All posts by Michael Lewis

About Michael Lewis

Michael Lewis teaches Philosophy at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Winter School in Groningen

“Uncertainty, Conflict and Disagreement”

University of Groningen Winter School in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE)

 

The University of Groningen will be hosting its second annual winter school in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) on January 29-30, 2018. The theme of this year’s winter school is “Uncertainty, Conflict and Disagreement.” From the perspective of the various disciplines that make up PPE, we will explore questions like: How do we design mutually acceptable social institutions and public policies when we disagree fundamentally with each other about basic empirical facts and questions of justice? How can we be responsible stewards of the future given the extreme difficulty of predicting the long-run effects of our present choices? How do we identify fair compromises between conflicting values, and how far should we be willing to compromise our values in order to preserve a shared moral and political community? Students will have the opportunity to learn from University of Groningen faculty whose research bears on these questions. This year’s instructors include Francesca Giardini, Leah Henderson, Frank Hindriks, Jan Albert van Laar, Chiara Lisciandra, Andreas Schmidt, and Allard Tamminga.

 

Basic Information

Dates: January 29-30, 2018 (approximately 9am-6pm both days)

Location: Faculty of Philosophy (Oude Boteringestraat 52), Groningen, Netherlands

Website: http://www.rug.nl/education/summer-winter-schools/winter_schools/winter_schools_2017-2018/ppe/

What makes economic and political institutions just, legitimate, or otherwise desirable? What ethical criteria should we use to evaluate the results of public policy …

 

Language of instruction: English

 

Who is eligible to attend?

The winter school is aimed at advanced undergraduate students and early-stage graduate students. No specific academic prerequisites are required, but some preference will be given to students with substantial background in one of the core disciplines of PPE (philosophy, politics, or economics) or in related fields like public policy, psychology, sociology, etc. One aim of the winter school is to attract potential applicants for the University of Groningen’s new Master’s programme in PPE (and to other graduate programs in the Faculty of Philosophy). Therefore, students considering graduate study in philosophy or PPE are particularly encouraged to apply.

 

Fees

There is a registration fee of €40, to be paid online by January 1, 2018. This fee will be reimbursed for those later accepted into one of the Master’s programmes at the Faculty of Philosophy.  The fee includes participation in the programme and coffee/tea breaks.

 

Scholarships

The Faculty is offering up to three €300 scholarships for promising students enrolling in the winter school who express serious interest in later applying for a Master’s programme in Groningen. These scholarships can be used to defray travel and lodging costs and well as the registration fee for the winter school. Moreover, participants who are then accepted into a Master’s programme at the Faculty of Philosophy for the year 2018-19 will have their registration fee reimbursed.

 

To apply for a scholarship, send a short CV (max 2 pages) and a letter (max 1 page) stating your interest in the Faculty of Philosophy in Groningen and one of our Master’s programmes in particular, to winterschoolphilosophy@rug.nl with ‘Application for winter school scholarship’ as subject, no later than1 December 2017.

 

Registration

To register, send an email with your name, affiliation and status (undergraduate, graduate) to winterschoolphilosophy@rug.nl with ‘Registration for winter school’ as the subject line, no later than 15 December 2017. As the number of spots is limited, you are encouraged to register early. Preference will be given to advanced undergraduate students.

 

Deadlines

Winter School application deadline: 15 December 2017
Scholarship application deadline: 1 December 2017

 

Applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application shortly after the closing date of December 15. Please do not make travel arrangements until your acceptance has been confirmed.

 

Contact

Further inquiries about the course can be directed to Dr. Christian Tarsney at c.j.tarsney@rug.nl. For general questions, kindly contact winterschoolphilosophy@rug.nl.

Overy on Wine

Newcastle Philosophy Research Talk

Day and Time:   Wednesday, 2–4pm,    6th December

Dr. Stephen Overy (Newcastle), ‘Three Manifestations of Time in Vintage Wine’

Room:   BSTC 2.39 (Barbara Strang Teaching Centre), Central Campus, Newcastle University

 

Lewis on Virno, Wednesday 29th November 2pm, BSTC 2.39

Open to all,

Wednesday 29th November, 2pm-3:50pm, BSTC 2.39.

Michael Lewis (Newcastle), ‘Paolo Virno’s Essay on Negation: From Anthropology to Politics’

An advanced introduction to the thought of Paolo Virno with particular reference to his soon to be translated text on negation, and the notion of human nature and its relation to political action in Virno’s work more generally.

Durham’s Undergraduate Philosophy journal

New Issue: Critique – Durham University Philosophy Society’s Journal
Following the successful undergraduate conference in June, the special conference proceedings of Critique are now online (link to full PDF – works best on desktop)!
These are the titles of the six essays in this issue. We hope they are of interest to you:
‘An Alternative Approach to Mathematical Ontology’ – Amber Donovan
‘Coercion and Sexual Consent: A Discussion on Legitimacy’ – Kate Fisk
‘The Limits of Dialogue and the Violence in Debate’ – Hannah Frances Morris
‘When, if at all, is assisted dying permissible for psychiatric patients?’ – Alexandra Pallot
‘In what ways, if any, does Evil-Doing differ from Wrong-Doing?’ – Tony Pollard
‘Orwellian Nationalism as the Liberal Democratic Convention’ – Charles H. Smith

Critique is run entirely by undergraduate students at Durham University and is the official journal of the university’s Philosophy Society.
Any and all requests for reproduction of the work contained in the journal should be addressed to dups.critique@gmail.com. Any submissions for consideration in future issues should also be sent to the same address. Criteria for submission of essays is that they are under 5,000 words in length and must have received a first-class (or very high second-class) grade. As for other contributions (poems, short stories etc.) the word limit is the only criteria. The journal is now accepting short-form content for on the forthcoming website, too, details of which can be found on our social media accounts. Be sure to also follow the journal’s Twitter and ‘Like’ us on Facebook for updates on future issues.
We hope you enjoy it! Look out for the Call for Papers next month for our fifth issue.

Essay Advice and Help, Monday 27th November, 4pm, BSTC 2.51

Please come along, to get help with your essays. The second event is specifically for 2nd and 3rd years, but the first for everyone:

EXTRA ESSAY HELP AND ADVICE:
— 27th and 29th November 2017:
Monday 27th November, 4–5pm, Room: BSTC 2.51, ‘Peer-Advice Essay Workshop’, run by Philosophers for Philosophers.
— Wednesday 29th November, 12-1pm, Room: BEDB.1.75, Centrally organised session run by the University.

Peter Wolfendale, AUTONOMY AND AUTOMATION, November 29th, 6PM – 9PM,​ Workplace Gallery, 19-21 West Street, Gateshead, NE8 1AD

Newcastle Philosophy’s Peter Wolfendale, will be giving a talk at the excellent Future Shock Trauma Clinic (https://www.futureshocktraumaclinic.com/) in Newcastle on the 29th of this month:

‘What consequences will current and future developments in Artificial Intelligence have on our society and the way we live our lives? This is a question that many researchers and thinkers are currently grappling with, and answers to it are slowly starting to filter into public discourse in the form of political debates about the economic effects of increasing automation. This is very welcome, but it is important to recognise that these developments are not only challenging existing industrial formations, but also deeper cultural assumptions about what work is, and who does it. The aim of this talk is to show how we can frame these issues in terms of certain traditional philosophical concerns about freedom, and thereby to potential social and personal changes in terms of the contrast between the autonomous and the automatic’

November 29th

6PM – 9PM

Workplace Gallery

19-21 West Street

Gateshead

NE8 1AD