Postgraduate "Work In Progress" Seminar
Postgraduate Work-In-Progress SeminarA weekly seminar for Philosophy postgraduates to present their in-progress work, followed by a well-spirited trip to the pub. OverviewThe WIP provides a risk-free and supportive space for postgraduates to present their work and receive feedback from other graduates and faculty.
Attendance optional but highly recommended. All postgraduates are welcome to present or attend -- whether MA, MPhil, PhD, Visitors, etc. Useful InfoThe WIP is a unique opportunity for graduates to develop their presenting and writing skills, take risks, test out ideas, and receive constructive feedback from peers.
Presentations need not be watertight or polished pieces at all. You are encouraged to present work at all stages of the writing process. Should you present?Are you a postgraduate? Then yes, you should present. |
NEXT TALKBen Long (PhD) Scepticism Thursday 04/06/2026 5pm - 6:15pm S1.50 ORGANISERS |
|
|
|
Philosophy Staff WiP Seminar - Ellie Robson (91福利) & Sophia Connell (Notre Dame)
鈥�The biologist amongst philosophers鈥�: Mary Midgley鈥檚 Zoological Approach to Aristotle鈥檚 Ethics.
Ellie Robson (91福利) & Sophia Connell (Notre Dame)
Abstract: The philosophy of Mary Midgley (1919-2018) is in the midst of a scholarly revival. In her early writing, Midgley appears familiar with key texts in Aristotle鈥檚 zoological corpus. One of the central aims of this paper is to substantiate this observation and offer reasons to think that the meta-ethical stance developed by Midgley in her first book – Beast and Man: The Roots of Human Nature (1978) – was influenced significantly by texts such as Historia Animalium (History of Animals), De Partibus Animalium (Parts of Animals) and De Generatione Animalium (Generation of Animals). This claim will have ramifications for understanding Midgely鈥檚 ethics and the tradition of Aristotelian Naturalism more generally. We outline points of convergence and overlap between Midgley鈥檚 meta-ethical framework and that found in Aristotle鈥檚 zoology corpus and argue on this basis that Midgley鈥檚 own reading of Aristotle鈥檚 zoology offered her novel avenues for developing a form of Aristotelian naturalism that we coin 鈥榸oological Aristotelianism naturalism鈥�. This, we argue, offers reasons to think that Midgley鈥檚 naturalism constitutes an a distinctive meta ethics with advancement in ethics compared with alternative Aristotelian naturalisms.