The Forum is an educational charity which organises and runs a full and varied programme of philosophy and interdisciplinary events in the UK. Our events take various forms but we studiously avoid academic papers. Formats we like include dialogues, panel discussions, public lectures and provocations, all of which are open to the public and most of which are free.
For more details contact: Philosophy-Forum@lse.ac.uk
Spring Term 2015
Consilience
Thursday 15 January, 18.30 – 20.00
Is the Brain a Predictive Machine
Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Paul Fletcher, Bernard Wolfe Professor of Health Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Karl Friston, Professor of Neuroscience, University College London, Demis Hassabis, Vice President of Engineering, Google DeepMind, Richard Holton, Professor of Philosophy, University of Cambridge
Chair: Benedetto De Martino, Cognitive Neuroscientist, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEbrain
Monday 2 March, 18.30 - 20.00
Gender and the Brain
Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE
John Dupré, Professor of Philosophy of Science, University of Exeter, Gina Rippon, Professor of Cognitive Neuroimaging, Aston University
Chair: Jonathan Birch, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEbrain
Dialogues
Monday 2 February, 18.30 - 20.00
On Truth
Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE
Simon Blackburn, Professor of Philosophy, University of Cambridge, Pascal Engel, Professor of Modern and Contemporary Philosophy, University of Geneva
Chair: Peter Dennis, LSE Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEtruth
Ethics Matters
Monday 9 February, 18.30 - 20.00
On Informed Consent
New Theatre, East Building, LSE
Onora O’Neill, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Cambridge. She is also the current Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and a crossbench member of the House of Lords, Jonathan Wolff, Professor of Philosophy, University College London
Chair: Peter Dennis, LSE Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEethicsmatters
Thursday 5 March, 6.30 – 8pm
On Civil Disobedience
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE
Kimberley Brownlee, Associate Professor of Legal and Moral Philosophy, University of Warwick
Chair: Peter Dennis, LSE Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEcivildisobedience
Inaugural Lectures
This event is jointly organised with the European Institute, LSE
Tuesday 10 February, 18.30 - 20.00
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE
Simon Glendinning, Professor of European Philosophy, European Institute, LSE and Director of the Forum for European Philosophy.
hair: Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Philosophy, Royal Holloway, University of London and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow.
0 years ago Professor Glendinning gave an inaugural lecture arguing for the abolition of inaugural lectures. His failure allows his son to return to this theme. This lecture will explore whether philosophy’s distinctive and historic relation to something like an inaugural public pledge to speak publicly points towards a conception of the professor in general as someone who, working in the university, demands that such work not be exclusively enclosed within it.
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEinaugural
Philosophy@LSE
Tuesday 13 January, 18.30 - 20.00
What Is Rationality, Anyway?
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE
Peter Dennis, LSE Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow
Chair: Jonathan Birch, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSErationality
LSE Space for Thought Literary Festival: Foundations
Monday 23 - Saturday 28 February 2015
LSE’s 7th Literary Festival will explore the foundations of knowledge, society, identity and literature, as well as those of LSE itself in our 120th year. We are reflecting on some of the important anniversaries taking place this year, whilst also celebrating an idea at the heart of LSE, encapsulated in our motto, 'to understand the causes of things'.
Full details, including ticket information online at www.lse.ac.uk/spaceforthought
Wednesday 25 February, 11am - 12.30pm
The Soul of the Marionette: a short inquiry into human freedom
Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE
John Gray, Emeritus Professor of European Thought, LSE. His books include False Dawn, Straw Dogs and The Silence of Animals
Chair: Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Philosophy, Royal Holloway, University of London and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSElitfest
Saturday 28 February, 11am – 12.30pm
The Human Age? Art and Identity in the Anthropocene
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE
Gaia Vince, writer and journalist. She is the author of Adventures in the Anthropocene, Sarah Wood, Senior Lecturer in English and American Literature, University of Kent, Kathryn Yusoff, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, Queen Mary, University of London
Chair: Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Philosophy, Royal Holloway, University of London and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSElitfest
Saturday 28 February, 17.00 - 18.30
Is there Life in the ‘Novel of Ideas’?
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE
Peter Boxall, Professor of English, University of Sussex, Jennie Erdal, writer. She is the author of Ghosting and The Missing Shade of Blue: A Philosophical Adventure, Andrew O’Hagan, novelist and writer. His books include The Missing, Our Fathers,Personality and The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, and of his friend Marilyn Monroe
Chair: Michael Caines, writer and an editor on the TLS
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSElitfest
Ticket Information
All events in the Festival are free to attend and open to all. E-tickets will be available to book online after 10am on Tuesday 3 February via LSE E-Shop.
For any queries see LSE Events FAQ or email events@lse.ac.uk or call 0207 955 6043
Thinking in Public
Reconnecting Europe: bridging the gap between European citizens and European institutions
This event is jointly organised with the Evens Foundation and the European Institute, LSE
Wednesday 11 March, 13.45 - 20.00
Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE
Welcome Address
13.45 - 14.00 Joaquín Almunia, Ex-Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner responsible for competition
Disintegrating Europe: Nationalism, Regionalism and Globalization
14.00 - 15.30
Scoping Introduction: John Breuilly, Professor of Nationalism and Ethnicity, LSE
Guest Speaker: Kalypso Nicolaïdis, Professor of International Relations and Director of the European Studies Centre, University of Oxford
At the level of both the member states and the EU as a whole there are social forces pulling in opposite directions (both local and global), putting tremendous pressure on existing political institutions. This session will explore the cultural and political conditions prevailing in Europe today.
Refreshments in the Atrium of Sheikh Zayed Theatre
15.30 - 16.00
Political Economy of European Union
16.00 - 17.30
Scoping Introduction: Bob Hancké, Associate Professor of Political Economy, European Institute, LSE
Guest Speaker: David Soskice, Professor of Political Science and Economics, LSE
Can Europe’s member states sustain the European Social Model? In this session we will explore how economic innovations promoted by the EU (the Euro, Banking Union, debt sharing) as well as global ‘neoliberal’ market developments are changing the European political-economy.
Reception in the Atrium of Sheikh Zayed Theatre
17.30 - 18.30
European Politics and Government
18.30 - 20.00
Scoping Introduction: Mareike Kleine, Associate Professor of EU and International Politics, European Institute, LSE
Guest Speaker: Jonathan Holslag, Professor of International Politics, The Free University of Brussels
European politics has been dominated by the vexed question of the democratic deficit. Should Europe move towards greater political union? Should the European parliament become a proper European government? Or should we look for innovations at the national, regional, or even city level?
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEeurope
Michaelmas Term 2014
Consilience
In this series, a panel debates a topic with the aim of fostering interdisciplinary communication and mutual understanding. Emphasis will be placed on trying to identify common questions and on seeking to integrate knowledge from different areas of expertise.
Thursday 16th October 2014, 18.30 - 20.00
Rationality and Irrationality in Government
Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE
Cass Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor, Harvard Law School.
Chair: Tali Sharot, Director of the Affective Brain Lab and Reader in the Department of Experimental Psychology, UCL and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow.
Tuesday 21st October 2014, 18.30 - 20.00
Do We Need to Shake Up the Social Sciences?
Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE
Nicholas Christakis, Sol Goldman Family Professor of Social and Natural Science and Director of the Human Nature Lab, Yale University. He is also Co-Director of the Yale Institute for Network Science.
Patrick Dunleavy, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, LSE.
Amanda Goodall, Senior Lecturer, Department of Management, Cass Business School.
Andrew Oswald, Professor of Economics, University of Warwick.
Chair: Siobhan Benita, Chief Policy and Strategy Officer, Department of Economics, University of Warwick.
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEsocialsciences
Ethics Matters
Not so long ago academic discussions of ethical matters were confined to the logic of the language of morals and the meaning of ethical statements. Events in this strand will put contemporary thinking in ethics to the test, and explore its practical relevance
Thursday 13th November 2014, 18.30 – 20.00
Ethics Matters in the Family
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE
Adam Swift, Professor of Political Theory, University of Warwick.
Chair: Gabriel Wollner, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow.
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEfamily
Monday 1st December 2014, 18.30 - 20.00
Ethics Matters in Climate Change
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE..
John Broome, White’s Professor of Moral Philosophy and Fellow of Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford.
Chair: Gabriel Wollner, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow.
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEclimatechange
European Provocations
In this series we invite thinkers and scholars - thought provokers in their own right - to introduce a short text which has special significance to them.
Thursday 4th December 2014, 18.30 - 20.00
Accelerate Europe: the geographical imaginaries of accelerationism
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE
Benjamin Noys, Reader in English, University of Chichester.
Chair: Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Philosophy, Royal Holloway, University of London and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow.
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEaccelerationism
Thursday 11th December 2014, 18.30 – 20.00
Questions of Identity
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE
Vincent Descombes, Visiting Professor of French Literature, University of Chicago and Director of Studies, School for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences, Paris.
Alan Montefiore, Emeritus Fellow, Balliol College, University of Oxford and President of the Forum for European Philosophy.
Chair: Danielle Sands, Lecturer in Philosophy, Royal Holloway, University of London and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow.
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEidentity
Panel Discussions
Thursday 27th November 2014, 18.30 – 20.00
On Progress and Human Development
Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House, LSE
Paul Anand, Professor of Economics, The Open University.
Catherine Audard, Chair of the Forum for European Philosophy and Visiting Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE.
Jonathan Wolff, Professor of Philosophy, University College London.
Chair: Gabriel Wollner, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow.
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEprogress
Philosophy@LSE
The academic staff in Philosophy@LSE (comprising the Forum for European Philosophy, the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science as well as cognate faculty in various departments) will present aspects of their research that are of interest to a general audience. Students, alumni and the public at large are invited to these public talks and to participate in the discussion.
Tuesday 7th October 2014, 18.30 - 20.00
The Limits of Science
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE
Bryan Roberts, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow
Chair: Juliana Cardinale, Associate Director of the Forum for European Philosophy
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEscience
Tuesday 4th November 2014, 18.30 - 20.00
Food Policy: ethics for your kitchen and beyond
New Theatre, East Building, LSE
Luc Bovens, Professor of Philosophy, LSE
Elena Rivilla Lutterkort, Sustainability Officer, LSE
Duncan Williamson, Food Policy Manager, World Wildlife Fund
Chair: Joe Mazor, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method and Department of Government, LSE
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEfoodpolicy
Public Lectures
This event is jointly organised with the Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London
Wednesday 29th October 2014, 18.30 - 20.00
The Infrastructure of Democracy
Senate Room, first floor, Senate House, London WC1E 7HU
Philip Pettit, Laurance S. Rockefeller University Professor of Politics and Human Values, Princeton University and Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Australian National University
Chair: Gabriel Wollner, Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and Forum for European Philosophy Fellow