Philosophy Research Seminar

Off

The Philosophy Research Seminar (formerly known as The Department Seminar) is central to the academic life of the School of History, Philosophy, and Digital Humanities. The seminar runs most weeks in term time.

The Philosophy Research Seminar takes place on Friday afternoons through the Autumn and Spring terms (2:30-4:30 pm) in Broad Lane, Lecture Theatre 4

Speakers present their paper (sometime shared in advance) for 45 minutes, followed by a short break and discussion.

For more information, please, contact:

Jerry Viera - g.viera@sheffield.ac.uk or Ed Matthews - e.p.matthews@sheffield.ac.uk. 

All are welcome!

Upcoming events

Spring 2025

DateSpeakerTitle of paper
21st February - The Open СŷÊÓÆµThe shield of Achilles and the marvellous sophist’s mirror
28th February - Stockholm СŷÊÓÆµ

‘The New Bigamy?

Systematically Deceptive Relationships and the Law’

7th March - СŷÊÓÆµ of CambridgeForgetting to some purpose
14th March - СŷÊÓÆµ of London'Not just tools, but agents: an overlooked requirement for agentive AI' - Hang Seng Centre for Cognitive Studies' Distinguished Lecture in Cognitive Science
21st MarchChris Bennett - СŷÊÓÆµ of SheffieldReparations for Historical Injustice: The Role of Apology
28th March - СŷÊÓÆµ of Cambridge Towards a History of Philosophy? Early Modern Women Philosophers and the Canon: A Case Study (change of room, please check the event page)
4th April - Durham СŷÊÓÆµDon’t Worry About Me: Paternalism, Authority, and Relationships
23rd May - СŷÊÓÆµ of California, San DiegoDesert and Liability
16th May - Northeastern СŷÊÓÆµReligious Freedom, Social Status, and Fairness: Why Power and Privilege Matter When Assessing Religious Accommodations

Past events

Autumn 2024
DateSpeakerTitle of paper
11th October - СŷÊÓÆµ of Oxford

SPECIAL LECTURE - EXPANDING THE CANON

'Rethinking Responsibility'

18th October- Lancaster СŷÊÓÆµ'Frances Power Cobbe and Animal Ethics'
25th October- СŷÊÓÆµ of Sheffield'The Mismeasure of Pain' 
1st November - СŷÊÓÆµ of SheffieldSPECIAL LECTURE - THE PHILOSOPHY OF DISABILITY AND DIFFERENCE - 'Cripistemologies of Chronicity: A "coalition of the 'left-behinds'"
8th November - СŷÊÓÆµ of Bristol'Living forces and Stationary action: Leibniz at the limits of analytic mechanics'
22nd November - Cardiff СŷÊÓÆµ'Aesthetic Slurs'
6th December- СŷÊÓÆµ of Edinburgh'Pornography, Objectification, and Fungibility'
13th December - СŷÊÓÆµ of Bristol'Social Metaphysical Explanation'
Autumn 2023
DateSpeakerTitle of paper
13th OctoberDavid Papineau - Kings College LondonThe Moral Irrelvance of Consciousness
20th October - CANCELLEDRachel Fraser - Oxford СŷÊÓÆµ - CANCELLEDOpen-mindedness as Curiosity - CANCELLED
27th OctoberIan Kidd - The СŷÊÓÆµ of NottinghamMisanthropy
3rd November - CANCELLEDHelen Frowe - Stockholm Ð¡Å·ÊÓÆµ - CANCELLED(Some Nascent Thoughts on) The Moral Permissibility of Collective Defence Agreements - CANCELLED
10th NovemberLea Cantor - СŷÊÓÆµ of CambridgeAncient philosophy within a global purview: from historiography to first-order philosophical interpretation
17th NovemberCamil Golub - Rutgers СŷÊÓÆµThe Good, the Bad, and the Meaningful
24th NovemberEmma Borg - СŷÊÓÆµ of ReadingAre Heuristics Unthinking Processes? The No Reasons challenge to Common-sense Psychology
1st DecemberRichard Pettigrew - СŷÊÓÆµ of Bristol What is the distinctive wrong of testimonial injustice?
8th DecemberGonzalo Velasco Arias - Universidad Carlos IIIOn Online Virtuous Deference
Spring 2024
DateSpeakerTitle of paper
16th FebruaryMichael Ridge - СŷÊÓÆµ of EdinburghImmoral Hopes
23rd FebruaryAlexander Prescott-Couch - Oxford СŷÊÓÆµAgainst Problematization Accounts of Genealogical Critique
1st MarchFrederique Janssen-Lauret - СŷÊÓÆµ of Manchester (Women in the History of Philosophy Annual Lecture)Susan Stebbing’s Philosophy of Physics
8th MarchRachel Fraser - СŷÊÓÆµ of OxfordPractical Assurance
22nd MarchDaniel Rothschild - СŷÊÓÆµ College LondonLearning Curves: Machine and human learning

19th-20th April

(Two day conference)

Teemu Toppinen - Tampere СŷÊÓÆµ & Vilma I Venesmaa - СŷÊÓÆµ of HelsinkiConference title: Explaining Normativity
26th AprilPatrice Haynes - СŷÊÓÆµ of Nottingham (Minorities and Philosophy Annual Lecture)TBC
3rd MayZsuzsanna ChappellThe Philosophy of Disability and Difference
10th MayJonathan Parry - London School of EconomicsWhy Paternalism is Wrong (When It is Wrong)?
   
2022

Autumn 2022

DateSpeakerTitle of paper
13th OctoberExpanding the Canon Annual Lecture - , СŷÊÓÆµ of Sheffield, UKFanon and the Body Schema
21st October, Ð¡Å·ÊÓÆµ of St Andrews, UKThe Tyrant and the Failure of Philia
4th November, Ð¡Å·ÊÓÆµ of Sheffield, UKGetting what you "want"
4th November​*(Online Only - , King's College London, UK
Note change time: 6.00-8.00 pm - Zoom Link to join .
Thought and Feeling: George Eliot and the Expansion of Philosophy
18th November, Ð¡Å·ÊÓÆµ of Leeds, UK Truth and rationality in mindreading
Postponed (Date TBC)Women in the History of Philosophy Annual Lecture - Rescheduled to 3rd March 
2nd December, Cardiff СŷÊÓÆµ, UKCommitment on-line: On taking responsibility for one’s words on social media
9th December, Ð¡Å·ÊÓÆµ of Texas, Austin, USAWhat We Make When We Make an Effort
2023

Spring 2023

DateSpeakerTitle of paper
27th January​, Brown СŷÊÓÆµ, USA - ICOSS Conference Room - this talk will take place at 3:30 pmDeliberation and Fetish
10th FebruaryCancelled 
17th February, King's College London, UKKnotty Promises
24th February, Tel-Hai Academic College, IsraelSentiments and personal identity
3rd MarchWomen in the History of Philosophy Annual Lecture - , Birkbeck, СŷÊÓÆµ of LondonThe Theoretical and Practical Philosophy of Dr Sophie Bryant (1850-1922)
10th March, Virginia Tech СŷÊÓÆµ, USAHumorlessness as a Moral Vice
17th MarchCancelled 
24th March, Vanderbilt СŷÊÓÆµ, USAWhen Emotions Go Wrong: Epistemic and Ethical Distortions
31st March, The СŷÊÓÆµ of Sydney, AustraliaHave You Forgiven Me?
28th April, Ð¡Å·ÊÓÆµ of Warwick, UKExtremism, Radicalism, and the Politics of Labelling
5th May, Ð¡Å·ÊÓÆµ College London, UK 
12th May

The Minorities and Philosophy Annual Lecture - , Universitat de Barcelona

Register at 

​Gender Identity, First-Person Authority,  and Philosophy of Mind
19th May, СŷÊÓÆµ of Texas, Austin, USAArt and Responsibility
June (Date TBC), Georgetown СŷÊÓÆµ, USA
2022

Spring 2022

DateSpeakerTitle of paper
25th February* (Queen’s СŷÊÓÆµ, Canada)Martin Luther King on Fearlessness and Faith
4th March* (Northwestern СŷÊÓÆµ)Against Irrationalism in the Theory of Propaganda
11th March (СŷÊÓÆµ of Edinburgh)Interpersonal Reasoning
18th March (СŷÊÓÆµ of Edinburgh)Decolonizing the Intersection: Conceptual and Empirical Evidence against the Presuppositions of Intersectional Theory
25th March (СŷÊÓÆµ of Essex)Kierkegaard on Thoughts
29th April (СŷÊÓÆµ of Oxford) 
6th May (Open СŷÊÓÆµ)MAP Lecture
13th May (École Normale Supérieure)Anticipating Pain
2021

Autumn 2021

DateSpeakerTitle of paper
8th October* (Washington СŷÊÓÆµ St Louis)Informational Chauvinism
15th OctoberJames Chamberlain (СŷÊÓÆµ of Sheffield)A Humean account of  moral intuitions
22nd October* (СŷÊÓÆµ of Connecticut)Resistance isn't Futile:  Fending off Toxic Speech
29th October* (Harvard СŷÊÓÆµ)The Phenomenal Public
5th November (СŷÊÓÆµ of Groningen)Testimonial  injustice in law: Victims and witnesses of climate injustice
19th November (СŷÊÓÆµ of Glasgow)The Reality of Colour  Illusion
26th November (СŷÊÓÆµ of Glasgow)What is Trustworthiness?
3rd December (СŷÊÓÆµ of Edinburgh)Decolonizing the  Intersection: Conceptual and Empirical Evidence against the Presuppositions of  Intersectional Theory
10th December (СŷÊÓÆµ of Birmingham)Procreative Justice:  Genetic Selection and Skin Tone


Spring 2021
 

DateSpeakerTitle of paper
19th FebruaryVanessa Wills (George Washington)The 'White Privilege' Concept in Marxism and in Critical Race Theory
26th FebruaryStephen Darwall (Yale)Transformative Knowledge of Love and Respect: The Cases of James Baldwin and Frederick Douglass
5th MarchMargot Strohminger (Australian Catholic)What’s the difference between supposing and imagining?
12th MarchAdriana Clavel-Vasquez (Oxford)Controlling (mental) images and the aesthetic appreciation of racialized bodies
19th MarchCandice Delmas (Northeastern)Uncivil disobedience from Black
Lives Matter to the Capitol (2pm)
26th MarchLaura Valentini (LMU Munich)Normative Powers
23rd AprilJimmy Lenman (Sheffield)Confucius or Plato?
30th AprilJules Holroyd (Sheffield)Bad Praise
7th MayMuhammad Ali Khalidi (CUNY)Language & Social Ontology
14th MayJessica Leech (KCL)Martha Kneale's Necessary A Posteriori
2020

Autumn 2020

DateSpeakerTitle of paper
9th OctoberDavid Enoch (Hebrew СŷÊÓÆµ)Why Care about Morality, Robustly Realistically Understood
16th OctoberCaspar Hare (MIT)Pleasing the Crowd Within
23rd OctoberLiz Camp (Rutgers)Perspectival Complacency, Perversion and Amelioration
30th OctoberJustin Clarke - Doane (Columbia)Russell's Regressive Method in Mathematics and Philosophy
6th NovemberWilliam Paris (Wesleyan)Looking for Tomorrow in Yesterday: W.E.B. Du Bois and the Utopia of The Souls of Black Folk.
13th NovemberNo SeminarReading Week
20th NovemberThi Nguyen (Utah)Value Capture and Value Collapse (4pm)
27th NovemberCarrie Fidgor (Iowa)What Could Cognition Be, If Not Human Cognition?
4th DecemberKomarine Romdenh-Romluc (Sheffield)Now and Then: Thinking about Time
11th DecemberMargot Strohminger (ACU)Supposition, Imagination, and Offline Belief (Time TBC)
18th DecemberHarjit Bhogal (Maryland)Strikingness (3pm)

Spring 2020

DateSpeakerTitle of paper
14 FebruarySeiriol Morgan (Bristol)On Entitlement
28 FebruaryTom Stern (UCL)Nietzsche's Ethics
6 MarchNatalie Ashton (Stirling)

Productive Online Environments: Why Twitter is (Epistemically) Better than Facebook

Minorities And Philosophy (MAP) Annual Lecture

Please note change of venue to Hicks Lecture Theatre 5

20 MarchKomarine Romdenh-Romluc (Sheffield)'Now' Thoughts
27 MarchBoudewijn de Bruin (Groningen)Self-Fulfilling Epistemic Injustice
3 AprilCarrie Figdor (Iowa)Towards a Non-Anthropocentric Psychology
1 MayDan Watts (Essex)Kierkegaard on the Limits of Reason and the Freedom to Judge
15 MayJessica Leech (King’s College London)

Martha Kneale on Why Metaphysical Necessities Are Not A Priori

Annual Women in the History of Philosophy lecture

2019

Autumn 2019

DateSpeakerTitle of paper
4 October (Barcelona)Imperative Transparency
18 OctoberMax Hayward (Sheffield)Terrestrial Ethics
25 October (СŷÊÓÆµ College Dublin)Fragrant Games - Playing With Perfumes
1 November (Durham)How To Be An Epistemic Constitutivist
8 November (Duisburg-Essen)The Dark Side of Forgiveness
29 November (Oxford)Skepticism About Cases in Philosophy, Near and Far
13 December (Kings College London)The Wrong of Untruthfulness

Spring 2019

DateSpeakerTitle of paper
8 FebruaryAre the Norms of Assertion Social Norms?
22 FebruaryEpistemic Dilemmas and the Fixed-Point Thesis
1 MarchMinorities and Philosophy Annual lecture: Holding Resistance Hostage: When Resistance Is Futile
8 MarchSelf-Trust and Discriminatory Speech
22 MarchResponding to The Negative Repugnant Conclusion
29 MarchTatjana von Solodkoff (СŷÊÓÆµ College Dublin)Cancelled
5 AprilAnnual Women in the History of Philosophy lecture: Rose Rand (1903–1980) from the Archives: Real and Unreal 
3 MayMegan Blomfield (Sheffield)Epistemic injustice in asylum claim credibility assessments
10 MayOn biological individuality
2018

Autumn 2018

DateSpeakerTitle of paper
12 OctoberDr Chris Marshall (Sheffield)Killing Innocent Threats and Ducking Harm
19 OctoberDisagreement about Logic: How and When
26 OctoberTBA
2 NovemberInter-temporal choice and the metaphysics of time
16 NovemberPluralism about moral worth
23 NovemberProf. Robert Stern (Sheffield)Beast or Neighbour? Logstrup and Levinas on the Relation Between Ethics and Politics
30 NovemberIs Aesthetic Immoralism Obviously True
7 DecemberRisk Imposition and Duties of Care

 Spring 2018

DateSpeakerTitle of paper
16 FebMinorities and Philosophy Annual lecture: "Slaves and Tyrants: Freedom and Domination in the Vindication of the Rights of Women"
2 MarchMeaning Pluralism, Linguistic Register and Slurs
9 MarchKomarine Romdenh-Romluc (Sheffield)Homo Aestheticus
16 MarchAmbivalence - cancelled due to proposed UCU industrial action.
20 AprilFrom Duty for the Right Reasons
27 AprilVirtual Representation in Pictorial Space
4 May  Annual Women in the History of Philosophy lecture: "The Republican Family in the Revolution: Adapting and Subverting Rousseau"
11 MayCulpable ignorance and mental disorders

Events at the СŷÊÓÆµ

Browse upcoming public lectures, exhibitions, family events, concerts, shows and festivals across the СŷÊÓÆµ.