Guest Speaker: Johannes Roessler (Warwick)

Contact: Jack Shardlow, jack.shardlow@warwick.ac.uk

Guest Speaker: Paulina Sliwa (Cambridge)

Title: "Hermeneutical Advice”

Sometimes we rely on moral testimony to decide what to do. But we also rely on moral testimony for guidance on what to make of a moral situation: how to make sense of it. Such moral testimony has the power to change both hearts and minds; it can affect not just what its recipient knows but also how she feels about her situation. My aim in this paper is to develop an account of this kind of moral testimony – hermeneutical advice – and draw out its implications for the ethics and epistemology of moral testimony, as well as about the nature of moral expertise.

Session 3: Chapter 4: Remorse and Its Lessons, and Chapter 5: Evil Done and Evil Suffered

Contact Tom Crowther (T.Crowther@warwick.ac.uk)

Contact: Jack Shardlow, jack.shardlow@warwick.ac.uk

Guest Speaker: Naomi Eilan (Warwick)

Session 4: Chapter 6: Naturalism, and Chapter 7 Modalities

Contact Tom Crowther (T.Crowther@warwick.ac.uk)

Contact: Jack Shardlow, jack.shardlow@warwick.ac.uk

Guest Speaker: Robert Stern (Sheffield)

Title: "How is human freedom compatible with the authority of the Good?’ Murdoch on moral agency, freedom, and imagination"

This paper deals with the issue of choice and agency in moral action. On the one hand, it seems that the moral agent should use their practical reason to determine what it is right for them to do, and act accordingly; on the other hand, this seems to leave little room for choice in their action, where choice is often said to be a marker of freedom and how the will is exercised. In response to this difficulty, Ruth Chang has argued recently that reasons themselves need to be seen as being created through an act of will. Looking at the work of Iris Murdoch, it is argued that this response is problematic. At the same time, it is also argued that Murdoch can provide a fruitful way of dealing with this problem through her account of imagination, which gives a role to the agent not in choice, but in uncovering the reasons that should guide their actions.

Session 5: Chapter 8 Meaning, and Chapter 9 Individuality

Contact Tom Crowther (T.Crowther@warwick.ac.uk)

Contact: Jack Shardlow, jack.shardlow@warwick.ac.uk

Guest Speaker: Vasu Reddy (Portsmouth)

Contact: Jack Shardlow, jack.shardlow@warwick.ac.uk

Session 7: Chapter 10: 'An Attitude Towards a Soul', and Chapter 11: 'Goodness'

Contact Tom Crowther (T.Crowther@warwick.ac.uk)

14th June 3-4pm

How to find a job outside academia (2)

Irene dal Poz (who got her PhD from Warwick last year and managed to land a job at Oxientia) kindly agreed to tell us about her experience and answer questions.

Contact: Jack Shardlow, jack.shardlow@warwick.ac.uk

Guest Speaker: M.M. McCabe (KCL)

Title: "Who Knows?"

Platonic epistemology is traditionally dominated by his metaphysics of forms; but in this respect it is in some tension with his account of the value and significance of being the knowing subject: his account of epistemic virtue. I explore his reflections on how we become epistemically virtuous to explain his singular account of knowledge and understanding.

Session 8: Chapter 12: 'Ethical Other-Worldliness' and Chapter 13: 'The Repudiation of Morality'

Contact Tom Crowther (T.Crowther@warwick.ac.uk)

How to Write an Article for Publication

We’ll talk about various aspects of what’s involved in writing a journal article. If you are in the process, or even just thinking of, doing so (I know many of you are), please send me or Giulia an abstract of the article under preparation (or several abstracts — for different articles, or even different versions of an abstract for the same article, as it might be useful to try them out). No rush — any time before the 21st would be great. We feel it would add substance to our discussion if we have some real-life projects to talk about.

Session 9: Chapter 14: 'Ethics and Politics' and Chapter 15: 'Moral Understanding'

Contact Tom Crowther (T.Crowther@warwick.ac.uk)

28th June 3-4.30pm

How to get an Article Published

This session will be in two parts: the first part (led by Andrew Cooper) will be on journals in the broadly ‘continental’ area, the second part (led by Giulia and myself) on journals in the broadly ‘analytic’ area. (The labels don’t mean much, but in the current context the distinction has its uses. Needless to say, everybody is welcome/encouraged to attend both sessions, not least because the division isn’t hard and fast.)

Prof Robin Le Poidevin (Leeds) will be joining us to talk about his 'Music without the Flow of Time’ (attached). The session will begin with a brief précis of his paper, and then a few comments from our own Giulia Lorenzi, before the session is opened for discussion. It would be really great to see a lot of you - staff and graduate students - there. Robin has published a great deal on topics in the philosophy of time, temporal experience, and temporal representation in art (in addition to many other areas); this session also promises to nicely bookend the MindGrad conference on the consciousness of time taking place the weekend before.

Please contact Tom Crowther (T.Crowther@warwick.ac.uk) for information about joining this session.

Contact: Jack Shardlow, jack.shardlow@warwick.ac.uk

Session 10: Chapter 16: 'Truth' and Chapter 17: 'Fearless Thinkers and Evil Thoughts'

Workshop on Proposals for Post-Docs

Following the sessions last term, we felt it would be useful to tackle this again, in a more hands-on manner. If you have ideas for post-doctoral work, please write them down (a page or two would be fine — it absolutely doesn’t have to be a polished proposal) and send the document to me or Giulia sometime before the session.

Contact: Jack Shardlow, jack.shardlow@warwick.ac.uk

During the workshop, we will explore Warwick’s values, what it means to be an active bystander, and how we might respond when something happens which is contrary to our values. You’ll also find out about ongoing opportunities to continue your journey as an active bystander and support a positive campus experience for all. Students will be off-camera with interactive participation via anonymous voting software.

Click here to join the workshop

During the workshop, we will explore Warwick’s values, what it means to be an active bystander, and how we might respond when something happens which is contrary to our values. You’ll also find out about ongoing opportunities to continue your journey as an active bystander and support a positive campus experience for all. Students will be off-camera with interactive participation via anonymous voting software.

Click here to join the workshop