A Black Voices Network event took place on 17 June 2022, which was the first open invitation, in person, alumni careers event, held with the assistance and support of the Department of Philosophy.

A distinguished panel of former alumni, including Vera Okojie (FinTech Analyst at Visa / Founder of Career Confident), Hodo Hassan (Policy Advisor in the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs), Shore Delano (Digital Project Manager at Magnum Photos/ founder of diverse theatre platform 'The Rendition'), and Gabrielle Oke (actor and visual artist) spoke engagingly to an enthusiastic audience about their career paths and achievements, and the challenges they have encountered on the way to their success. The session was chaired by Jude Folorunso (President of Warwick Philosophy Black Voices Network) and was supported by the Warwick Philosophy Black Voices Network with the generous support of Warwick Enterprise and the Innovation 2022 campaign. It is hoped that this event will become a regular feature in the academic calendar.

The Philosophy Department is celebrating success in the Warwick Awards for Teaching Excellence 2022.

Congratulations to Adina Covaci, who is a Finalist in this year’s Teaching Excellence Awards. Adina says: “In my teaching, I pursue 3 main goals: 1) to encourage students to see the importance of philosophy beyond the classroom; 2) to get students to do philosophy and be partners in the learning process, rather than just absorb information; 3) to create an inclusive environment where student well-being is central and all voices are heard. To meet these aims, I employ a variety of active teaching methods, I focus on inclusivity, and I promote holistic learning. I continue to stay curious about how I can develop as a teacher, and I thank my students for teaching me so much!” https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/academic-development/wate/watewinnerscategories/watesocialsciencefacultywinners/

WATE PGR 2022

Many congratulations to William Gildea who is a Winner in this year’s PG WATE category. In addition, both Giulia Lorenzi and Diogo Carneiro are both awarded Commendations for their outstanding contributions to teaching this year. This is an impressive result for the Philosophy Department PGRs, and a wonderful achievement for Will, Giulia and Diogo, who have all excelled in their commitment to both teaching and the Philosophy community in 2022. Further details here: WATE PGR 2022 results

Dr Eileen John led a creative collaboration with the CRPLA (Centre for Research in Philosophy, Literature and the Arts), MAP (Minorities and Philosophy) and Food GRP (Global Research Priority), to produce a richly diverse, collective table-setting of dishes from across the world, to explore – and celebrate – the importance and communal benefits of people gathering to dine together, and the powerful memories that sharing food and favourite meals can evince. Over 30 place settings were designed and displayed to a wide audience. The Dinner Party took place in April 2022 as part of the University’s Resonate Festival. The initiative was inspired by Judy Chicago’s artwork The Dinner Party (1971), which set a table to commemorate women in history. Thank you to all the contributors who made the Warwick Dinner Party such a success!

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/philosophy/research/researchcentres/phillit/currentevents/dinnerparty/

Keith Ansell-Pearson, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, has co-edited a new book with Paul S Loeb, Nietzsche’s ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra’ A Critical Guide, just published by Cambridge University Press. See here: https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/philosophy/nineteenth-century-philosophy/nietzsches-thus-spoke-zarathustra-critical-guide?format=HB#contentsTabAnchor

In ‘Ecce Homo’, Nietzsche writes that his book ‘ Thus Spoke Zarathustra’ is the ‘greatest gift’ humanity has ever received - the ‘most elevated book’ with a ‘voice that spans over millennia’. Despite this, anglophone Nietzsche scholars have been somewhat reluctant to engage with the work he took to be his true masterpiece. Nietzsche regarded ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra’ as his most important philosophical contribution because it proposes solutions to the problems and questions he poses in his later books – for example, his cure for the human disposition to vengefulness and his creation of new values as the antidote to nihilism. It is also the only place where he elaborates his concepts of the superhuman and the eternal recurrence of the same. In this Critical Guide, an international group of distinguished scholars analyse the philosophical ideas in ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra’, discussing a range of topics that include literary parody as philosophical critique, philosophy as a way of life, the meaning of human life, philosophical naturalism, fatalism, radical flux, human passions and virtues, great politics, transhumanism, and ecological conscience. The volume will be invaluable for philosophers, scholas and students interested in Nietzsche’s thought.

Professor Quassim Cassam has designed a website on professional virtues in modern medicine (Professional Virtues in Modern Medicine) which has been adopted as a training module by the Royal College of General Practitioners. There are many difficult questions about the nature of general practice, and thinking about and exploring generalist virtues has helped GPs to clarify the idea of it. Professor Cassam has also organised annual training days for trainee GPs, in addition to delivering several conferences and workshops for groups over 40 General Practitioners.

Professor Cassam says: “I've always been interested in medicine, and this led me to think about the virtues of a good GP. My work has two aims: to identify the key virtues of excellent general practice and help GPs to cultivate these virtues. Most GPs have little or no philosophical training, and it is a major challenge to convince them that philosophy has anything to contribute to their professional toolkit. GPs face enormous challenges, and anything that helps them to improve is worth doing. Most GPs who have attended the training days and workshops have given me positive feedback. For many, it is important to have time set aside for reflection on their professional practice. I approached the work with humility – I hope! I'm always hugely impressed by trainee GPs and would be delighted to have contributed to their thinking about what it is to be a good GP. The beauty of this work is that GPs and philosophers have so much to learn from each other. I couldn't imagine a better environment in which to continue develop such a project, with its direct philosophical impact, than here at Warwick”.

 Web link: https://warwick.ac.uk/research/ref/stories/philosophical-thinking-to-help-gps/

 Read more from Professor QuassimLink opens in a new window [Link to full case study]