Skip to main content

Keynote Speakers

Helen Frowe Helen Frowe

Professor of Practical Philosophy, University of Stockholm

Director, Stockholm Centre for the Ethics of War and Peace

Honorary Chair, Society for Applied Philosophy

 

Keynote Speech: "Systematic Deception as Covert Control"

The revelation that undercover police officers engaged in long-term intimate relationships has met with widespread outcry, triggering a public inquiry and substantial compensation payments from the Metropolitan Police. But whilst the involvement of state actors might make these cases especially egregious, such systematically deceptive relationships are far from the exclusive domain of ‘spy cops’. In this talk, I argue that both state-sanctioned and private deceptive relationships involve the wrongful control of their victims. The law should treat these relationships as falling under the existing coercive control legislation.

Clare ChambersClare Chambers

Professor of Political Philosophy, University of Cambridge

Fellow, Dean of College, Director of Studies in Philosophy

Co-Editor-in-Chief Res Publica

 

Keynote Speech: "Should Liberals Oppose Trends?"

Are your jeans skinny fit, boot cut, or wide leg? Which TikTok dance routines do you know? What happened to Tamagotchi, Pokémon, fidget spinners, and loom bands? Does your tween daughter lust after expensive anti-ageing skincare? 

Many of us follow trends, whether in matters of aesthetics, hobbies, or even philosophical theories. Do we autonomously choose to follow trends, or do trends undermine our autonomy? On the one hand, trends are often things we follow consciously and deliberately, cultivating our trend-following in the manner of an expensive taste. Being trendy might, then, simply be a conception of the good. On the other hand, various features of trends suggest that they are non-autonomous. A trend is something we want or do just because others are doing it too – somewhat like Mill’s despotism of custom. We may not be able to give any rational reasons for favouring a trend, and it is likely that we will disfavour it in the near future when it is no longer trendy, making trend-following appear irrational and non-autonomous – somewhat like adaptive preferences. Advertisers and influencers try to persuade us to follow trends, even making truth-adjacent claims in support of the products they sell – somewhat like manipulation. This paper explores trends in the light of existing liberal theories of autonomy and shows that none of them quite capture trend-following. In their place, I gesture towards a liberal theory of trends.

Elseljin Kingma

Elselijn Kingma

Sowerby Professor of Philosophy and Medicine, Kings College London

Keynote Speech: "Taking Pregnancy Seriously in Ethics"

Abstract TBC