Dynamics of Delusion Seminar
During the Academic Year 2023-2024 St Hilda’s College hosted 7 seminars on developing different conceptions of delusional thinking. The seminars were a central part of Dr Parrott’s British Academy project on the Dynamics of Delusion. For each seminar, a invited guest speaker gave an introductory talks. The speakers were:
- Dr Matthew Parrott, St Hilda’s College
- Dr Martin Gillies, University of Oxford
- Professor Matthew Broome, University of Birmingham
- Dr Rick Adams, UCL
- Dr Joe Gough, University of Oxzford
- Dr Dan Williams, University of Sussex
- Dr Jessie Munton, University of Cambridge
Seminars were regularly attended by a group of between 12-18 people. These consisted of academics from a variety of different departments in Oxford, St Hilda’s students, and external visitors. Each seminar lasted for 2.5 hours and there was a small break for refreshments.
Overall, the series has been extremely successful. First, it has facilitated the establishment of a research cluster of people working on similar topics. The group regularly shares work in progress and communicates about events and activities. Second, the seminars have greatly helped Dr Parrott develop his view on delusional thinking, leading to an invitations to present his work at the University of Lisbon, Humboldt University in Berlin, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The seminar also helped Dr Parrott to co-author an article on delusion that is forthcoming in a Routledge Handbook and also author a shorter piece that will be published in The Raven.
Workshop on the Practical Self
On 9 May, St Hilda’s College hosted a workshop on a new book written by Professor Anil Gomes called The Practical Self. The workshop was attended by 40 people. It consisted of 4 commentaries on Gomes’s book followed by a reply from the author. The four speakers were:
- Professor Mike Martin, Oxford
- Professor Bill Brewer, KCL
- Dr Rory Madden, UCL
- Dr Lea Salje, Leeds
Each commentary lasted for about 30 minutes followed by discussion. The audience consisted of a number of Oxford philosophers and students, both from St Hilda’s and other colleges. Through Research Committee, we were able to provide refreshment and lunch.
The workshop received very positive feedback from everyone in attendance. The discussion was very high quality and the proceedings are going to be published as a book symposium in the prestigious European Journal of Philosophy.
