The Annual Debate

The Science and Philosophy of Self-Consciousness

November 16 2022, Sheikh Zayed Theatre, London

How can flesh and blood brains give rise to pains and pleasures, dreams and desires, sights and sounds? Some believe this ‘hard problem’ of consciousness can never be solved. Can we expect any breakthroughs as the science of the mind progresses?

The Royal Institute of Philosophy’s Annual Debate considers whether the problem of consciousness really is intractable. Our illustrious panel is neuroscientist Anil Seth, and philosophers Louise Anthony, Maja Spener and Philip Goff, with the BBC’s Ritual Shah chairing.

This event will be held at LSE's New Academic Building on November 16, 18:30. Tickets are free but required.

Past Debates

You can watch videos of past debates here.

2021: Carlo Rovelli, Eleanor Knox, Alex Rosenberg, and Ritula Shah, chair: Has Science Killed Philosophy?

2020: Alia Al-Saji, MM McCabe, Tom Kasulis, David Runciman, and Ritula Shah, chair, Can Old Philosophy Help Build Our New World?

2019: Tommy J. Curry, Onora O'Neill and Kathleen Stock, "What's the Point of Diversity?" with Ritula Shah chair.

2018: David Miller and Lea Ypi, "The Nation Is An Institution Which Has Outlived It's Usefulness"

2017: Sarah Churchwell, Bonnie Greer, and James Young, "In 2017, Cultural Appropriation is an Inappropriate Method for Writers"

2016: Jonathan Jones and Matthew Kieran, "The Proper Aim of Art is Aesthetic Excellence not Moral Efficacy"

2015: James Ladyman and Raymond Tallis, "Human Nature is Better Understood Through Science Than Through Philosophical and Artistic Reflection.'

Back to Events

Announcements

The 2022-3 London Lecture Series begins on October 7 and is on the theme Words and Worlds: New Directions in the Philosophy of Language. Tickets and info here.

On Mary Midgley's birthday, we're delighted to announce that a new collection of Midgley's writings in Philosophy and the Royal Institute of Philosophy supplements has been made free to access online by CUP.

The Royal Institute of Philosophy seeks an assistant to the editors of its journal Philosophy. Details and how to apply here.

The 2022 Annual London Lecture will be given by Linda Martin Alcoff on September 30th. The topic is 'The Return of Cultural Racism'. Details here.

We're happy to announce that the current edition of Philosophy is dedicated solely to the work of David Wiggins. More information here.

The topic for this year's Essay Prize has been announced. More details here.

The editors of Philosophy are delighted to announce the outcome of the 2021 Philosophy essay prize. More details here.

An announcement on the appointment of the Academic Director to the Royal Institute will be made shortly

The Royal Institute now has its own podcast! Thinking Hard and Slow brings you mind-expanding, long-form philosophy. Find it on Apple Podcasts.

Our London Lecture Series 2022 begins 7th October. Full details to follow shortly.

The Institute now welcomes applications for hosting philosophy events and conferences next academic year -- departments, postgrads and schools are invited to apply.

An announcement on the appointment of the new Managing Director for the Royal Institute will be made shortly.

We are very happy to announce a series of 30 short videos taking up topics in mind, ethics, epistemology and the philosophy of religion is coming your way. Keep an eye on @Riphilo for more. You can find them on our YouTube Page.

Getting to grips with philosophy at A-level? Check out our four guides -- to mind, God, ethics, and knowledge. All free to download here.

If your school would like to host a free ten-week philosophy course, get in touch now. Details here.

Looking for some philosophy videos this summer? Check out our YouTube Channel, where you'll find themed series of lectures, debates, and more.

Postgraduate funding update: we are contacting those we hope to offer Jacobsen studentships and RIP bursaries this week, 14 June. If you applied but do not hear from us, don't let that put you off -- please do apply again next year if you are eligible.

This year's Philosophy essay prize is now open, and the topic is 'Self and Society'. Read more here.

This year's lecture series on radical political ideas has now ended, but you can still watch all the talks on our YouTube page right here. There's a full list of speakers and topics here.

We are very happy to announce that Professor Sarah Sawyer has been elected Vice-Chair of the Council of the Royal Institute. Congratulations Professor Sawyer!

Next year's London Lectures will take up the expanding of philosophy's horizons. If you have suggestions for publications or research which might shed light on important areas, methods, questions, texts or people in philosophy that have been neglected in the English-speaking world, contact the Academic Director Julian Baggini with your ideas.

A bit of good news: the Royal Institute is calling for proposals for funding three kind of events in the next academic year. Departmental Public Philosophy Days, Postgraduate Conferences, and Schools Events. We'd like to help make your event happen. Please click on the links to make your application.

Online introductions to philosophy are starting Monday 25 January. Find out more and book a place here.

In response to lockdown and school closures, the Institute is ramping up its online philosophy teaching. We hope to bring philosophy to as many as 75 schools this year. Schools wishing to host a course can find more information here.

We are very happy to announce that Lucy O'Brien has been elected Chair of the Council of the Royal Institute. Many thanks to John Haldane, the outgoing Chair, for his huge contribution to the Institute's work over ten years. Best of luck Professor O'Brien!

11 December (NB: 1 pm), Joseph Chan and Brian Wong, 'Treating legal transgressions as a response to state injustice: towards a non-punitive approach'.

Book here

Watch live here

4 Dec 6.30, Catherine Rowett, A Universal Basic Income, part of the Institute's series on radical ideas. Further info and booking information here. Watch live here on the day.

27 November, 6.30 Jesse Norman MP, 'The Wisdom of Mentor'

Book here

Watch live here

Abstract: Modern society is beset by the problems of social division, loneliness and isolation. Drawing on Aristotle, Hobbes and Oakeshott, Jesse Norman analyses the philosophical roots of the idea of society, and argues for mentoring as a moral, social and economic solution.

Jesse Norman MP is Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and the author of recent biographies of Edmund Burke and Adam Smith.

The Annual Debate, 'Can Old Philosophy Help Build Our New World' TONIGHT 19 Nov, Watch this. Book here. Watch live here.

Myisha Charry this Friday on anti-racism training. Booking info here.

Tonight! Jo Wolff, 'No More Benefit Cheats' -- watch live here.

Update: no longer accepting expressions of interest -- we've had plenty.

We're looking for someone to help with the publicity for our events. Would suit a philosophy postgrad with a grip on digital marketing. Interested? Send an outline of your experience and hourly rate to James Garvey.

This Friday 13 Nov, Jonathan Wolff, 'No More Benefit Cheats', part of our series on radical new ideas.

Book here

Watch live here on the night

Heather Widdows, 'My Body, My Self?', 12 November, The 9th annual Ethical Challenges Lecture. Part of the University of Southampton School of Humanities annual series of lectures. Register here.

Very happy to announce that Dale Jamieson will give this year's RIP/RSE Annual Lecture, 'The Misunderstood Risks of Climate Change' on 16 November. More info here.

Here's more on the London Annual Lecture, to be given by Patricia Churchand on 5 November, from Julian Baggini. Full details and booking information here.

UWTSD’s Lampeter branch of the Royal Institute of Philosophy has announced its 2020-21 lecture series programme. Details here.

Book a place for Patricia Churchland's online Annual Lecture, 'Good Natured' right here.

The London Lecture Series starts this Friday! Book a place for the live discussion or watch it here:

Delighted to announce that Havi Carel will give the RIP/Cardiff Annual Lecture on 'Phenomenology of Social Distancing'. Tuesday 3rd November at 8pm More information here.

We're pleased to announce this year's London Lecture series, 'A Philosophers' Manifesto'. Full details here.

The Institute offers a free intro philosophy course in London on Mondays during term, and this year we're going to try it via Zoom -- many thanks to our tutor Nadine Elzein for stepping up. It's 10 sessions; spaces are limited. Further details here.

The Philosophy Prize Essay Competition deadline has been extended to 1 November 2020. Details here.

We've now been in touch with everyone on the shortlist to receive postgraduate funding for next year, so if you haven't heard from us yet, I'm afraid your application was not successful this time. Please don't let that put you off -- there was a lot of competition.

Subscribe now to receive the next issue of Philosophy-- £25, £10 unwaged for four issues. About the journal. Here's how to subscribe.

Delighted to announce that Patricia Churchland will give the 2020 London Annual Lecture on 5 November. Her talk is called, 'Good Natured: Mammalian genes and the origin of morality'.

We're happy to announce that the Institute will support two upcoming postgraduate conferences. 'In Search of Zär’a Ya‛ǝqob' will be held at Oxford and 'Micro-Progressions: Picking up the Voices of Others' will be hosted by the University of Durham. Congratulations to the organisers and we hope you have very productive events.

The Institute is looking for an experienced videographer to work remotely on our events. There are details here.

Good news: the press has resumed printing, and the April issue of Philosophy is now going out to all subscribers. Apologies for the delay.

We're making more than 50 articles from Philosophy and Think available to read for free -- this week some history with Copleston, Annas, Sorabji, Glendinning, Latham and Putnam. Go here to browse the collection.

We're making more than 50 articles from Philosophy and Think free to read for those homeschooling, stuck in lock down, or just unable to get to an open library. This week Lucas, Lewis, Hacker, Boden, Steward and Stout on mind, freedom, consciousness and action.

A book celebrating the work of Anscombe, Foot, Midgley, and Murdoch, the 2019 London lectures, is available here. You can watch most of the talks on our Youtube page. Here's the editor's preface, which gives a good overview of the topics and approach. Many thanks to the contributors for a great series and a fascinating volume.

We're making more than 50 articles from Philosophy and Think free to read for those homeschooling or stuck in lockdown. This week, Ryle, Lowe, Parfit, Fine, Law and Hyman.

Homeschooling? Have a bit more time in your armchair? The Royal Institute is making a large number of articles from Philosophy and Think available to read for free. Arranged by theme and selected by the editors, we'll put new essays up from time to time, so keep an eye out for word on @RIPhilo.

Subscribers to Philosophy and Think: the press has postponed the publishing of journals, but they say by 15 May they will email subscribers with instructions for getting online access. The print versions will appear when the presses are running again.

This year's prize essay competition is open, and the topic is 'Knowledge, Truth and Power in an Online World'. You can find details here.

We're very happy to say that Clare Carlisle's A-level teaching guide to the metaphysics of God is now freely available. You can find all our teaching guides here.

The Royal Institute now welcomes applications for Jacbosen Studentships and Royal Institute of Philosophy Bursaries for work towards higher degrees in philosophy in 2020/2021. Full details here.

We're working with the Philosophy Foundation to deliver more free online philosophy courses for 15 - 18 year olds. Find out more here.

Happy to say that we are moving our Jacobsen philosophy courses for students in schools online -- 250 students are taking part right now. Keep an eye here for announcements if you'd like to take part.

In a spirit of optimism, we now welcome applications for departmental event funding, postgraduate conference funding, and school event funding. The deadline for all is 1 June.

Our series of talks in London has now ended, and as we all move ourselves into online interactions, we'll announce new plans on Twitter. Keep an eye on @RIPhilo and join our mailing list on the bottom left of this page, so you don't miss anything. Keep well.

Hugo Mercier's talk on 13 March has been cancelled. The speaker sends his apologies, but the evolving public health situation have made it impossible for him to attend. We hope to reschedule when we can.

The Royal Institute of Philosophy Annual Conference 2020 will be held in at the University of Liverpool: 'Meaning in Life and the Knowledge of Death'. Full details here.

There are Friday talks coming up in February by Sanford C Goldberg, Peter Adamson and Lani Watson. Full details here.

The editors of Philosophy are delighted to announce the outcome of the 2019 essay prize. The winning entry is Georgi Gardiner's 'Profiling and Proof: Are Statistics Safe?'. Details here.

And we're back with the first event of 2020. Jennifer Lackey on the role that confessions play in the US criminal justice system. All welcome, tickets here, 5.45 Friday 17 Jan at Foyles on Charing Cross.

Congratulations to the new editors of the Royal Institute's journal Philosophy, Maria Alvarez and Bill Brewer, on the publication of their first issue! Many important changes are underway. Have a look at their first editorial.

Miranda Fricker on ‘Being Believed’, 5.45pm, 6 December in Foyles Charing Cross, the last talk of the year in our series on the social dimension of knowledge. Reserve your free place here.

The Annual Debate, "What's the Point of Diversity?', 21 November at 6.30, Beverage Hall. Details here.

Philip Pettit will give the Annual Lecture, 'My Three Selves' on 25 October at 6 pm in The Old Theatre, LSE. Details here.

Susan Neiman will give the the 2019 Royal Institute of Philosophy / Royal Society of Edinburgh Lecture. The topic is "Justice and History". Details and tickets here.