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Happiness Day Conference talks available online

Recordings from The Open University Ethics Centre and The Royal Institute of Philosophy Day Conference on Happpiness (14 April 2012) are now available to listen to online. These include:

  • Professor Timothy Chappell
    "Can doing philosophy make us happy? Should it?"
  • Dr Chris Belshaw
    "Pleasure, happiness and the evil of death"
  • Dr Piers Benn
    "Happiness, meaning, and commitment"
  • Dr Julian Baggini
    "The Politics of Happiness: Is well-being the business the government?"


Withdrawal of AA308 Thought and Experience: Themes in the Philosophy of Mind

The Faculty has decided to withdraw AA308 Thought and Experience: Themes in the Philosophy of Mind from October 2014. This means that the remaining presentations will be February 2012, October 2012 and last presentation will start in October 2013.

A new module, A333 Key questions in Philosophy, has been approved by the University and it is planned that the first presentation of this module will be in October 2014.


Philosophy Department Seminar:
Professor Julian Dodd, University of Manchester 'Performing works of music authentically'
1 February 2012

Time: 2 pm
Venue: Open University Milton Keynes Campus, Faculty of Arts, Meeting Rooms 1, 2, 3 Wilson A.

All welcome.

Follow this link for further details.


Philosophy Department Seminar:
Prof Richard Ashcroft
Doing the Right Thing for the Wrong Reason? The Morality of Changing People's Behaviour by Paying Them
14 December 2011

Follow this link for further details.

Time: 2 pm
Venue: Open University Milton Keynes Campus, Faculty of Arts, Meeting Room 4

All welcome.


‘Multiculturalism Bites’ podcasts

The OU has sponsored a set of free podcasts, made by Nigel Warburton and Dave Edmonds, called ‘Multiculturalism Bites’. This is a series of 10 interviews with leading thinkers who have contributed to the debate about multiculturalism. Listen to the podcasts in iTunes.


Picturing Philosophers: Portraits of Thinkers

The pamphlet 'Picturing Philosophers', based on a tour of philosophers' portraits in London's National Portrait Gallery by Nigel Warburton, is available as a pdf [1.6 MB]. It focuses on figures such as Hobbes, Locke, Mill, Sartre, Russell and Iris Murdoch, exploring their philosophical ideas and raising the questions they considered.


The State of Aesthetics: conference, University of London, 23-24 June 2011

An international conference sponsored by the University of Leeds, the University of Nottingham, The Open University, the AHRC project: 'Method in Philosophical Aesthetics: The Challenge from the Sciences', the Institute of Philosophy, and the British Society of Aesthetics. The theme: What is the value of aesthetic investigation? We invite scholars and art world figures to offer their own assessments, defences and remedies. Panel discussion: teaching aesthetics in art school and other non-philosophical contexts. More information is available from the conference website.


Call for papers: ASA Pacific Division Meeting 2012

April 11-13, 2012
Asilomar Conference Grounds
Pacific Grove, California

The Pacific Division of the American Society for Aesthetics invites papers and/or panel proposals for its annual conference. Paper and panel submissions from persons in all arts-related disciplines, including graduate students, are welcome. Papers and panels may treat any area of interest to aesthetics and the philosophy of art. Suggested topics include the philosophy of literature, ethical questions relating to film, the status of art as an evolutionary adaptation, the relation between sexual attraction and the aesthetic properties of persons, the history of aesthetics, fictional representations, and cross-media comparisons. Paper submissions must not exceed 3000 words in length (20 minutes in presentation time), and should be accompanied by 100-word abstracts. Receipt deadline: November 22, 2011. For further information, download the CFP [PDF, 40 KB]


Justice season on BBC FOUR from 23 January

The Justice season begins on BBC FOUR on Sunday 23 January with the following programme produced in partnership with The Open University: Justice: Fairness and the Big Society - 9.00pm (repeated on Monday 24 January at 23.00).

From the Royal Institution in London, Harvard Professor Michael Sandel hosts a discussion to explore fairness in public policy and the Big Society.  An audience of politicians, opinion-formers and the general public should ensure a lively and topical debate.

Visit the Open Learn website to explore the meaning of justice in the modern world in a series of new films and online features.

MA in Philosophy extended by 1 year

Please note the Philosophy MA will be extended by one year. The final presentation of A850 will now be in February 2013, A851's final presentation will now be in February 2014 and A857's final presentation will now be in February 2015.


Nigel Warburton on Everyday Philosophy, Oxford Playhouse, 11 February 2011

What is philosophy? Who needs it? Writer and podcaster Nigel Warburton, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the Open University, discusses the relevance of philosophy to life today. From questions about the limits of free speech to the nature of happiness, from what art is to the impact of new technology, philosophy offers insights into questions that matter. Nigel will explore how the thoughts of some of the great philosophers of the past shed light on our present day predicament. More information and booking details are available from the Oxford Playhouse website.


OU material available for areas in philosophy taught at AS and A2 level

Open Educational Resources relevant to As and A2 level philosophy are now available online, along with advice on teachers might adapt this material.

Philosophy iTunes successes

Nigel Warburton's Philosophy Bites podcast has now been downloaded over 7 million times (7,034,519 to date); and Philosophy: The Classics has been downloaded more than 1.5 million times. New podcast apps have recently been released for both series - see Nigel's page for more details.

Integrity in Public Life Lecture Series, now available as OU Podcasts

The Open University's lecture series on “Integrity in Public Life” explores some of the most pressing ethical dilemmas of our time. Four lectures were hosted at St Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield, London, during May and June 2009. You can listen to the lectures online now. The speakers and topics are as follows: Dr John Githongo on The Paradox of Two Recessions; Lord Butler on Integrity and Politics; Professor John Cottingham on Integrity and Fragmentation and Baroness O'Neil on Trustworthiness, Accountability and Character.

 

 

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