The department is well-represented at the Aesthetic Emotions Conference with both Carolyn Price and Derek Matravers giving papers. The conference is at Senate House on the 22nd and 23rd September.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the most fascinating figures in the history of philosophy. He was a champion of reason, who was also its great critic; he wrote operas, yet wrote against art; he wrote about child-rearing, and yet consigned his own children to an orphanage.

You can find out more about him in a short piece Derek Matravers has written to kick off a new series on philosophy for the online TLS. You can find it here.

The new issue of Emotion Researcher is out. Carolyn Price is one of the two editors of this notable international publication. This edition contains, amongst other things, a short article by Derek Matravers.

The issue can be found here: http://emotionresearcher.com/

This conference, organised by Derek Matravers and Chris Bartel (from Appalachian State University in the USA), is on this Friday and Saturday (the 21st and 22nd July).

Details are here: http://fass.open.ac.uk/events/video-games-and-virtual-ethics

We are pleased to announce that David McBride, who submitted his PhD Moral Equality – An Article of Faith?, has been passed with no corrections.

David McBride

Here is David, enjoying a post-PhD holiday in Italy.

On the 11th July, Sophie Grace was on Free Thinking on Radio 3, talking about Plato’s Symposium. You can still hear it on i-player; the link is here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08xcx1f

OU Philosophy has a strong and lively group of PhD students who—despite being scattered over a number of countries—come together whenever they can to present their work in progress to each other and to Philosophy staff. In early June we met at Darwin College, Cambridge, to hear papers and exchange ideas on research topics including “Logical atomism in Plato and Wittgenstein”, “Body enhancement and the essence of sport”, “What we learn from literature”, “Beauty in musical aesthetics“, and “Emotion in art”. Even though we met on one of the hottest days in the year—which is why we are meeting behind drawn curtains!—discussions were very lively and convivial, and continued in the pub afterwards until late in the evening. We wish all the best to the three PhD students who will have had their vivas by the time we meet again. (SGC)

PhD Research Day at Darwin College, Cambridge.