Philosophy Today

Overview

Discover how philosophy shapes our modern world with ‘Philosophy Today’, our new public lecture series for 2024. Over six engaging lectures, Trinity College Dublin’s distinguished philosophers will discuss their current research and reveal its practical applications.

Explore the connections between philosophical inquiry and everyday life as our speakers share their current work and offer a unique insight into its direct relevance to our day-to-day experiences.

Thursday, 8th February 2024 | Dr. Farbod Akhlaghi

‘Changing Partners: Should You Stop Your Beloved from Changing Who They Are?’

Is it wrong to stop your spouse from taking a job in a different country? Your child from going to university? Your sibling from getting married? Farbod Akhlaghi works on the ethics of transformative experience – experiences which change who we are, and which remain unknowable until we personally encounter them.

Thursday, 22nd February 2024 | Dr. William Ratoff

How Should We Negotiate the Creation of Artificial General Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence is poised to revolutionize our lives. From self-driving cars to companion-bots, no aspect of our world, we envisage, will be quite the same again. How should we negotiate the creation of artificial general intelligence? Is the creation of such A.I. even desirable? Or does it pose an existential risk to humanity? William Ratoff works on moral philosophy, especially topics in the ethics of artificial intelligence and new technologies.

Thursday, 7th March 2024 | Professor John Divers

Caring About What Would Have Been

Ever wondered how your everyday “what if” statements hold the key to unlocking insights about our world? John Divers works on modality – what we say (and think) that goes beyond how the world actually is and speaks of how the world could have been, could not have been, would have been or would not have been.

Thursday, 21st March 2024 | Dr. Emma Otterski

Decoding Perception: Power, Status, & How We See Others

Have you ever considered how we truly understand the people we interact with every day? What subtle signals do we rely on to interpret their thoughts and feelings, and how much does our understanding of them depend on the world around us? Emma Otterski works on social cognition – how to explain our (mis)understanding of others.

Thursday, 4th April 2024 | Professor Paul O’Grady

What is Wisdom?

Everyone thinks wisdom is a good thing to have, but it’s less than clear what it is and it has puzzling features. Paul O’Grady works in theory of knowledge and philosophy of religion and will explore what wisdom might be, using resources from psychology, history of philosophy and recent epistemology.

Thursday, 18th April 2024 | Dr. Caleb Althorpe

Making Work Meaningful

What exactly makes work ‘meaningful’? Is it just whatever the worker feels is meaningful? Or is it work that has certain features, such as being complex, or giving the worker a say in how it is carried out? Caleb Althorpe does research in political philosophy and political theory, examining normative questions that fall at the intersection of philosophy, politics, and economics.

For full event and speaker details, please visit the Trinity Department of Philosophy website.

Time, Date, and Place

This public lecture series takes place over six sessions. It starts Thursday 8th February 2024 and continues every second Thursday until Thursday 18th April. Lectures run from 7:30pm-9pm and take place in the The Uí Chadhain Theatre (Room 2041B) of the Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin.