The British Philosophical Association have organized an annual nation-wide project aimed at raising public awareness of the utility and value of philosophy. Departments around the country have been asked to arrange collaborations, forms of public and practical engagement and events that might help to demonstrate philosophy’s merits in that regard, and its status as a social good. The University of Liverpool’s philosophy department’s contributions for this year follow below. (Due to their relevance, we have included one event that took place before the fortnight, one that falls just outside of it, an event scheduled for April, and some planned collaborations that will be pursued in the future.)
- Waiting for the Out
On the 26th of February, and as part of his ongoing work in teaching philosophy in prisons, Jon Bebb helped to facilitate an online event centred around Andy West’s memoir, The Life Inside. West’s book has recently been dramatized as the BBC drama Waiting for the Out. The event was organized by Thoughtful (formerly SAPERE). It started with a video of Stephen Fry (who is a patron of Thoughtful), and then Andy gave a brief talk about the show. There was then a discussion involving all the attendees on the nature of freedom, that was facilitated by Jon, and other experts from Philosophy in Prison, The Philosophy Foundation, Thoughtful, The Royal Institute of Philosophy, and the British Philosophical Association.
- Sorin Baiasu, Talk for the Language Data and Society Research Centre
On the 17th of March, Sorin Baiasu will give a talk to titled ‘Social Justice and Sociolinguistics: Some Potential Areas of Cooperation’ to Liverpool’s interdisciplinary Language Data and Society Research Centre. Sorin’s abstract is as follows:
‘In this presentation, I start with an overview of my ERC Advanced Grant (KantianDESERT - 2025-30) on equality, just deserts and fairness. In today's context, calls for reducing inequalities (whether economic, social, political or of any other kind) have increased in frequency and plausibility. We can justify such calls either directly, by appeal to a principle of equality, or indirectly, by appeal to other principles of fairness (for instance, desert or need). I offer the case for desert and then, I identify a few areas of potential cooperation with sociolinguistics (on (1) lying and deceit, (2) popularity of moral terms and conceptual engineering, and, more tentatively, (3) hermeneutical injustice), while inviting other suggestions of collaboration.’
- Philosophy Talks at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral
Rebecca Davnall and Paul Taylor will be giving talks at the Anglican cathedral on the evening of the 19th of March, together with a member of the cathedral's staff named Justin Hill. Rebecca will be talking about sacred spaces and secularity; Paul will talk about divine command theory; Justin will be speaking about Martin Buber. The event starts at 6.30 and runs to 8.00. Details can be found here.
- Conflict Resolution work with Stoke-on-Trent City Council: Meeting and Ongoing Work
PhD student Christopher Valentine is working with his supervisors, Sorin Baiasu and James Doble (Director – Legal, Governance and Customer Services, Stoke-on-Trent City Council), on a philosophy project that brings academic research into local government practice. The project, ‘Restorative Justice and Second Victimisation’, is designed to examine existing local government practices and provide guidance on the integration of the restorative approach into policy with a view to avoiding some problems standardly associated with the restorative approach, particularly the problem of second victimisation. Chris is particularly interested in applying desert-sensitive theory and philosophical counselling in his work with the Stoke-on-Trent City Council, as ways in which restorative practices in the delivery of Council services can be improved. The next meeting with the Council is expected to take place between 19th and 29th of March.
- Philosophical Fiction Workshops at Liverpool Central library
Rachel Handley will be running two creative writing workshops in the Hornby Library (within Liverpool Central Library) on the 25th of March (5.30 to 7.30) and the 28th of March (1.00 to 3.00). Participants will produce several pieces of flash fiction. Rachel will introduce key philosophical themes found in different parts of both literature and philosophy and will guide participants in writing in response to those themes. The workshops will look at topics such as the climate crisis, what it means to be a person, and oppression.
- Philosophy for Health Brainstorming Meeting
The first meeting of the (provisionally titled) Philosophy for Health Brainstorming Group - initiated and led by Sorin Baiasu and Luke Jordan (Clinical Lead - Compass Manchester) and including Nikos Gkogkas, Tom Bunyard, Sylvia Longjam and Chris Valentine) will be held on March the 26th. This is a collaborative enterprise between the Philosophical Counselling project hosted by the LOSAK (Liverpool-Oxford-St Andrews Kantian) Research Centre in the Philosophy Department at the University of Liverpool and mental health practitioners at the NHS Greater Manchester Mental Health's Therapy Hub. The aim is to examine the relevance of philosophy for mental health, the possible contribution that Philosophy graduates could make to therapeutic practices, and the potential connections of philosophy and psychotherapy to oral pedagogy more broadly.
- Philosophy in Pubs: Planned Collaborations and a Symposium on the 29th March
Philosophy in Pubs is a nation-wide organisation that originated in Liverpool, and which has past links to the philosophy department. They have been running for over twenty years, and they arrange and facilitate open philosophical discussions in local communities. To quote their website: their aim is to ‘bring about good community social interaction for all’ by using philosophy to explore and critically address ‘ideas, beliefs and values’. Their venues and schedule can be found on their website.
On the 29th of March, Tom Bunyard will contribute to their symposium on ‘How free is free speech today?’ The event will take place in McCartney's Bar (Hanover Hotel) on Hanover Street, Liverpool City Centre, between 10.30 and 12.30.
- Philosophy in Prisons: Ongoing Work
During the fortnight and beyond, Jon Bebb will continue his work with Philosophy in Prison at HMP Stafford. Philosophy in Prison is a charity that was set set up in 2018 to promote philosophical education in prisons and to explore the practical and philosophical principles that this involves. The charity uses philosophical conversation is used to engage with and to assist people from varying educational backgrounds.
- Philosophical Counselling Reading Group: Ongoing Work
The Philosophical Counselling reading group, initiated and led by Sorin Baiasu and Chris Valentine, continues to meet. This project is hosted by the LOSAK (Liverpool-Oxford-St Andrews Kantian) Research Centre in the Philosophy Department at the University of Liverpool. The reading group is made up of philosophy staff and students, mental health professionals and philosophical counselling practitioners. Discussions centre around the nature, efficacy and practicalities of philosophical counselling, the relation between philosophy and philosophical counselling, and the nature of philosophy. - Liverpool Citizens: Planned Collaborations
Liverpool Citizens is a local chapter of Citizens UK. They bring together people from schools, faith groups, housing associations, etc., to campaign on issues that affect local communities. We will be meeting to explore possible collaborations and connections between the group and the philosophy department.
- Philosophies of Resistance: Workshop at the People’s History Museum in Manchester
Jon Bebb and his colleagues from Philosophy in Prisons will be running a workshop on the 25th of April at the People’s History Museum in Manchester. The workshop, which is being organized by Manchester Metropolitical University, will explore forms of philosophical thought that have resisted colonial, racial and carceral oppression. Details can be found here.