There is always some one thing which the ignorant man knows, and that thing is the only thing worth knowing; it
fills the ignorant man's universe. (Joseph Conrad, An Outcast of the Islands)
fills the ignorant man's universe. (Joseph Conrad, An Outcast of the Islands)
THE FUTURE
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THE PAST
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2012
"Scepticism about Moral Intuition" was given to the Oxford University Moral Philosophy Seminar, 23rd January, 2012 "Ethics without Errors" was given to Philosophy Department at Lancaster University, 15th February, 2012. "Ethics without Errors" was given to the Ratio Conference on Irrealism in Ethics, Reading, 20th April, 2012. "Ethics Without Errors" was given to the Normativity of Law Research Group at the University of York on 4th July, 2012. "Objectivity, Modest and Grandiose: Moral Disagreement and Unpardonable Smugness" was given to a workshop on the Limits of Realism about Value and Taste at the Northern Instutute of Philosophy, University of Aberdeen, as part of the Leverhulme Trust funded project on Relativism and Rational Tolerance led by Crispin Wright, 17th December 2012. |
2009-2011“Achieving Objectivity” was read to the Philosophy Society of the University of Reading, 3rd March, 2009.
I delivered a response to Sarah Broadie, “Truth and Story in Plato’s Timaeus” at a conference in Leeds on “Themes from the Ethics of Bernard Williams”, 30th June-2nd July, 2009. “Pleasure, Desire and Practical Reason” was given as a keynote paper at the 2009 conference of the British Society for Ethical Theory at the University of Reading, 13th -15th July, 2009. “Expressivism and Constructivism” was given to a workshop on “Constructivism and Normative Epistemology” at Sheffield, 27th March, 2009 and again to a conference on “Constructivism in Normative Philosophy” at Sheffield, 14th-16th August, 2009. “Expressivism and Constructivism” was read to the Philosophy Department of Cardiff University, 1st March, 2010. “Scepticism about Intuitions” was given at to a conference on “Intuitionism, Theory and Anti-Theory in Ethics”, Edinburgh (under the auspices of Open University), 3rd-4th July, 2010. “Modest and Grandiose Mind-Independence: Egan and Street on Quasi-Realism” was given to a conference on “Knowing What to Do” at the University of Kent at Canterbury, 9th-10th April, 2011. "Matilda, Matilda" was given to a workshop on “The Relevance of Motivational Internalism”, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, 17th-18th August, 2011. “Ethics and Science” was given to Royal Institute for Philosophy Conference on “Human Experience and Nature”, University of the West of England, 30th August-2nd September, 2011. "Science, Ethics and Observation" was given to Hull University Philosophy Department, 6th December, 2011. . |
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2006-2008“What is Moral Inquiry?” was read to the Philosophy Department of the University of Birmingham, 30th January, 2006.
“Humean Constructivism in Moral Theory” was read to the Philosophy Department of the University of Nottingham, 8th Febuary, 2006. "Some Ways of Being Bleak: Parfit on Reasons and Desires" was read to a conference, "Parfit Meets Critics", University of Reading, 2nd - 3rd November 2006, at which I was an invited plenary speaker. Derek Parfit gave a response. "What is Moral Inquiry?" was read to the Philosophy Department of the University of Sheffield, 8th December 2006. “The Politics of the Self” was read to a conference, “Happiness and the Meaning of Life”, University of Birmingham, 17th May 2007, at which I was an invited plenary speaker. “What is Moral Inquiry?” was read to the Joint Session of the Mind Association and Aristotelian Society, 6th-8th July, 2007, at the University of Bristol (host) and the University of the West of England (venue), at which I was an invited, plenary, lead speaker with Michael Ridge as my respondent. “Achieving Objectivity” was read to the Philosophy Department of the University of Manchester, 12th March, 2008. “Achieving Objectivity” was read to the Philosophy Department of the University of Nottingham, 5th November, 2008. “Achieving Objectivity was read to the Philosophy Department of the Queen’s University, Belfast, 13th November, 2008. |
2003-2005On 15th January 2003 I attended a meeting of the Boston University Ethics Reading group to discuss my paper “Consequentialism and Cluelessness” “Contractualism and Responsibility” was read to the Philosophy Department of Syracuse University, New York, 6th December 2002. “Contractualism and Risk-Imposition: Some Thoughts” was read to the Philosophy Department of the University of Sheffield, 6th February, 2003. “Contractualism and Risk Imposition: Some Thoughts” was read and discussed with Harvard Ethics and the Professions Seminar, 18th February, 2003. “Anscombe’s Saucer: Desires and Desirability Characteristics” was read at the Moral Philosophy Seminar, University of Oxford, 10th November, 2003. “On Goodness” was read to the Philosophy Department of the University of York, 4th December 2003. “Humean Constructivism in Moral Theory” was read to a plenary session of a conference on the work of T. M. Scanlon, University of London, June 4th-5th, 2004 at which I was an invited plenary speaker with Mark Kalderon as my respondent.“ Some Remarks on Neo-Aristotelian Naturalism” was read to the Philosophy Department at the University of Leeds, October 28th, 2004. “Some Remarks on Neo-Aristotelian Naturalism” was read to the Philosophy Department of Essex University, 11th November 2004. “Humean Constructivism” was read to the Moral Sciences Club, University of Cambridge, January 25th 2005. “What is Moral Inquiry?” was read to a workshop on The Metaphysics of Value held at Leeds on 14th May 2005. |
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2000-2002“Autonomy and Responsibility” was read to the Philosophy Departments of the University of St Andrews, 16th February, 2000.
“Contractualism and Responsibility” was read to the Philosophy Department (Stapledon Society) of Liverpool University, 12th March, 2000. “Contractualism, Utilitarianism and Risk-Imposition” was read on 26th March, 2000 to the International Society for Utilitarian Studies “Utilitarianism 2000” Conference hosted by Wake Forest University, North Carolina, 24th-26th March, 2000. Geoffrey Sayre-McCord was my respondent. “Consequentialism and Cluelessness” was read to the Philosophy Department of the University of Dundee, 18th October, 2000 “Consequentialism and Cluelessness” was read to the Philosophy Department of the University of Haifa, Israel, 18th December, 2000. “Consequentialism and Cluelessness” was read to the Philosophy Department of Bar-Ilan University, Israel, 19th December, 2000. “Gambling with Responsibility” was read to the Philosophy Department of the University of Tel-Aviv, Israel, 20th December, 2000 “Contractualism and Responsibility” was read to the Philosophy Department of the University of Birmingham, 26th March, 2001. “Contractualism and Responsibility” was read to the Philosophy Department of the University of Edinburgh, 27th April, 2001. “Utilitarianiam, Contractualism and Risk-Imposition” was read to the Philosophy Department of the University of Stirling, 29th November, 2001 “Imposing Risks” was read to the Philosophy Department of the University of Reading, 12th February, 2002. “Comments on Frances Kamm: “Responsibility and Collaboration”“ given to Harvard Ethics and the Professions Seminar, 15th October, 2002. On 15th January 2003 I was invited to attend a meeting of the Boston University Ethics Reading group to discuss my paper “Consequentialism and Cluelessness” “Contractualism and Responsibility” was read to the Philosophy Department of Syracuse University, New York, 6th December 2002. |
'90sDesire, Belief and Motivation” Lancaster Philosophy Staff-Student Seminar, 1994-5 session.
“The Contingent and the Contemptible”, Lancaster Philosophy Staff-student seminar, 1995-6 session. “In Defence of Preferences” was read to a Lancaster-Zürich joint research group seminar meeting, “Beyond Cost-Benefit Analysis: Deliberation, Judgement and Public Policy”, Charlotte Mason College, Ambleside,15th February, 1996. “The Contingent and the Contemptible” was given at the inaugural conference of the British Society for Ethical Theory, University of Keele, 28th March, 1996. "The Externalist and the Amoralist” was read to a Lancaster-Zürich joint research group seminar meeting, “Beyond Cost-Benefit Analysis: Deliberation, Judgement and Public Policy” at the University of Zürich, Switzerland, 14th June, 1996. “Contracting Responsibility” was read to the Glasgow University Philosophy Senior Seminar, 16th December 1997 “On Being Jubblesome, Expressivism, Naturalism and the Absence of Knowledge Argument” was read to the first Inland Northwest Philosophy Conference (on Realism) at the University of Idaho and Washington State University, U. S. A., 3rd-5th April, 1998. Contracting Responsibility was read at a conference on “Moral Responsibility and Ontology” at the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, 4th-7th June 1998. “Who’s Afraid of the Frege-Geach Problem?” was read to a meeting of the Leeds University Philosophy Senior Seminar, 3rd December, 1998. Invited participant at Workshop at Ambleside on Ethics and Environmental Valuation funded by DG XII of the E.C., Environment and Climate RTD Programme, 23rd-25th April 1999. “On Becoming Extinct” was read to the Senior Seminar of the Bolton Institute Philosophy Department, 21st May, 1999. “On Becoming Extinct” was read on 28th December 1999 to a plenary session of the International Conference on Bioethics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, 28th-30th December 1999 |
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