天美传媒

'We are holding a workshop on September 17^th to celebrate the work of Avishai Margalit, to which you are warmly invited. The workshop will have as background a manuscript consisting of a brief autobiography and an extended interview linking much of his published work, books and articles. If you would like to take part in it, please let me know, as we need to register people. The bibliography below gives an indication of some of the work that may be discussed. The speakers giving brief discussion-introducing talks to issues raised in Margalit鈥檚 work will be: Quassim Cassam, John Dunn, Assaf Sharon, Moshe Halbertal, Ulrike Heuer, Michael Waltzer. (David Enoch will be joining us by zoom).

Publications

Books

路 Idolatry (jointly with ), , 1992.

路 The Decent Society, Harvard University Press, 1996.

路 Views in Review: Politics and Culture in the State of the Jews, , 1998.

路 The Ethics of Memory, Harvard University Press, 2002.   (A partial German version of this book, Ethik der Erinnerung, was published by in 2000.)

路 Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of Its Enemies (with ), New York: The , 2004.  

路 On Compromise And Rotten Compromises, , 2010

路 On Betrayal, Harvard University Press, 2017

The workshop will be the second event in a collaboration between our department and colleagues at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, on issues at the intersection between Mind, Ethics, Epistemology and Politics (aka MEEP). Speakers from our department will be Curie, Nadine and Kartik, and there will be four speakers from Prague — see below for the programme.

Philosophical Perspectives on Human Relations and Contemporary Politics 

23rd/24th September 2025, Cowling Room

Tuesday 23rd September

9.30 -10.45

Hana Fo艡tov谩

Conflict as a feature of political language in Rousseau鈥檚 writings

10.45-11.15 coffee/tea

11.15-12.30

Curie Virag

The moral power of anger in early Confucianism

12.30 Lunch

2.00- 3.15pm

Petr Glomb铆膷ek

An Appeal to Common Sense. What We Mean?

[exam board meeting 3.30-4.30]

4.30-4.45pm coffee/tea

4.45-6pm

Juraj Hvoreck媒

AI and the unconsciousness

The workshop will be the second event in a collaboration between our department and colleagues at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, on issues at the intersection between Mind, Ethics, Epistemology and Politics (aka MEEP). Speakers from our department will be Curie, Nadine and Kartik, and there will be four speakers from Prague — see below for the programme.

Philosophical Perspectives on Human Relations and Contemporary Politics 

23rd/24th September 2025, Cowling Room

Wednesday 24th September

9.30 -10.15

Dan Swain

Old Concepts, New Meanings: Contestation, Prefiguration and Reciprocal Recognition

10.15-10.30 coffee/Tea

10.30 -11.45

Nadine Elzein

A puzzle about Responsibility for one鈥檚 Character

11.45 -12 coffee/Tea

12- 1.15

Kartik Upadhyaya

Lockdown for the Masses, Parties for the Few

MORNING 11-12:30

Panel 1: Murdoch on Literature & Philosophy

, Chichester

, Northwestern

Eliza Little, Warwick

LUNCH

AFTERNOON 13:30-17:00

Panel 2: Murdoch & Existentialism

, Southhampton

, Liverpool

Tobias Keiling, Warwick

COFFEE

Panel 3: Murdoch鈥檚 Moral Philosophy

, Oxford

, Emory

Heather Widdows, Warwick

KEYNOTE 17:30

, Emory

鈥淏ecome What You Are Not: Murdoch鈥檚 Perfectionism鈥�

This is an academic welcome event for all incoming MA, MPhil, and PhD students. The event begins with tea & coffee followed by a plenary discussion and small breakout group discussions on different readings.

Abstract: Rapid advances in visual forms of generative AI have prompted disagreement about the nature, ethics and integrity of the new practices arising from uses of the technology. Correspondingly, scepticism is routinely expressed towards their prospects as art. Addressing worries about the use of copyrighted materials as training data, I look to appropriation art to argue that the concern underpinning much of the scepticism is whether the creator has acted for what might be termed 鈥渁rtistic reasons鈥�. I disentangle what it means to act for 鈥渁rtistic reasons鈥� in these practices and propose that a lack of trust, compounded by social media platforms, in image-makers to act with a commitment to these threatens aesthetic discourse about these practices.

In the Autumn Term we are reading Democracy Despite Itself: Liberal Constitutionalism and Militant Democracy. As before, we meet at 10am on Wednesdays in Lorenzo鈥檚 office.

If you haven鈥檛 come along before the book group is very informal and super fun. It is mostly staff, with (usually) a couple of PhD students. Staff come from across the department and we have members from every research centre, so it really is a broad church. Expertise in the subject is absolutely not a prerequisite for coming. It鈥檚 a way to do philosophy together and get to know each other better. All welcome!

The book is available online in the library:

1. Every Friday, 4pm to 6pm. Beginning in Week 2.
2. Open to undergraduates (if they are keen), postgraduates, and members of staff.
3. Room S1.69

Interested parties may want to join the Whatsapp group - link provided below. Or contact Luke Leong (L.Leong@warwick.ac.uk)

Vous avez 茅t茅 invit茅路e 脿 rejoindre un groupe sur WhatsApp :

‎Hegel Reading Group Science of Logic - Doctrine
Voici votre lien personnel :

Join us this term for I鈥檓 Glad I Read It—an informal series where faculty from several departments will discuss a reading experience that they are glad to have had. See webpage for details of speakers and works to be discussed. For students and staff - all are welcome.

"Varieties of Metacritique"

Join us at our welcome event for Philosophy with Psychology/EPP/GSD to enjoy some pizza, refreshments and good company!

In the Autumn Term we are reading Democracy Despite Itself: Liberal Constitutionalism and Militant Democracy. As before, we meet at 10am on Wednesdays in Lorenzo鈥檚 office.

If you haven鈥檛 come along before the book group is very informal and super fun. It is mostly staff, with (usually) a couple of PhD students. Staff come from across the department and we have members from every research centre, so it really is a broad church. Expertise in the subject is absolutely not a prerequisite for coming. It鈥檚 a way to do philosophy together and get to know each other better. All welcome!

The book is available online in the library:

Date: Wednesday, 22 October 2025

Location: Social Sciences Building, S0.11

Schedule:

14:05-14:55

Speaker: Michelle Liu (Monash)

Title: Mental Imagery and Harmful Language*

14:55-15:05

Coffee Break

15:05-15:50

Q&A

--

*Abstract:

Research on pernicious language tends to focus on harmful beliefs and associations transmitted by such language. In this paper, I explore the idea that pernicious language often transmits harmful mental imagery. Empirical studies suggest that mental imagery is a pervasive feature of language processing. Furthermore, mental imagery prompted by language can influence our memories and judgements in an insidious way. Focusing on language containing misinformation about witnessed events, as well as generics and metaphors about social groups, this paper argues for the importance of mental imagery for theorising harmful language and suggests ways to combat the imagistic harm.

1. Every Friday, 4pm to 6pm. Beginning in Week 2.
2. Open to undergraduates (if they are keen), postgraduates, and members of staff.
3. Room S1.69

Interested parties may want to join the Whatsapp group - link provided below. Or contact Luke Leong (L.Leong@warwick.ac.uk)

Vous avez 茅t茅 invit茅路e 脿 rejoindre un groupe sur WhatsApp :

‎Hegel Reading Group Science of Logic - Doctrine
Voici votre lien personnel :

Join us this term for I鈥檓 Glad I Read It—an informal series where faculty from several departments will discuss a reading experience that they are glad to have had. See webpage for details of speakers and works to be discussed. For students and staff - all are welcome

In the Autumn Term we are reading Democracy Despite Itself: Liberal Constitutionalism and Militant Democracy. As before, we meet at 10am on Wednesdays in Lorenzo鈥檚 office.

If you haven鈥檛 come along before the book group is very informal and super fun. It is mostly staff, with (usually) a couple of PhD students. Staff come from across the department and we have members from every research centre, so it really is a broad church. Expertise in the subject is absolutely not a prerequisite for coming. It鈥檚 a way to do philosophy together and get to know each other better. All welcome!

The book is available online in the library:

WMA Graduate Research Seminar 30 Oct 2025 14:00-16:00 s2.64

For further information

1. Every Friday, 4pm to 6pm. Beginning in Week 2.
2. Open to undergraduates (if they are keen), postgraduates, and members of staff.
3. Room S1.69

Interested parties may want to join the Whatsapp group - link provided below. Or contact Luke Leong (L.Leong@warwick.ac.uk)

Vous avez 茅t茅 invit茅路e 脿 rejoindre un groupe sur WhatsApp :

‎Hegel Reading Group Science of Logic - Doctrine
Voici votre lien personnel :

Join us this term for I鈥檓 Glad I Read It—an informal series where faculty from several departments will discuss a reading experience that they are glad to have had. See webpage for details of speakers and works to be discussed. For students and staff - all are welcome.

Philosophy-Politics Guest Talk 4^th November: Dr Mollie Gerver

We are hosting a guest talk for students, delivered by , Assistant Professor at Political Economy, King's College London. You are cordially invited!

The talk, on 4^th November, will be at 12.00-13.00 in S0.18, followed by lunch at 13.00-13.30 in the Philosophy Common Room. Please if you plan to attend to ensure that we can cater for your dietary requirements.

Beth Lord (Aberdeen)
鈥淪pinoza鈥檚 Image of Thought: ratio and the Example of the Fourth Proportional鈥�
Reply: Stephen Houlgate (Warwick)

In the Autumn Term we are reading Democracy Despite Itself: Liberal Constitutionalism and Militant Democracy. As before, we meet at 10am on Wednesdays in Lorenzo鈥檚 office.

If you haven鈥檛 come along before the book group is very informal and super fun. It is mostly staff, with (usually) a couple of PhD students. Staff come from across the department and we have members from every research centre, so it really is a broad church. Expertise in the subject is absolutely not a prerequisite for coming. It鈥檚 a way to do philosophy together and get to know each other better. All welcome!

The book is available online in the library:

1. Every Friday, 4pm to 6pm. Beginning in Week 2.
2. Open to undergraduates (if they are keen), postgraduates, and members of staff.
3. Room S1.69

Interested parties may want to join the Whatsapp group - link provided below. Or contact Luke Leong (L.Leong@warwick.ac.uk)

Vous avez 茅t茅 invit茅路e 脿 rejoindre un groupe sur WhatsApp :

‎Hegel Reading Group Science of Logic - Doctrine
Voici votre lien personnel :

WMA Graduate Research Seminar

Link to further info:

Event Schedule:

Event Schedule:

Final details TBC

1. Every Friday, 4pm to 6pm. Beginning in Week 2.
2. Open to undergraduates (if they are keen), postgraduates, and members of staff.
3. Room S1.69

Interested parties may want to join the Whatsapp group - link provided below. Or contact Luke Leong (L.Leong@warwick.ac.uk)

Vous avez 茅t茅 invit茅路e 脿 rejoindre un groupe sur WhatsApp :

‎Hegel Reading Group Science of Logic - Doctrine
Voici votre lien personnel :

Join us this term for I鈥檓 Glad I Read It—an informal series where faculty from several departments will discuss a reading experience that they are glad to have had. See webpage for details of speakers and works to be discussed. For students and staff - all are welcome.

鈥淐ontinental Philosophy at Warwick鈥�

Andrew Benjamin, Miguel de Beistegui, Christine Battersby

In the Autumn Term we are reading Democracy Despite Itself: Liberal Constitutionalism and Militant Democracy. As before, we meet at 10am on Wednesdays in Lorenzo鈥檚 office.

If you haven鈥檛 come along before the book group is very informal and super fun. It is mostly staff, with (usually) a couple of PhD students. Staff come from across the department and we have members from every research centre, so it really is a broad church. Expertise in the subject is absolutely not a prerequisite for coming. It鈥檚 a way to do philosophy together and get to know each other better. All welcome!

The book is available online in the library:

1. Every Friday, 4pm to 6pm. Beginning in Week 2.
2. Open to undergraduates (if they are keen), postgraduates, and members of staff.
3. Room S1.69

Interested parties may want to join the Whatsapp group - link provided below. Or contact Luke Leong (L.Leong@warwick.ac.uk)

Vous avez 茅t茅 invit茅路e 脿 rejoindre un groupe sur WhatsApp :

‎Hegel Reading Group Science of Logic - Doctrine
Voici votre lien personnel :

Join us this term for I鈥檓 Glad I Read It—an informal series where faculty from several departments will discuss a reading experience that they are glad to have had. See webpage for details of speakers and works to be discussed. For students and staff - all are welcome.

In the Autumn Term we are reading Democracy Despite Itself: Liberal Constitutionalism and Militant Democracy. As before, we meet at 10am on Wednesdays in Lorenzo鈥檚 office.

If you haven鈥檛 come along before the book group is very informal and super fun. It is mostly staff, with (usually) a couple of PhD students. Staff come from across the department and we have members from every research centre, so it really is a broad church. Expertise in the subject is absolutely not a prerequisite for coming. It鈥檚 a way to do philosophy together and get to know each other better. All welcome!

The book is available online in the library:

WMA Graduate Research Seminar 27 Nov 2025 14:00-16:00 s1.50

For further information

1. Every Friday, 4pm to 6pm. Beginning in Week 2.
2. Open to undergraduates (if they are keen), postgraduates, and members of staff.
3. Room S1.69

Interested parties may want to join the Whatsapp group - link provided below. Or contact Luke Leong (L.Leong@warwick.ac.uk)

Vous avez 茅t茅 invit茅路e 脿 rejoindre un groupe sur WhatsApp :

‎Hegel Reading Group Science of Logic - Doctrine
Voici votre lien personnel :

Join us this term for I鈥檓 Glad I Read It—an informal series where faculty from several departments will discuss a reading experience that they are glad to have had. See webpage for details of speakers and works to be discussed. For students and staff - all are welcome.

Arthur Schopenhauer: The Life and Thought of Philosophy鈥檚 Greatest Pessimist (Chicago University Press).
With Patrick Hassan (Cardiff), Sam Shores (Warwick UG Philosophy student))

In the Autumn Term we are reading Democracy Despite Itself: Liberal Constitutionalism and Militant Democracy. As before, we meet at 10am on Wednesdays in Lorenzo鈥檚 office.

If you haven鈥檛 come along before the book group is very informal and super fun. It is mostly staff, with (usually) a couple of PhD students. Staff come from across the department and we have members from every research centre, so it really is a broad church. Expertise in the subject is absolutely not a prerequisite for coming. It鈥檚 a way to do philosophy together and get to know each other better. All welcome!

The book is available online in the library:

1. Every Friday, 4pm to 6pm. Beginning in Week 2.
2. Open to undergraduates (if they are keen), postgraduates, and members of staff.
3. Room S1.69

Interested parties may want to join the Whatsapp group - link provided below. Or contact Luke Leong (L.Leong@warwick.ac.uk)

Vous avez 茅t茅 invit茅路e 脿 rejoindre un groupe sur WhatsApp :

‎Hegel Reading Group Science of Logic - Doctrine
Voici votre lien personnel :

In the Autumn Term we are reading Democracy Despite Itself: Liberal Constitutionalism and Militant Democracy. As before, we meet at 10am on Wednesdays in Lorenzo鈥檚 office.

If you haven鈥檛 come along before the book group is very informal and super fun. It is mostly staff, with (usually) a couple of PhD students. Staff come from across the department and we have members from every research centre, so it really is a broad church. Expertise in the subject is absolutely not a prerequisite for coming. It鈥檚 a way to do philosophy together and get to know each other better. All welcome!

The book is available online in the library:

WMA Graduate Research Seminar 11 Dec 2025 14:00-16:00 s1.50

1. Every Friday, 4pm to 6pm. Beginning in Week 2.
2. Open to undergraduates (if they are keen), postgraduates, and members of staff.
3. Room S1.69

Interested parties may want to join the Whatsapp group - link provided below. Or contact Luke Leong (L.Leong@warwick.ac.uk)

Vous avez 茅t茅 invit茅路e 脿 rejoindre un groupe sur WhatsApp :

‎Hegel Reading Group Science of Logic - Doctrine
Voici votre lien personnel :

Friday 12 December, 14.00-17.30, A0.28 (Millburn House) and on

Join us to hear from a wonderful array of speakers including CRPLA leading lights Martin Warner, Michael Bell and Peter Larkin, and PhD alums Tania Ganitsky, Philip Gaydon, Andrea Selleri, Joe Shafer, and Ole Martin Skille氓s; and BA and MA alums Sydney Harvey, Alberto Parisi, Kae Rose, and Xita Rubert. Please rsvp Link opens in a new windowif you plan to attend.

Mon 15 Dec - 8:00-12:00 BST / 9:00-13:00 CET / 16:00-20:00 CST / 17:00-21:00 JST

Shohei Kobayashi (University of Erfurt),
鈥淥ught We to Discard Useless Concepts?: The effect of the word 鈥瀊eing鈥� in Martin Heidegger鈥檚 philosophy鈥�

Liang, Yulin (Tongji University Shanghai),
鈥淩eassessing Jonas鈥檚 Critique of Heidegger鈥檚 Conception of Nature鈥�

Keigo Shimada (Warwick University),
鈥淩eason in Kant and Husserl鈥�

KEYNOTE Matthias Flatscher (University of W眉rzburg)
鈥淒errida鈥檚 Politics of Alterity鈥�

Zoom Details (no registration necessary)

Passcode: 616540

Tue 16 Dec

8:00-10:30 BST / 9:00-11:30 CET / 16:00-18:30 CST / 17:00-19:30 JST

Ryosuke Sasaki (Kwansei Gakuin University),
鈥淭he Truth of Judgment in Kitar艒 Nishida鈥檚 System of the Universal: Drawing on Heidegger鈥檚 Critique of Propositional Truth鈥�

Xing Sun (Capital Normal University),
鈥淥n the authentic 鈥榖eing-with鈥�: from the perspective of temporality in Heidegger鈥�

Samuel Ronalds (Warwick University),
鈥淎 Heideggerian Approach to the Question of Plant Minds鈥�

 Zoom Details (no registration necessary)

Passcode: 845944

Wed 17 Dec

8:00-10:30 BST / 9:00-11:30 CET / 16:00-18:30 CST  / 17:00-19:30 JST

Ryo Yamazaki (Keio University),
鈥淲hat Do I Perform, When I Ask? Early Heidegger on the Subjective Meaning of Question鈥�

Luyao Shi (Tongji University Shanghai),
鈥淏eing and Play: on the concept of Play in middle Heidegger鈥檚 thought鈥�

Andreas Wiener (W眉rzburg University),
鈥淒emocratic Ethics as self-alienation鈥�

Zoom Details (no registration necessary)

Passcode: 652527

access

Centre for Ethics, Law and Public Affairs

鈥�The biologist amongst philosophers鈥�: Mary Midgley鈥檚 Zoological Approach to Aristotle鈥檚 Ethics.

Ellie Robson (Warwick) & Sophia Connell (Notre Dame)

Abstract: The philosophy of Mary Midgley (1919-2018) is in the midst of a scholarly revival. In her early writing, Midgley appears familiar with key texts in Aristotle鈥檚 zoological corpus. One of the central aims of this paper is to substantiate this observation and offer reasons to think that the meta-ethical stance developed by Midgley in her first book – Beast and Man: The Roots of Human Nature (1978) – was influenced significantly by texts such as Historia Animalium (History of Animals), De Partibus Animalium (Parts of Animals) and De Generatione Animalium (Generation of Animals). This claim will have ramifications for understanding Midgely鈥檚 ethics and the tradition of Aristotelian Naturalism more generally. We outline points of convergence and overlap between Midgley鈥檚 meta-ethical framework and that found in Aristotle鈥檚 zoology corpus and argue on this basis that Midgley鈥檚 own reading of Aristotle鈥檚 zoology offered her novel avenues for developing a form of Aristotelian naturalism that we coin 鈥榸oological Aristotelianism naturalism鈥�. This, we argue, offers reasons to think that Midgley鈥檚 naturalism constitutes an a distinctive meta ethics with advancement in ethics compared with alternative Aristotelian naturalisms.

Week 2 (21 Jan), 12:00-14:00, room: S1.88

Centre for Ethics, Law and Public Affairs

"Re-Inventing the Will: An Exercise in Realphilosophie"

Abstract: A recognitive volitional practice is a practice in which a person is recognised as having a will in a matter. Since at least the 4^th century AD/CE, recognitive volitional practices have played a central role in criminal, civil and canon law, and hence in the texture of civic life and in defining the limits of legal agency. Recognitive volitional practices have also periodically changed, sometimes radically. I reconstruct one extended episode from medieval European history in which recognitive volitional practices were reinvented. The particular recognitive volitional practice that emerged in the latter part of the first millennium is hard for us to make sense of, in part because it was so inclusive. My aim is to make sense of the fact that it made sense at the time. I use this historical and hermeneutic exercise to gain leverage on the mode of being (the ontology) of the will. I apply my findings in connection with a contemporary development: the reinvention of recognitive volitional practices mandated by the 2018 revision to the Civil Code of Per煤.

Murder Ballads: Nick Cave in Song, Soundscape, and Image

With a career stretching back to the late 70s, Nick Cave stands as one of the most enduring - and perhaps unlikely - figures in the landscape of popular culture, with a continuously evolving profile as a songwriter and bandleader, poet and novelist, screenwriter, composer, and actor. At the heart of Cave鈥檚 artistic persona lies the drama of religious belief: the interplay between conviction and doubt, sin, retribution, and forgiveness, vividly staged in the struggles of the characters populating his 鈥楪othic Blues.鈥� But how are we to understand the image of fraught devotion presented in Cave鈥檚 work: as a straightforward expression of religious commitment, or as something more indirect and complex - a kind of make-belief rather than belief? In tackling this question, I鈥檒l also consider some more general theoretical issues prompted by Cave鈥檚 career and oeuvre, including the collaborative nature of songwriting and filmmaking, and the intrinsically social character of the appreciation of music, film, and art.

Murray Smith is Professor of Philosophy, Art, and Film and Director of the at the University of Kent. He was President of the from 2014–17, and a Laurance S. Rockefeller Fellow at Princeton University鈥檚 Center for Human Values for 2017–18. He has published widely on film, art, and aesthetics. His publications include (Oxford University Press, 2017; revised paperback 2020), (BFI, revised edition 2021), and (Oxford University Press, revised edition 2022). Currently he is working on two Templeton-funded projects – 鈥楢rt Opening Minds鈥� (2022-3) and 鈥楥haracter Engagement and Moral Understanding鈥� (2022-5) – as well as a new collection, Observing Film Art, devoted to the work of David Bordwell.

Here is the link to join online:

 Microsoft Teams meeting:

Meeting ID: 334 641 565 568 90

Passcode: SM2U2uU2

Centre for Ethics, Law and Public Affairs

Week 4 (4 Feb), 12:00-14:00, room: S1.88

Centre for Ethics, Law and Public Affairs

鈥淣ietzsche on Nobility鈥�

The political turmoil of the last decade has sparked renewed interest in foundational questions about democracy. Come celebrate 21 years of PPE at Warwick, and 60 years of Philosophy, at this panel event on the theory and practice of democracy, featuring leading scholars in the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics departments.

Panel Event 5:00pm - 6:30pm | Drinks and nibbles 6:30pm - 7:00pm

Chair: Sameer Bajaj

Speakers: Fabienne Peter, Simon Caney, and Peter Hammond

Keynote speakers:

Helen Steward (Leeds)

Jessie Munton (Cambridge)

Rory Madden (UCL).

Further details to follow.

Centre for Ethics, Law and Public Affairs

鈥淗egel on the Pain of Being an 鈥業鈥欌��

IAS Visiting Fellow Mario Tel貌 will give a paper drawing on part of his book, currently in production, on Edward Said (The Late Animal: Edward Said, Classicism, and the Limits of Humanism, under contract with Oxford University Press). What does it mean to read Apuleius鈥檚 Metamorphoses in the current global crisis? How do images of Palestinian donkeys—moribund yet carrying the burden of transporting people and food in Gaza—change our view of this novel, in which a human turned into donkey is subjected to unceasing physical abuse? This paper answers these and other questions by reading for and with the donkey鈥檚 beaten corpus. It considers the necropolitics of form, proposing that we read against the novel鈥檚 plot (against its futurist teleology) and focus on the constantly self-renewing present of abuse, and that we interpretively embrace the linguistic difficulty of the text, its burdensome untranslatability (which is disavowed by classicists鈥� obsession with linguistic mastery) in order to push against our own desire for the abuse to continue. Apuleius鈥檚 novel is placed in dialogue with Edward Said鈥檚 idea of 鈥渂ristling鈥� lateness, with Adorno鈥檚 notion of musical late style, with recent theoretical work on necropolitics and, especially, with Afropessimism. These approaches help us understand why it matters to read and re-read Apuleius now.

Join:

Centre for Ethics, Law and Public Affairs

Infinite democracy and computational (im)possibility

There is a growing body of literature on population ethics for infinite societies. In the typical case, such societies contain countably infinitely many individuals, intended to model potentially infinite societies comprised of successive future generations, even if there are only finitely many individuals alive at any given time. In this talk I will consider the idea that we should also consider the social and political preferences of such individuals, and try to aggregate them into a social decision. I will suggest that both predicting the preferences of individuals, and aggregating those preferences into social decisions, should obey computational constraints. I will then explore some limitations that this imposes on the possibility of aggregation.

What鈥檚 Wrong with 鈥楥onceptual Amelioration鈥�?

Conceptual amelioration aims to make the world a more just place by ameliorating our concepts. I offer three arguments against this enterprise as currently practiced, to show how social philosophy aimed at producing social change can be better practiced. First, ameliorators often fail to provide plausible stories to vindicate their claims about how conceptual amelioration will unfold in our non-ideal world. Second, ameliorators鈥� focus on postulating meanings of 鈥榗oncepts鈥� risks distracting from important normative theorizing about justice. Third, ameliorators tend to overstate the importance of conceptual change for social change. The upshot is that, since such projects tend to be done poorly on their own terms and to evince excessively idealistic views of social change, we should reconsider how to engage in such projects. Drawing on these criticisms, I argue that conceptual amelioration should be conducted in service of ideology critique.

Centre for Ethics, Law and Public Affairs

"The Mortality of the Soul: Rethinking the Makropulos Case."

"Kafka鈥檚 Double Bind: Freedom and Predestination in The Trial"

 Abstract: The Trial is delightfully mysterious in a whole host of ways, but none more than this: the protagonist is both responsible for what happens to him and not responsible for what happens to him. While the Court is cruel and capricious, there鈥檚 plenty of evidence that Josef K. is not entirely innocent either. So what鈥檚 going on here? The solution, on my proposal, involves an innovative take on Christian theology, in which we鈥檙e responsible for making our souls ready for Grace, but in which no amount of preparation will guarantee its arrival. This is not a 鈥渕essage鈥� sent by the novel; it is, instead, a shape for thought, a framework through which even secular readers can inspect a host of phenomena, from love to art, from inquiry to vocation. In more ways than one, we are all in Kafka鈥檚 world.

In person in OC1.08 and on

Date:12 March 2026. Location:

13.30 - 14.50 Lucy O鈥橞rien (University College London): "Reflection on One鈥檚 Interpersonal Self-Consciousness"

15.00 - 16.20 Matthew Boyle (University of Chicago): "From Other Selves to Intersubjectivity"

16.20- 16.50 Tea & Coffee

16.50 - 18.10 Naomi Eilan (天美传媒): 鈥淪ubjective, intersubjective, objective: On the role of joint attention鈥�

Dinner at Radcliffe Restaurant, on campus.

Date:13 March 2026. Location:

9.30 - 10.50 Henrike Moll (University of Southern California): 鈥淭he intersubjective basis of identity: The case of dissociation鈥�

10.50- 11.10 Tea & Coffee

11.10 -12.30 Richard Gipps (Oxford University): 鈥淲hat is superstition? Confusions of self-self, self-world, and self-other relating鈥�

12.30 - 13.30 lunch

13.30 - 14.50 Eliza Little (天美传媒): "Literary knowledge and intersubjectivity"

15.00 - 16.20 Johannes Roessler (天美传媒): 鈥淛oint attention and perceptual knowledge鈥�

16.20 Tea & Coffee

Centre for Ethics, Law and Public Affairs

Workshop with Christoph Schuringa on his Marx and the Actualization of Philosophy (Cambridge, 2025), comments by David James (Warwick) and Oscar Crocker (Warwick)

 2.00 – 2.15 Intro & welcome: Chenwei Nie

 2.15 - 3.15 Knowing in Selfie Culture, Heather Widdows (Warwick), and Fiona MacCallum (Psychology, Warwick).

 3.15 - 3.45 Coffee

 3.45 - 4.45 The Valuing Body, Kate Kirkpatrick (Oxford)

 4.45 – 5.00 Break

 5.00 – 6.00 The Importance of Feeling for Knowing, Kathleen Murphy-Hollies (Birmingham)

 6.00– 6.30 Concluding reflections: Quassim Cassam

 Hosted by The Warwick Mind and Action Research Centre (WMA) and Funded by Leverhulme Trust.

Organisers: Heather Widdows & Chenwei Nie.

Department of Philosophy, 天美传媒.

Registration is free. However, as space is limited, please email Chenwei (chenwei.nie@warwick.ac.uk) if you plan to attend.

To mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Philosophy at Warwick, the Philosophy Department will hold a one-day conference (25th of April 2026) to celebrate the life and work of one of its Honorary Doctoral Graduates (and one of the pre-eminent philosophers of the 20^th century), Gilbert Ryle. Ryle tends to be associated with a small set of well-known ideas — for example, resistance to Cartesian dualism or the distinction between knowledge-that and knowledge-how. And there has been a widespread tendency to pigeon-hole Ryle as a 鈥榩hilosophical behaviourist鈥�. The workshop aims to get beyond caricatures and to promote an appreciation of the depth and breadth of Ryle鈥檚 manifold contributions to philosophy, as well as their relevance to contemporary concerns, in philosophy and beyond.

Organisers: Tom Crowther & Johannes Roessler

WMA Seminar
Carol Rovane (Columbia University): 'Some Perplexities about Consciousness'

Abstract:

Some decades ago, I offered novel interpretation and defense of Locke鈥檚 distinction between personal identity and human (animal) identity. Locke himself had equated personal identity with 鈥渟ameness of consciousness鈥�, and then argued that sameness of human (animal) life is neither necessary nor sufficient for sameness of consciousness. I granted for the sake of argument that Locke was wrong about this, but then argued for a version of his distinction anyway, on the ground that a person is a rational agent, and there can be single group agents that span many human lives as well as multiple agents within a single human life. Each such individual agent has its own first person point of view, which is the rational point of view from which it deliberates and acts and engages in interpersonal relations with others. Yet this is not the same as the phenomenological point of view from which a subject of experience has access to phenomena in consciousness, by virtue of what they are like. This distinction between two different kinds of point of view forces us to look harder at what role consciousness might play in mental life. We may no longer be sure whether consciousness is an essential and defining feature of mental phenomena, or if so, why; but secondly, even if we retain that conviction, we should find it curious that the unity of consciousness is neither necessary nor sufficient for the sort of rational unity that defines what it is for an individual agent to be fully, or ideally, rational. I want to emphasize that my arguments do not proceed from standard sorts of functionalist considerations, but from purely normative considerations to do with agency.

Hold the date - further details to follow.

Week 2: Thursday 7^th May 12noon–2pm – Introduction + Chapter 1 Mind

Week 3: Thursday 14^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 2 Mind and Body

Week 4: Thursday 21^st May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 3 The Objective Self

Week 5: Thursday 28^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 4 Knowledge

Week 6: Thursday 4^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 5 Thought and Reality

Week 7: Thursday 11^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 6 Freedom

Week 8: Thursday 18^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 7 Value

Week 9: Thursday 25^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 8 Ethics

Week 10: Thursday 2^nd July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 9 Living Right and Living Well

Week 11: Thursday 9^th July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 10 Birth, Death, and the Meaning of Life

Hold the date - further details to follow.

CRPLA Talk Wed 13 May, 4pm S0.17 or online (link at bottom)

Daniel Star (Boston University)

Appreciation as a Process, and Well-being (from a co-authored project with Joel Van Fossen)

Aesthetic appreciation is here understood to be an at least partly conscious process, with respect to which agents exercise a significant degree of intentional control, that involves attending to objects and their aesthetic properties, where such are objects are taken to be worth appreciating aesthetically, and cognitively and affectively engaging with them. There are significant differences between this process and two other mental processes about which more has been written: practical deliberation and epistemic inquiry. Some of the similarities and differences between these processes concern the metaphysics of them, but some concern the value and role of the processes. One important conclusion reached is that appreciation, unlike the other two processes, is primarily to be valued in itself as a process, rather than merely instrumentally in relation to the value of its outcomes. And the fact that this is how appreciation is to be properly valued is closely related to what appreciation does for us, so far as our well-being is concerned. A key alternative for what might be thought to be of primary value as a product of appreciation — correct aesthetic judgment — is considered and rejected.

If you unable to attend in person, the talk will also available be on Teams:

You are warmly invited to an exciting event: The Freiburg-Warwick-Zhejiang University German Idealism Workshop, taking place on 14–15 May. This workshop will bring together established and early-career scholars from the three universities. Topics include Kant, Hegel, Schelling, Heidegger and Nietzsche, covering the research interests of almost all of our department's continental philosophers!

It is a hybrid event. You can either join us via the Zoom link or attend in person. If you are attending in person, please email Ying (ying.xue@warwick.ac.uk) by 10^th May to let me know and to inform me of any dietary requirements you may have for lunch.

Zoom link:

Meeting-ID: 674 8918 9826
Code: Vrj8kVK5r

The department, the Mind Association, the UK Kant Society and the Hegel Society of Great Britain have kindly funded this event.

Thursday, 14th of May

Friday, 15th of May

Week 2: Thursday 7^th May 12noon–2pm – Introduction + Chapter 1 Mind

Week 3: Thursday 14^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 2 Mind and Body

Week 4: Thursday 21^st May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 3 The Objective Self

Week 5: Thursday 28^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 4 Knowledge

Week 6: Thursday 4^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 5 Thought and Reality

Week 7: Thursday 11^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 6 Freedom

Week 8: Thursday 18^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 7 Value

Week 9: Thursday 25^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 8 Ethics

Week 10: Thursday 2^nd July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 9 Living Right and Living Well

Week 11: Thursday 9^th July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 10 Birth, Death, and the Meaning of Life

Week 2: Thursday 7^th May 12noon–2pm – Introduction + Chapter 1 Mind

Week 3: Thursday 14^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 2 Mind and Body

Week 4: Thursday 21^st May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 3 The Objective Self

Week 5: Thursday 28^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 4 Knowledge

Week 6: Thursday 4^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 5 Thought and Reality

Week 7: Thursday 11^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 6 Freedom

Week 8: Thursday 18^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 7 Value

Week 9: Thursday 25^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 8 Ethics

Week 10: Thursday 2^nd July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 9 Living Right and Living Well

Week 11: Thursday 9^th July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 10 Birth, Death, and the Meaning of Life

Week 2: Thursday 7^th May 12noon–2pm – Introduction + Chapter 1 Mind

Week 3: Thursday 14^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 2 Mind and Body

Week 4: Thursday 21^st May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 3 The Objective Self

Week 5: Thursday 28^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 4 Knowledge

Week 6: Thursday 4^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 5 Thought and Reality

Week 7: Thursday 11^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 6 Freedom

Week 8: Thursday 18^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 7 Value

Week 9: Thursday 25^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 8 Ethics

Week 10: Thursday 2^nd July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 9 Living Right and Living Well

Week 11: Thursday 9^th July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 10 Birth, Death, and the Meaning of Life

鈥淥ntological failure in Heidegger and beyond鈥�, 1-2 June 2025, Room: OC0.05

Including papers from:

Ian Alexander Moore (Loyola Marymount University)

Christoph Hoerl (Warwick)

Tobias Keiling (Warwick)

Week 2: Thursday 7^th May 12noon–2pm – Introduction + Chapter 1 Mind

Week 3: Thursday 14^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 2 Mind and Body

Week 4: Thursday 21^st May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 3 The Objective Self

Week 5: Thursday 28^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 4 Knowledge

Week 6: Thursday 4^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 5 Thought and Reality

Week 7: Thursday 11^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 6 Freedom

Week 8: Thursday 18^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 7 Value

Week 9: Thursday 25^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 8 Ethics

Week 10: Thursday 2^nd July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 9 Living Right and Living Well

Week 11: Thursday 9^th July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 10 Birth, Death, and the Meaning of Life

Dorit Bar-On (University of Connecticut): 'Four Milestones in the Evolution of Human Pragmatic Communication鈥�.

Abstract:

So-called Protolanguage is a theoretical construct designed to help explain the phylogenetic emergence of human language from animal communication systems. In Expression, Communication, and Origins of Meaning (forthcoming, OUP), I argue that Protolanguage ought to be conceived as pragmatically (and therefore psychologically) intermediate, and this places certain substantive constraints on the psychological capacities with which we can credit our nonlinguistic ancestors. In particular, we should not credit them with a capacity for Gricean mindreading and the ability to entertain language-like thoughts.

In this talk, I describe four proposed hypothetical milestones on our ancestors鈥� path toward a pragmatically intermediate Protolanguage (鈥淧IP鈥�), relying on a combination of empirical and theoretical considerations. These milestones can be used to describe a phylogenetic trajectory leading from an ancestral communication system that resembled existing forms of animal communication to PIP. Clarifying the character of – the fourth milestone – and of the preceding three milestones, should, I believe, also shed some light on our ancestor鈥檚 progression from PIP to human linguistic pragmatic communication.

Week 2: Thursday 7^th May 12noon–2pm – Introduction + Chapter 1 Mind

Week 3: Thursday 14^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 2 Mind and Body

Week 4: Thursday 21^st May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 3 The Objective Self

Week 5: Thursday 28^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 4 Knowledge

Week 6: Thursday 4^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 5 Thought and Reality

Week 7: Thursday 11^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 6 Freedom

Week 8: Thursday 18^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 7 Value

Week 9: Thursday 25^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 8 Ethics

Week 10: Thursday 2^nd July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 9 Living Right and Living Well

Week 11: Thursday 9^th July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 10 Birth, Death, and the Meaning of Life

The Life and Work of Andrew Cooper: Reflections and Conversations

On 18-19 June 2026, the Philosophy Department at Warwick will be hosting a commemorative event for Andrew.

The event will run for 1 陆 days and will involve a special guest presentation about Andrew鈥檚 most recent work in Tasmania, three roundtable sessions (each devoted to a broad theme in Andrew鈥檚 research), and time for personal reminiscences by students and staff.

All are welcome. If you're able to join us, it would be very helpful for planning if you could please register for the event. We will share more details as the planning develops.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the organisers:

Curie Vir谩g       curie.virag@warwick.ac.uk.

Karen Simecek    k.d.simecek@warwick.ac.uk

Week 2: Thursday 7^th May 12noon–2pm – Introduction + Chapter 1 Mind

Week 3: Thursday 14^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 2 Mind and Body

Week 4: Thursday 21^st May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 3 The Objective Self

Week 5: Thursday 28^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 4 Knowledge

Week 6: Thursday 4^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 5 Thought and Reality

Week 7: Thursday 11^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 6 Freedom

Week 8: Thursday 18^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 7 Value

Week 9: Thursday 25^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 8 Ethics

Week 10: Thursday 2^nd July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 9 Living Right and Living Well

Week 11: Thursday 9^th July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 10 Birth, Death, and the Meaning of Life

Week 2: Thursday 7^th May 12noon–2pm – Introduction + Chapter 1 Mind

Week 3: Thursday 14^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 2 Mind and Body

Week 4: Thursday 21^st May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 3 The Objective Self

Week 5: Thursday 28^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 4 Knowledge

Week 6: Thursday 4^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 5 Thought and Reality

Week 7: Thursday 11^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 6 Freedom

Week 8: Thursday 18^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 7 Value

Week 9: Thursday 25^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 8 Ethics

Week 10: Thursday 2^nd July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 9 Living Right and Living Well

Week 11: Thursday 9^th July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 10 Birth, Death, and the Meaning of Life

The WCPC is an annual event within The Centre for Research in Post-Kantian European Philosophy (天美传媒). For further information and detailed instructions, please visit our website:
/fac/soc/philosophy/research/activities/postkantian/events/wcpc/.

Week 2: Thursday 7^th May 12noon–2pm – Introduction + Chapter 1 Mind

Week 3: Thursday 14^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 2 Mind and Body

Week 4: Thursday 21^st May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 3 The Objective Self

Week 5: Thursday 28^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 4 Knowledge

Week 6: Thursday 4^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 5 Thought and Reality

Week 7: Thursday 11^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 6 Freedom

Week 8: Thursday 18^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 7 Value

Week 9: Thursday 25^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 8 Ethics

Week 10: Thursday 2^nd July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 9 Living Right and Living Well

Week 11: Thursday 9^th July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 10 Birth, Death, and the Meaning of Life

Week 2: Thursday 7^th May 12noon–2pm – Introduction + Chapter 1 Mind

Week 3: Thursday 14^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 2 Mind and Body

Week 4: Thursday 21^st May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 3 The Objective Self

Week 5: Thursday 28^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 4 Knowledge

Week 6: Thursday 4^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 5 Thought and Reality

Week 7: Thursday 11^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 6 Freedom

Week 8: Thursday 18^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 7 Value

Week 9: Thursday 25^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 8 Ethics

Week 10: Thursday 2^nd July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 9 Living Right and Living Well

Week 11: Thursday 9^th July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 10 Birth, Death, and the Meaning of Life

Week 2: Thursday 7^th May 12noon–2pm – Introduction + Chapter 1 Mind

Week 3: Thursday 14^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 2 Mind and Body

Week 4: Thursday 21^st May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 3 The Objective Self

Week 5: Thursday 28^th May 12noon–2pm – Chapter 4 Knowledge

Week 6: Thursday 4^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 5 Thought and Reality

Week 7: Thursday 11^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 6 Freedom

Week 8: Thursday 18^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 7 Value

Week 9: Thursday 25^th June 12noon–2pm – Chapter 8 Ethics

Week 10: Thursday 2^nd July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 9 Living Right and Living Well

Week 11: Thursday 9^th July 12noon–2pm – Chapter 10 Birth, Death, and the Meaning of Life

Join us in the Social Sciences courtyard for drinks and a buffet to celebrate your graduation!

More information to follow, please feel free to get in touch with any queries: Gemma.Basterfield@warwick.ac.uk