We are joining philosophers nationwide in the first ever British Philosophy Fortnight (17 - 30 March 2025), with events taking place across the UK. Organised by the British Philosophical Association, the aim is to demonstrate how powerful philosophy can be in providing crucial skills for living in a complex world, and for responding to pressing global challenges, from pandemics to climate change.
Philosophy at Liverpool has a long tradition of public engagement and philosophy ‘for life’. From Yiota Vassilopoulos’ pioneering ‘philosopher in Residence’ programme, to Sorin Baiasu’s European Research Council-funded project on economic injustice. Highlights during #philosophyfortnight are:
- Our final year undergraduates are holding a Philosophy Showcase to share their research. The event will include talks on a range of topics, including: dehumanising language and genocide; AI ethics, and the political implications of art.
- MA Philosophy student Jay Thakkar has launched a new podcast. The Jay Thakkar Show features engaging discussions with Philosophy academics on topics such as the purpose of life, free speech in politics, and art, aesthetics and film. Read more
- MA in Art, Philosophy and Cultural Institutions students have won the Culture in Crisis Employability Challenge with their guide to sustainable events: Rave Reuse Repeat. Read more
- Rachael Wiseman shared her research on Mary Midgley at a poetry and philosophy event at The Ship Inn, Newton-by-the-Sea. The event celebrated the ongoing public engagement project, Notes from a Biscuit Tin.
- Find out more about why #philosophymatters at Liverpool by watching four new videos introducing some of the work being done by researchers in each of our research groups.
- Vid Simoniti from the Social Imagination Collective on the role of social imagination in political and cultural life
- Meg Rawson from Speculative Futures on the metaphysics of pregnancy
- Rachael Wiseman from Language and Experience in 20th Century Philosophy on the Wartime Quartet
- Daniel Hill from Ethics, Law and Justice in Private and Public Life on entrapment.
The UK has long enjoyed world leading status for philosophy. This status is now under threat following a series of university department and course closures. The threat to philosophy departments comes at a time when there is growing demand at school to study the subject at A-level, with a 50% increase in enrolments in the past five years and further projected growth. We are delighted to be able to join with our colleagues across the UK to show that #philosophymatters!
“Philosophers have been at the centre of human life for most of human history, offering ways of dealing with challenges and human conundrums. There are plenty of those today, and to find our way through our current crises, we cannot leave that to just a few people in universities and think tanks. Everyone needs tools to think about their own lives, and broader questions, and collectively contribute to democratic solutions.”
Baroness Natalie Bennett, Green Party peer
For more information, visit: https://bpa.ac.uk/activities/philosophymatters/
Poetry and philosophy event at The Ship Inn, Newton-by-the-Sea.