Category Archives: Philosophy News

Interesting talk

Philosophy News
This event is happening in Sociology but may well be of interest to some of you, especially where a project theme may coincide:
Please find below details of forthcoming Sociology events:
 
Utopia Now? New thinking, new practices: David Bell, Lisa Garforth and Adam Stock
Wednesday 21 November, 4-6pm, Armstrong Building 2.49
Public event – open to all
 
Please join us for a talk about contemporary utopian thought.
David Bell, Lisa Garforth and Adam Stock will be talking about their recent books which reflect respectively on utopian politics, affect and performative practices; green utopian visions and post-war environmental discourse; and dystopian fiction and political thought. The three speakers share a background in utopian studies and the conversation will also explore issues in contemporary utopian theory, practice and politics.
 
David Bell is author of Rethinking Utopia: Place, Power, Affect (Routledge, 2017) and a member of the Out of
the Woods collective
Lisa Garforth, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Newcastle University is author of Green Utopias: Environmental Hope Before and After Nature (Polity, 2018)
Adam Stock, Lecturer in English Literature at York St. John, is author of Modern Dystopian Fiction and Political Thought (Routledge, 2018)
 
An Imagining Pasts and Futures cluster event

Mary Midgley, Archive event in Durham

Philosophy News

Join In Parenthesis and the Royal Institute of Philosophy on Saturday November 10th to celebrate the launch of the Midgley Archive at Durham University.

Mary Midgley (1919-2018) was one of the world’s leading philosophers and her work continues to shape the way we think about human life and our relation to each other, to animals, and to nature. Join us for a short film and discussion about Mary’s work and her place in 20th Century intellectual history, followed by a chance to look at some of the archive‘s most significant pieces. Tea and coffee will be provided.

Book via eventbrite here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mary-midgley-archive-launch-tickets-50065326740

For further information on the collection, see http://www. womeninparenthesis.co.uk/ about/visit-the-midgley–archive/

For enquiries, please contact rachael.wiseman@liverpool.ac. uk and clare.maccumhaill@dur.ac.uk

 

—

Dr Rachael Wiseman
Department of Philosophy
University of Liverpoolrachael.wiseman@liverpool.ac.uk

@parenthesis_in

Help needed

Philosophy News

When I was doing the student inductions, I thought about looking for an app to help with referencing. I was lazy and went with the first one I found, MYLibrary (android) which allows you to scan barcodes of books and it then adds all the details required for your bibliography. This is useful and allows you to add comments on the texts. I am sure there are better ones out there.

For my own note taking I use Google Keep, and I write using their Docs so that I open Keep directly from within the word processor with a couple of bibliography add-ons. This means I can take pictures of quotations for later with my phone, add in thoughts when I am on the bus and so on. I know others use Evernote for the same reasons.

But I want to open this further. I am leaning Spanish by both private lessons and using the Duolingo app to reinforce vocabulary. I would really like to know if others have any specific apps they use which they find useful. Those directly to the learning of philosophy do, of course, interest me most.

I’d really appreciate if you would tell me which apps you use and which you find more useful, or what you would like to be able to do with your phones/tablets.  Please just add in below. This is so we can build and share a list of useful tools to improve the learning environment. Bear in mind these apps are supposed to facilitate thinking (like a word processor does) rather than replace it.

You can either put in a comment below or just email me directly.

David

 

Mary Midgley

Philosophy News
A message from Ian Ground, which we can only echo:
It is with sorrow that I must report the death of the philosopher, Mary Midgley, at the age of 99.
My own and the sadness of all who knew her, personally, through her teaching or through her writings, will be mixed with a profound sense of celebration of a great souled life of the mind, lived to the full.
Mary’s death came quickly with the lack of fuss and drama and with the pragmatic sanity, that all who had the privilege of knowing Mary would recognize as her signature. She felt unwell, called a close friend to ask him to let her sons know and 45 minutes later had passed.
The last time I saw Mary, just two weeks ago, she had ready for me a copy of her latest book. What is Philosophy For? https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/what-is-philosophy-for-9781350051089/
There could be no more appropriate response from the philosophical community than to read and further recommend her last contribution to the life of our ideas and our culture. It is a work of wit and warmth, and of wisdom and warnings.
If you were touched, inspired or energized by Mary’s thought and wish to make your thoughts about her work known, please send your reply directly to me at Ian.ground@newcastle.ac.uk. I shall collate responses and make them available in subsequent memorial events. Please do ensure that that you reply off list.
There will be more eloquent obituaries than I can offer and events and publications to celebrate Mary’s life and thought.
But the most fitting tribute at present is the project to celebrate the philosophical thought of the Oxford generation of women philosophers of which she was part. Please visit http://www.womeninparenthesis.co.uk/about/ to find out more. You may also be interested to note the coming Royal Institute of Philosophy series A Centenary Celebration: Anscombe, Foot, Midgley, And Murdoch http://royalinstitutephilosophy.org/events/london-lecture-series/