AS-Level students to tackle philosophy of morality at Birkbeck conference
Department of Philosophy hosts special conference and essay competition for Y12 pupils
Budding philosophers are being given the chance to engage with top scholars in the field at a Birkbeck-led conference and essay competition.
AS-Level pupils studying philosophy or ethics have been invited to attend a one-day conference on Tuesday 14 June at the Bloomsbury campus of London's only specialist provider of evening higher education. Additionally, the Y12 students have been extended the opportunity to enter an essay competition, to be judged by Birkbeck philosophers and research students.
Titled “Are There Moral Facts?”, the special one-day conference will feature a trio of presentations from leading figures within Birkbeck’s Department of Philosophy:
- Professor Hallvard Lillehammer, who will present the topic “Is Morality an Illusion?
- Professor Ken Gemes, “If God Is Dead, Is Everything Permitted?”
- Dr Cristian Constantinescu, “Moral Facts, Moral Schmacts”
The conference, which is free to attend, has been designed to share some of the department’s world-renowned research expertise with AS-Level Philosophy students and their teachers on topics connected with their syllabus. Each presentation will include time for questions and discussion.
Whether attending the conference or not, AS Philosophy students also have the chance to enter the essay competition. Similarly focusing on the question ‘Are There Moral Facts?’, the competition requires entrants to submit a 2,500 word essay by a deadline of Thursday 1 September. More information about the competition, including an especially created study guide, is available from the conference homepage. For those not attending the conference audio recordings of the presentations will be hosted online soon after June 14.
Professor Hallvard Lillehammer, Head of Birkbeck’s Philosophy Department, said: “In organising this conference, our intention was to share with students and with their teachers the results of recent research undertaken by philosophers at Birkbeck on topics relevant to the AS-Level Philosophy syllabus. We know that many students are fascinated by philosophy from their first encounter with it, and some may even contemplate studying the subject at university level, but without really knowing what to expect. So we also wanted to give students a taste of what lecture-based, university-style teaching is like.
“The essay competition complements this quite nicely: it’s designed as a project that students might undertake in the time between the end of AS exams and the end of the school year, or perhaps as a summer project for those who plan to progress to A2 Philosophy. Again, this should be a good way for students to get a taste of what might be expected of them in terms of writing essays at university.”
“Are There Moral Facts?”, a one-day conference for AS level philosophy students and their teachers, runs from 10am to 3.45pm on Tuesday 14 June at Birkbeck, University of London’s Malet Street Building, WC1E 7HX. Entries to the essay competition must be submitted by 1 September. Results will be announced by 16 September. Prizes include £100 for the winner, £50 for up to four highly commended entries, and a commendation for a further ten entries.
Information on all elements of the conference and essay competition are available from the conference homepage. The conference and competition are open to students from across the country, though attendees do need to make their own travel arrangements.
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