Andrew Cooper Memorial event
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 ½ days and will involve a special guest presentation about Andrew’s most recent work in Tasmania, three roundtable sessions (each devoted to a broad theme in Andrew’s 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. (See below) We will share more details as the planning develops.
In addition to this, there will be two other commemorative events for Andrew, which you can register for below:
5 June (Friday): Online reading group
3 July (Friday): In-person meeting at UCL Bloomsbury Campus.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the organisers:
- Curie Virág: curie.virag@warwick.ac.uk.
- Karen Simecek: k.d.simecek@warwick.ac.uk
- Fridolin Neumann: Fridolin.Neumann@warwick.ac.uk
Day 1 - 18 June 2026 - Room L5
9:30-10:00 Coffee
10:00-10:30 Welcome and Opening Remarks (Guy Longworth/Curie Virág)
Personal reflections: David James
10:30-11:15 Lecture by Melinda Cooper, “Conversations about Wilderness: Andrew’s 2025
Sabbatical Research Project” (Chair: Curie Virág)
11:15-12:45 Session 1: Philosophy of Nature and Natural history (Chair: Patrick Tomlin)
11:15-12:00 Rob Simpson, “What is the Opposite of Idolatry?”
Break (5 mins)
12:05-12:50 Rozemin Keshvani, “Natural History v. Natural Philosophy: the Kant-Cooper Distinction”
12:50-2:00 Lunch
2:00-4:15 Session 2: Aesthetics, Ethics and Tragedy (Chair: Fridolin Neumann)
2:00-2:45 Eileen John, “ ‘An Enlarged way of Thinking’: Aesthetics and the Moral Project”
2:45-3:30 Stephen Houlgate, “Tragedy”
Break (5 mins)
3:35-4:20 Daniel Vanello, “Cooper’s Philosophy of Education: A Holstean Position”
4:20-4:40 Coffee
4:40-5:45 Session 3: Personal Reflections (Chair: Karen Simecek)
Fabienne Peter
Alexandra Lilley
Chenwei Nie
Oscar Jenkinson
Rozemin Keshvani
Tobias Keiling
Luke Leong
6:00 pm Drinks at Radcliffe
7:30 pm Dinner in Leamington Spa
Day 2 - 19 June 2026 - Room S0.18
9:30-10:00 Coffee
10:00-12:20 Session 4: Philosophy as an Ethical project/Andrew’s Metaphilosophy (Chair: Nadine Elzein)
10:00-10:45 Karen Simecek, “From Poetry to Potatoes: Making a Difference Through Philosophy Projects”
10:45-11:30 Curie Virág, “The Unity of Life: Biology, Ethics and Philosophical Practice”
Break (5 mins)
11:35-12:20 Christoph Schuringa, “The Philosopher as Explorer”
12:20-12:45 Closing Discussion
12:45 Lunch