Forum for Philosophy

Elizabeth Anderson/ Omar Khan Listen to the recording here or on YouTube Women and minority groups are significantly underrepresented in politics and various other walks of life. ‘Affirmative action’ is one response in tackling this enduring issue. But what is it? Who is it for? And why does it generate so much controversy? We discuss these questions and explore the […]

Jessica Chiba/ John Crace/ Tim Crouch Listen to the podcast here or on YouTube For Victor Hugo, ‘all forms of the multiple reality, actions and ideas, man and humanity’ can be found in Shakespeare. Perhaps this is the reason why, over 400 years after his death, we continue to study, perform, and re-read his plays in search of truths about […]

Matthew Broome/ Nura Sidarus/ Helen Steward Listen to the recording here or on YouTube Is everything we do the product of unconscious brain processes that are beyond our control? If so, what happens to moral and criminal responsibility if a defendant can always argue, ‘my brain made me do it’? And if free will does exist, could other animals possess […]

Nicholas Bingham/ Tim Button/ Mary Leng/ Adam Ostaszewski Listen to the recording here or on YouTube How seriously should philosophical worries about mathematics be taken? And should mathematical results ever force our philosophical hands? Philosophers and mathematicians have often found plenty to disagree about throughout history, but there have been many fruitful interactions too. We indulge in a bit of […]

Kwame Anthony Appiah / Priyamvada Gopal/ Nasar Meer Listen to the podcast here or on YouTube Race continues to shape the political, cultural, and economic character of our societies, with communities and resources determined along racial lines. But what is race and why is it so significant? Is it simply another form of social classification grounded in inequality, conflict, and […]

Abeba Birhane/ Neil Lawrence/ Martin Robbins Listen to the recording here or on YouTube Looking for love? Ask your computer, since 1 in 5 couples now first meet online. Have we outsourced love to abstract algorithms? And what about elections or our summer getaways? From the targeted marketing of political campaigns to the predictive typing that preempts your Google search, machines may […]

Jonathan Birch/ Heikki Helanterä/ Hannah Rubin Listen to the recording here or on YouTube If evolution is a ‘struggle for existence’, why do we witness so much altruism in nature? From bacteria to baboons, the natural world is full of spectacular examples of organisms cooperating with one another. In the early 1960s, W. D. Hamilton changed the way we think about […]

Mary Leng/ Aaron Meskin/ Joe Saunders Listen to the podcast here Winners of our 2017 Thinking in Public grant, Thinking Space hosted an evening of philosophical talks and interactive discussion in conjunction with the University of Leeds. Mary Leng defends the importance of the unimportance of the philosophy of maths, Aaron Meskin discusses gluttony and whether foodies are a kind of hipster, and Joe […]

Ian Ground/Stephen Mulhall/ Chon Tejedor Watch the video or listen to the recording One of the twentieth century’s greatest philosophers, Wittgenstein published only one book. To celebrate its centenary, we revisit Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. An unusual work of philosophy by any standard, it was written on the front lines during World War I and purported to distinguish sense from nonsense. Wittgenstein felt that in […]

Clare Chambers/ Paul Coleridge/ Peter Tatchell Listen here or on YouTube Marriage is an odd mix of sex, religion, and politics. We ask what marriage is and whether there is there any distinctive moral value in it. Should the state promote it? Is it possible to have an ‘equal’ marriage, or is marriage fundamentally an oppressive institution? Should marriage be rejected […]