University of London
Christian List, Professor of Political Science and Philosophy, LSE

Chair
Jonathan Birch, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method (LSE) and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

Swarms of bees make decisions as a ‘democratic’ collective, voting on various possible nest sites through waggle dances. Does this phenomenon amount to a form of ‘collective intelligence’? Do we also find collective intelligence in humans? And what might humans be able to learn from bees about the best ways to act together and to make collective decisions? Philosopher Christian List, social insect biologist Elli Leadbeater, and evolutionary theorist Larissa Conradt consider the nature of collective intelligence in bees, humans, and other animals.

Image credit: Donald Macauley, ‘Starling Roost

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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This event is free to attend and no registration is required. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis.

Speakers
Havi Carel, Professor of Philosophy, University of Bristol
Anastasia Scrutton, Associate Professor in Philosophy and Religion, University of Leeds
Tom Stern, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University College London

Chair
Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture, Royal Holloway, University of London, and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

The ‘most depressing lesson’ of suffering, Slavoj Žižek writes, is that ‘there is nothing to be learned from it’. Is Žižek’s bleak view convincing, or is there evidence to suggest that suffering can educate or even improve us? If so, do some types of physical or mental suffering have more value than others? What is it that we learn? Does suggesting that suffering has meaning or value validate or demean the experience of suffering? In this event, three philosophers will address these questions. 

Image credit: Yuan Tian, ‘Frida Kahlo-The Broken Column

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
John Crace, Journalist, Critic, and Satirist, The Guardian
Catarina Dutilh Novaes, Professor of Theoretical Philosophy and Rosalind Franklin Fellow, University of Groningen
William Outhwaite, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Newcastle University
Jo Phillips, Journalist, Author, and former spin doctor

Chair
Peter Dennis, Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

Even in so-called ‘mature’ democracies, political discussion often turns ugly. Recently we have seen accusations of deception and name-calling in the EU referendum debate, of negative campaigning in the London mayoral election, and of unrestrained personal attacks in the US election. Does such behaviour fall short of an ethical standard for public discussion, or is it an essential feature of political life? We bring together a panel of political philosophers, argumentation theorists, and political commentators to debate this question.

Image credit: Southtyrolean, ‘Orator

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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This event is free to attend and no registration is required. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis.

Speakers
Julian Baggini, Writer and Editor-in-Chief of The Philosophers’ Magazine
Jesper Kallestrup, Professor of Philosophy, University of Edinburgh
Chris Norris, Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy, Cardiff University
Sarah Sawyer, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Sussex

Chair
Peter Dennis, Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

Does perception give me any reason to believe in an external world, or could I be a ‘brain in a vat’ that is fed information by a malicious (or benevolent) scientist? And if I were such a brain, could I ever say or think this? This is just one puzzle raised by the Harvard philosopher Hilary Putnam, who died last year. Though its origins are in Augustine and Descartes, Putnam revolutionised its implications for our understanding of knowledge, language, and the mind. We bring together a distinguished panel to discuss his life and work.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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This event is free to attend and no registration is required. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis.

Speakers
Patricia Fara, Affiliated Lecturer, Department of History and Philosophy of Science and Senior Tutor, Clare College, University of Cambridge
Melissa Hines, Professor of Psychology and Fellow of Churchill College, University of Cambridge
Cailin O’Connor, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of California, Irvine

Chair
Jonathan Birch, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

Despite progress in recent decades, women remain under-represented in many areas of science. Why is this, and what can be done about it? How do the challenges faced by women in science today differ from those faced by previous generations? Does the neuroscience of sex differences show that science requires a ‘male brain’, or does it debunk that idea? And how might the structure and culture of science be improved to help the next generation of female scientists? Historian of science Patricia Fara, philosopher of science Cailin O’Connor, and neuroscientist Melissa Hines will discuss the past, present, and future challenges faced by women in science.

Image credit: Catherine Cronin, ‘Women in Science

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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This event is free to attend and no registration is required. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis.

Speakers
Fred Botting, Professor of English Literature and Creative Writing, Kingston University
Steven Shakespeare, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, Liverpool Hope University
Sarah Wood, Reader in English Literature and Literary Theory, University of Kent

Chair
Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture (Royal Holloway) and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

Why is art preoccupied with monsters? What can we learn about a society from the kinds of monsters it imagines? Today, when traditional ideas of the human cannot account for advances in biology and technology, can monstrous figures help us to better understand our changing sense of ourselves? In this panel, three thinkers examine our ongoing fascination with monsters.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

This event is free to attend and no registration is required. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis.

Speakers
Katherine Angel, Author and Lecturer in Creative Writing, Kingston University London
Kate Devlin, Senior Lecturer, Department of Computing, Goldsmiths, University of London
Rebecca Reilly-Cooper, Teaching Fellow in Political Theory, Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick

Chair
Shahidha Bari, Lecturer in Romanticism in the Department of English, Queen Mary, University of London and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

In a year of heated discussions about campus rape culture and street harassment, the merits of sex positivism, and the implications of trans-identity for feminism, we ask what is the future of sex and sexuality? Have the rules of sexual engagement changed in the twenty-first century and has the discipline of philosophy managed to keep up? How do we start to think afresh about desire, after Freud and into the future? And what is the future for sex as our conceptions of the body are reframed by culture, bionics, and even the law?

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Measuring Poverty and Gender Disparity: Philosophical and Practical Issues

This event is free to attend and does not require registration

Speakers
Professor Alison Jaggar, College Professor of Distinction in Philosophy and Women and Gender Studies (University of Colorado at Boulder) and Distinguished Research Professor (University of Birmingham)
Dr Scott Wisor, Lecturer (Centre for the Study of Global Ethics, University of Birmingham)

Chair
Dr Roxana Baiasu, Associate Member (Philosophy Faculty, University of Oxford) and Teaching Fellow in Philosophy (University of Birmingham)

Theories of global justice have tended to be animated by concern for the global poor, often obscuring differences within that group, including differences in the deprivation experienced by men and women. Many scholars have alleged that there is a feminization of global poverty, but this claim cannot be substantiated by global poverty measures that take the household as the unit of analysis. This talk will discuss an effort to rectify shortcomings in extant global poverty measurement by developing a gender-sensitive, multi-dimensional, individual-level measure of poverty. This measure, known as the Individual Deprivation Measure, was developed through a process of public reason involving participants in six countries across Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. The presentations will address both philosophical and practical issues that arise in the measurement of global poverty.

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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This event is free to attend and does not require registration

Speakers
Catherine Audard, Visiting Fellow (Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE) and Chair and Co-founder of the Forum for European Philosophy
Geoffrey Bennington, Asa G. Candler Professor of Modern French Thought (Emory University)
François Noudelmann, Professor of Philosophy (l’Université Paris VIII)

Chair
Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture (Royal Holloway) and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

What does it mean to take philosophy beyond academia and into the public sphere? What is the value of philosophy in the contemporary world? In this event, held to mark 20 years of ‘thinking in public’ for the Forum, the panel will address the complex relations between philosophy, politics, and the public space. How has the project of thinking in public changed? Does it have a future?

#LSEFEP

Image credits: Gurbuz Dogan Eksioglu; Lisa Anne Auerbach, ‘Do Ask, Do Tell‘; Raphael, ‘School of Athens’

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Tickets for this event have all been allocated; however, there will be a returns queue on the night. This event with be also be broadcast live here.

Speaker
Slavoj Žižek, Senior Researcher, Institute for Sociology and Philosophy (University of Ljubljana), Global Distinguished Professor of German (New York University), and International Director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities

Chair
Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture (Royal Holloway) and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

Slavoj Žižek talks about his new book, Against the Double Blackmail: Refugees, Terror, and Other Troubles with the Neighbours.

From within the safety of Europe, we face two versions of ideological blackmail—open-door solidarity with refugees and drawbridge-minded protectionism. Both prolong the problem—so, confronted with this double blackmail, we find ourselves back at the great question: what is to be done? The refugee crisis offers to Europe an opportunity: a unique chance to redefine itself. The only way to truly get to the heart of one of the greatest and most urgent issues confronting Europe today is to insist on the global solidarity of the exploited and oppressed. Maybe such global solidarity is a utopia. But if we don’t engage in it, then we are really lost. And we will deserve to be lost.

#LSEFEP

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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This event is free to attend and does not require registration

 

Speakers
Louise Ellison, Professor of Law (University of Leeds)
Gloria Origgi, Researcher (Institut Jean Nicod, CNRS, Paris)
Stephen Vullo QC, Criminal Barrister

Chair
Peter Dennis, Fellow (Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE) and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

 

Sexual offences have frequently gone unpunished because victims have not been believed. This stands in the way of justice and constitutes an additional wrong; according to one victim, not being believed by the police ‘was almost worse than the rape itself’. In light of this, many have called for a ‘right to be believed’. But how can this be reconciled with the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’? And when, if at all, do we have a right that someone should believe our testimony? Our panel—a philosopher, a barrister, and a legal theorist—will debate these questions.

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Image credit: Lucy, ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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This event is free to attend and does not require registration.

 

Speakers
Babette Babich, Professor of Philosophy (Fordham University)
Taylor Carman, Professor of Philosophy (Colombia University)
Daniel Dahlstrom, John R. Silber Professor of Philosophy (Boston University)
Patricia Glazebrook, Professor of Philosophy and Director of the School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs (Washington State University)

Chair
Aaron Wendland, Research Fellow (Institute of Philosophy and Semiotics, University of Tartu)

 

For Heidegger, technology does not simply refer to the various tools we use to get along in the world, but also the tendency we have to view the world as nothing more than a resource for the purposes of production and consumption. After offering a brief overview of Heidegger’s thought as a whole, the panel will discuss what Heidegger can tell us about the nature of modern technology and the threat it posses to the world in which we live, as well as potential solutions to the dangers of reducing the world to resources for production and consumption.

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Image credit: Elias Bizannes, ‘Authenticity required: password?

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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This event is free to attend and does not require registration.

 

Speakers
J. McKenzie Alexander, Professor of Philosophy, LSE
Allen Buchanan, James B. Duke Professor of Philosophy, Duke University.
Catherine Wilson, Anniversary Professor of Philosophy, York University

Chair
Jonathan Birch, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method (LSE) and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

 

It now seems hard to deny that at least some of our moral beliefs have been shaped by natural selection. What does this mean for the objectivity of ethics and the possibility of moral progress? Does evolution mean that morality is an illusion? Are we locked into ‘tribal’ ways of thinking, or is a more inclusive morality possible? Our panel will consider the philosophical implications of the evolution of morality.

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Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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This event is free to attend and does not require registration.

This event will be live streamed

Speakers for the motion
Ben Cobley, Writer and Political Blogger
Gerard Lyons, Chief Economic Advisor to the Mayor of London

Speakers against the motion
Hugo Dixon, Columnist and Author of The In/Out Question; Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of InFacts
Katrin Flikschuh, Professor of Political Theory (LSE)

Chair
Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture at Royal Holloway and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

 

On June 23, voters in the will make a decision regarding their willingness to share or pool some of the UK’s sovereignty with the twenty-seven other member states of the European Union. This special event, held as part of the Forum’s 20th anniversary, will consider a motion to change the status quo. We will have two teams of speakers, one speaking for the proposition (Gerard Lyons and Ben Cobley), the other against (Hugo Dixon and Katrin Flikschuh).

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Image credit: Nicolas Raymond, ‘EU Grunge Flag

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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4 – 5.30pm | Monday 7 March 2016
Seminar Room, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford

Speakers
Sacha Golob, Lecturer in Philosophy, King’s College London
Denis McManus, Professor of Philosophy, University of Southampton
Joseph Schear, University Lecturer in Philosophy and  Tutorial Fellow, Christ Church, University of Oxford

Chair
Stephen Mulhall, Professor and Fellow in Philosophy, New College, University of Oxford

Sacha Golob’s Heidegger on Concepts, Freedom and Normativity (Cambridge University Press, 2014) provides a fundamentally new interpretation of early Heidegger. Drawing on close analyses of Heidegger’s work on intentionality, being, realism, and freedom, it argues for a new picture of his relationship to analytic philosophy, and to Plato and Kant. Join the author and panelists as they discuss and critique a number of the book’s central themes.

This event is free and open to all without registration

Local organiser: Dr Roxana Baiasu (Roxana.Baiasu@philosophy.ox.ac.uk)

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Tim Lewens, Professor of Philosophy of Science (University of Cambridge)
Alex Mesoudi, Associate Professor in Cultural Evolution (University of Exeter)
Christina Toren, Professor of Social Anthropology (University of St. Andrews)

Chair
Andrew Buskell, Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method (LSE)

A growing number of researchers are applying Darwinian ideas to explain aspects of human society, but this work has long been controversial. Is a Darwinian theory of culture possible? If so, what should such a theory look like? In what ways should it differ from a theory of biological evolution? Does the ‘meme’ concept have any value? How should we think about cultural inheritance, if not in terms of memes? In this interdisciplinary discussion, philosopher Tim Lewens, social anthropologist Christina Toren and cultural evolution theorist Alex Mesoudi debate these and other questions concerning Darwinism and the social sciences.

This event is free to attend and does not require registration.

#LSEFEP

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Please note the unusual start time of this event

Speakers
Lisa Baraitser, Reader in Psychosocial Studies (Birkbeck, University of London)
Elselijn Kingma, Lecturer in Philosophy (University of Southampton)
Fiona Woollard, Associate Professor in Philosophy (University of Southampton)

Chair
Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture (Royal Holloway) and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

The relationship between mother and foetus during pregnancy has long challenged our sense of ourselves as distinct individuals, as well as our conceptions of legal and moral responsibility. Are the mother and foetus best understood as one organism or two? What are the implications of this special relationship for the mother’s moral duty towards her child? The speakers in this event will ask how philosophy can help us to address these vital and perplexing questions.

This event is free to attend and does not require registration.

#LSEFEP

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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Speakers
Madhu Krishnan, Lecturer in English Literature (University of Bristol)
Michael Burns, Lecturer in Philosophy (University of the West of England)
John Narayan, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in Sociology and Academic Director of the New Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (University of Warwick)

Chair
Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture at Royal Holloway, University of London and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

A revolutionary thinker who drew upon influences from philosophy, political theory, and psychoanalysis, Fanon is best known for his fierce championing of Algerian liberation and his reflections on the psychological impact of colonialism and imperialism. Now that the philosophical value of Fanon’s work is finally being recognised, we should also ask what it can teach us about the contemporary world. In what ways can Fanon’s writings help us understand more recent political uprisings and revolutions, as well as new forms of resistance? In what ways can Fanon shed light upon a political landscape transformed by technology and twenty-first century globalization?

This event is free to attend and does not require registration.

#LSEFEP

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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LSE LITERARY FESTIVAL 2016: UTOPIAS

This event is free to attend, but does require a ticket. See here for details.

Speaker
A. C. Grayling, Professor of Philosophy and Master of the New College of the Humanities

Chair
Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture at Royal Holloway and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

How should we understand the intellectual changes that marked the turbulent seventeenth century in Europe? Fuelled by both original and orthodox thinking, this period witnessed perhaps the greatest shift in our outlook, from the alchemy and astrology of John Dee to the painstaking observations and astronomy of Galileo. Newton, the man who understood gravity and the laws of motion, remained fascinated to the end of his life by alchemy, embodying the complex attitudes towards belief and superstition of his time. In this talk, A. C. Grayling asks how and why the seventeenth century became the crucible of modernity.

#LSEFEP

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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LSE LITERARY FESTIVAL 2016: UTOPIAS

This event is free to attend, but does require a ticket. See here for details.

Speakers
Sophie-Grace Chappell, Professor of Philosophy (The Open University)
Heidi Mirza, Professor of Race, Faith and Culture (Goldsmiths College, University of London)
Jacqueline Rose, Professor of Humanities (Birkbeck, University of London)
Zoe Williams, Writer and journalist

Chair
Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture (Royal Holloway) and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

What is the future for feminism? How does feminism interact with concerns about other forms of oppression, such as those based on race and class? Is there one feminist movement or many? If there are many, how should they relate to one another? In this panel, our speakers will discuss these questions and ask what the future holds for feminist movements.

#LSEFEP

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

Speakers
Kate Devlin, Senior Lecturer in Computing (Goldsmiths, University of London)
Mateja Jamnik, Senior Lecturer in Computing (University of Cambridge)
Huw Price, Bertrand Russell Professor of Philosophy, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (University of Cambridge)
Mark Sprevak, Senior Lecture of Philosophy (University of Edinburgh)

Chair
Jonathan Birch, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method (LSE) and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

AI is progressing fast. What level has it reached? Is human-level AI a realistic possibility? And if it is achieved in the near future, what will the consequences be for humanity? Could AI threaten our very existence? In this panel discussion, philosophers Huw Price and Mark Sprevak and computer scientists Mateja Jamnik and Kate Devlin discuss these and other questions concerning AI and the future of humanity.

This event is free to attend and does not require registration.

#LSEFEP

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

Speakers
Christopher Bennett, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy (University of Sheffield)
Kimberley Brownlee, Associate Professor in Legal and Moral Philosophy (University of Warwick)
Andrew Neilson, Director of Campaigns (Howard League for Penal Reform)

Chair
Peter Dennis, Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method (LSE) and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

In this time of austerity, many of those who want a small state are also committed to a highly expensive criminal justice apparatus that has little demonstrable deterrent effect. But are there other, more direct arguments against the use of imprisonment as a dominant form of punishment? If so, what are they? Why do they so often fall on deaf ears? And does the current economic climate make it more likely that those in power will listen?

This event is free to attend and does not require registration.

#LSEFEP

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

Speakers
John Breuilly, Emeritus Professor of Nationalism and Ethnicity (LSE)
Cara Nine, Lecturer in Philosophy (University College Cork)

Chair
Peter Dennis, Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method (LSE) and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

Recent years have seen numerous calls for independence: in Kosovo, South Sudan, Scotland, Catalonia, and in Eastern parts of Ukraine. Are all declarations of independence created equal, or are some more legitimate than others? What gives a territory the right to become an independent country, and under what conditions can a state prevent it from doing so?

This event is free to attend and does not require registration.

#LSEFEP

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

Speakers
Simon Baron-Cohen, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology (Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge)
John Dupré, Professor of Philosophy of Science (University of Exeter)
Bonnie Evans, Wellcome Trust Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of History (Queen Mary, University of London)

Chair
Bhismadev Chakrabarti, Associate Professor of Neuroscience (University of Reading)

Our panel will offer perspectives from neuroscience, history and philosophy on autism: How has our understanding of autism evolved? Why is autism so often linked with scientific and mathematical talent? Does this mean that some minds are ‘wired’ for science (and others not)? Is autism really a disorder, or just an aspect of human ‘neurodiversity’?

This event is free to attend and does not require registration.

#LSEFEP

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

Speakers
Lisa Bortolotti, Professor of Philosophy (University of Birmingham)
Giovanna Colombetti, Associate Professor (University of Exeter)
Benedetto De Martino, Sir Henry Dale Senior Research Fellow, Department of Psychology (University of Cambridge)

Chair
Tali Sharot, Director of the Affective Brain Lab, Reader in the Department of Experimental Psychology, UCL and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow

From financial decisions to medical choices and political beliefs, emotion plays a crucial role. What is emotion and what is it good for? How is it represented in the brain and do human emotions differ from other animals? We will discuss the notion that emotion is the primary factor that controls our every action.

This event is free to attend and does not require registration.

#LSEFEP

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

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BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme

Speakers
Jennifer Hornsby, Professor of Philosophy (Birkbeck College, London)
James Ladyman, Professor of Philosophy (University of Bristol)
Rupert Read, Reader in Philosophy (University of East Anglia)

Chair
Eleanor Knox, Lecturer in Philosophy (KCL)

Modern science has provided answers to questions once thought impertinent for human beings to investigate. Among them, ‘What causes earthquakes and natural disasters?’, ‘Where does human life begin?’, and ‘Do we have free will?’. But when does the triumph of science become triumphalism? What are the limits of scientific inquiry, and does it leave any questions for non-scientists to answer?

This event is free to attend and does not require registration.

#LSEFEP

 

Coming up at the Forum


7 December 2021

Moritz Schlick

Moritz Schlick

With David Edmonds, Maria Galavotti, and Cheryl Misak

Calendar »

Subscribe to the podcast

Join the mailing list

Podcast Archive

The Forum on Social Media

BPS/SWIP Good Practice Scheme

The Forum for Philosophy subscribes to the British Philosophical Association/Society for Women in Philosophy (UK) Good Practice Scheme