Mark Pinder celebrates a double success this month. Mark has just returned from a research visit at the Department of Philosophy II, Ruhr University Bochum, having given a talk at the conference, Inconsistent Concepts and Conceptual Engineering. In addition, his paper on conceptual engineering, “Conceptual Engineering, Metasemantic Externalism and Speaker-Meaning” has been accepted for publication in MIND, one of the leading philosophy journals.

Congratulations to Dr. Jon Pike, Senior Lecturer and Staff Tutor in Philosophy, who was recently elected Chair of the British Philosophy of Sport Association (BPSA). The BPSA’s mission is to “provide avenues and opportunities for those interested in philosophical issues in sport to present their ideas and network with others.” The Society’s principal activities include an annual UK-based conference, a tri-annual conference with the European Association for Philosophy and Sport, and the publication, in partnership with Taylor & Francis, of the esteemed journal Sport, Ethics and Philosophy.

Jon will be off to the WADA conference in Katowice, Poland for the 5^th – 7^th of November.  This is the conference that will agree anti-doping regulations for the next five years of elite sport.  He will be blogging a conference diary from the conference (watch this space for a link!), casting a quizzical and philosophical eye over proceedings.  Jon has previously acted as a consultant for both UKAD (UK Anti-Doping) and WADA, and he is keen to see if any of his thoughts about anti-doping get incorporated into the new code.

Philosophy is delighted to announce that Professor Derek Matravers has been appointed co-editor, along with Paloma Atencia-Linares, of the British Journal of Aesthetics.

The BJA, as it is known, is a premier forum for peer-reviewed scholarship in aesthetics and the philosophy of art. Currently in its 59th year, it is published quarterly on behalf of the British Society of Aesthetics by Oxford University Press.

Congratulations, Derek!