BPPA Annual Conference 2012: Call For Papers

The Sixteenth Annual Conference Of The British Postgraduate Philosophy Association & The BPPA Careers Day

3-6 September 2012
The University of Edinburgh, UK

For all enquiries, please email conference@bppa-online.org

Keynote Speakers

Sarah Broadie (Professor of Moral Philosophy & Wardlaw Professor, University of St. Andrews)
Brad Hooker (University of Reading)
Christopher Peacocke (UCL)
Duncan Pritchard (Chair of Epistemology, University of Edinburgh & Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh)

Careers Day Speakers

Michael Brady (University of Glasgow)
Guy Fletcher (University of Edinburgh)
Katherine Hawley (University of St. Andrews)
Jesper Kallestrup (University of Edinburgh)
Mike Ridge (University of Edinburgh)
Alasdair Richmond (University of Edinburgh)
Paul Snowdon (UCL)
Dave Ward (University of Edinburgh)
Plus more TBC.

The Postgraduate Conference

Now in its sixteenth successive year, the annual conference of the British Postgraduate Philosophy Association (BPPA) is the largest, most prestigious and longest running graduate philosophy conference in the United Kingdom. This year’s conference is to be held at the University of Edinburgh from 3 - 6 September.

The BPPA Careers Day

Following the success of last year's inaugural BPPA Careers Day, the BPPA Careers day returns for a second time. The Careers Day is a full day of talks and symposia given by leading academics on topics related to careers in philosophy.

Submission Guidelines

We welcome papers in all areas and traditions of philosophy, from graduate students all over the world. Authors of papers who make it to the final stage of reviewing but are not accepted will be given the opportunity to respond to accepted papers at the conference. The deadline for paper submissions is 6th June 2012. Decisions on whether papers have been accepted will be made by mid-July.

• Word limit: 3,000 words (including footnotes, but excluding reference bibliography).
• Papers should be prepared for blind review.
• Please submit papers as Microsoft Word documents by email to conference@bppa-online.org.
• Please put ‘Conference Paper Submission’ as the subject of your email.
• Please include in a separate document a cover sheet containing your name, departmental affiliation, email address, contact telephone number and the title of your paper.
• Submission deadline: 6th June 2012.

For all enquiries please email conference@bppa-online.org.

We would like to acknowledge kind and generous support from our sponsors:

• The Analysis Trust
• The Scots Philosophical Association
• The Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies (PRS)
• The University of Edinburgh Department of Philosophy
• The University of Edinburgh School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences

Conference Committee

• Cameron Boult (Secretary)
• Hasse Hamalainen (Treasurer)
• Sebastian Kohler (Funding Coordinator)
• Robin McKenna (Event Coordinator)
• Fotini Pantelides (Event Coordinator)
• Selina Sadat (Committee Chair & Funding Coordinator)
• Richard Stoeckle-Schobel (Funding Coordinator)
• Lauren Ware (Event Coordinator)
• Sam Wilkinson (Publicity & Advertising Coordinator)

This paper has two objectives. By addressing its principle concern, the secondary concern can be considered and taken up and partially resolved for my immediate purposes. Firstly, the essay demonstrates the gulf between the analytic and continental approaches to philosophy in general. This divide is made evident by exploring Michael Clark’s understanding of humour and incongruity in his 1970 essay of that title. This essay attracted responses from Roger Scruton and Michael W. Martin, each taking issue with Clark’s interpretation in a different way. These divergences each indicate a different mode of access to the topic of humour, and in this regard, I specify the ways in which they can be seen as distinctively ‘analytic’ or ‘continental’. Through examining Clark’s thesis and its attendant antitheses, we are able to identify the process by which these two approaches can be mutually beneficial for settling certain issues.

The full podcast of Shelley's paper is here: http://www.bppa-online.org/sites/bppa-online.org/files/symposium/humour.mp3

A pdf version of Shelley's paper is here: http://www.bppa-online.org/sites/bppa-online.org/files/symposium/humour.pdf

See the comments for Roxanna Lynch's response.

It is often claimed that it is part of the essence of propositions that they have their representational properties intrinsically. In this paper I sketch an account of the nature of propositions according to which this is not the case. I then show how the proponent of such a view can respond to two pressing objections.

The full podcast of Thomas's paper is here: http://www.bppa-online.org/sites/bppa-online.org/files/symposium/hodgson.mp3

A pdf version of Thomas's paper is here: http://www.bppa-online.org/sites/bppa-online.org/files/symposium/hodgson.pdf

See the comments for Scott Normand's response.

Findings from the burgeoning study of subjective well-being (SWB) are both interesting and important in terms of their relation to well-being simpliciter. For this reason, the study of SWB is beginning to attract the attention of the media, laypersons and public policy practitioners. However, the ways in which SWB findings are normatively important are controversial and unclear. This is not a good situation for the study of SWB; in order for such findings to be used effectively, the study of SWB needs a normative framework that most people can agree on.

In this paper, I show that attempts to find an essential relationship between SWB and well-being simpliciter have not as yet been successful (in terms of being generally accepted), but to pursue this debate may mask the areas in which there is general agreement. It may be more helpful (both to an eventually accepted theory and to laypersons and policymakers in the meantime) to start with uncontroversial relationships between SWB and well-being simpliciter. I outline three contingent significant relationships between SWB and well-being simpliciter, which all people can agree on. Together, these three relationships should form the normative framework for the study of subjective well-being.

The full podcast of Sam's paper is here: http://www.bppa-online.org/sites/bppa-online.org/files/symposium/swl-pod...

A pdf version of Sam's paper is here: http://www.bppa-online.org/sites/bppa-online.org/files/symposium/swl-Apr...

See the comments for Guy Fletcher's response

I'm glad to announce the beginning of the Spring 2012 BPA Podcast Symposium. The schedule for the podcast symposium is as follows:

April 5th:

Sam Wren-Lewis (University of Leeds), 'Towards a Normative Framework for the Study of Subjective Well-Being.'

Response: Dr Guy Fletcher (University of Edinburgh)

April 12th:

Thomas Hodgson (University of St Andrews), 'Propositions Need Not be Intrinsically Representational.'

Response: Scott Normand (University of Reading).

April 19th:

Shelley Campbell (University of Gloucestershire), 'If P, so why not Q? Philosophy of Humour in the two traditions.'

Response: Roxanna Lynch (Birkbeck College and University of Swansea)

April 26th:

Simona Aimar (University of Oxford), 'How to Account for Disposition Ascriptions.'

Response: Dr Barbara Vetter (Humboldt University of Berlin)

The British Postgraduate Philosophy Association invites applications to organize and host our Annual Conference and Careers Day in 2013.

The BPPA Annual Conference began in 1997 and will reach its 17th successive year in 2013. Our conference has the dual aim of showcasing the highest quality postgraduate work in philosophy and finding creative ways to meet the needs of current graduate students. Our current preferred format combines a traditional two day postgraduate philosophy conference with an entire day devoted to career preparation. To our knowledge, this is a combination offered by no other graduate philosophy conference in the world, and there is flexibility for further innovation in the format.

Organizing our conference is an opportunity to advertise your department, gain valuable wider experience of the philosophical world, and put your creativity to good use! We're confident that our organizers will find it a rewarding experience. Details of our most recent conference at the University of Reading in 2011 can be found on our website at http://www.bppa-online.org/bppc2011 . Our conference in 2012 will be hosted by the University of Edinburgh.

To apply to host and organize the conference in 2013, you will need to supply the following:

- A conference team of at least three people, and confirmation of your team's willingness to work with the BPPA Committee (our expectations are set out in our constitution here http://www.bppa-online.org/constitution - see section 15)

- A letter from your Head of Department acknowledging (i) your department's support for your application to host the conference, (ii) your department's full financial responsibility for the organization of the conference, if awarded, and (iii) confirmation of any conference funding which would be offered by your department in the event of a successful application.

- A proposed schedule and format for the conference, including the proposed dates and intended number of postgraduate and keynote speakers. Please note that the conference should take place within the period from June to September 2013.

- An estimated conference budget based on 60 participants (including postgraduate speakers) plus keynote speakers. The budget should detail in particular the likely costs for accommodation, meals, hire of conference facilities such as conference halls, and conference refreshments.

In addition, we would be delighted to hear why your department should host our conference and to hear your ideas for improvements to the format. We aim to provide an enjoyable and useful conference for all participants, and we welcome creative ideas on how best this can be achieved. The organizing team will have the full support of the BPPA committee, many of whom are previous organizers themselves, for all aspects of the conference.

Applications should be sent by email in any widely used electronic format (pdf, Open Office, MS Word and Excel, or even plain text!) to

events@bppa-online.org

The deadline for receipt of applications is 20th April 2012. We'll also be very happy to answer any informal questions sent to the same address.

The British Philosophical Association (BPA) is the professional association of philosophers in the UK. We encourage all postgrad philosophers to consider joining the BPA, especially as it costs just £8 per year for graduate students. You can find more information on the BPA website.

Membership of the BPA brings many benefits as explained on their website, including making possible the continued work of an organisation that effectively stands up for the interests of the profession, including the interests of junior academics.

NB The British Philosophical Association (BPA) and the British Postgraduate Philosophical Association (BPPA) are different organisations. Feel free to join us in a moment of Monty Pythonesque amusement!

27-28 April 2012

Institute of Philosophy (London)

The British Postgraduate Philosophy Association is pleased to announce the 10th instalment in its unique series of philosophy masterclasses, to be led by Prof. Timothy Williamson and cover the twin topics of modality and the a priori / a posteriori distinction.

The masterclass is an opportunity for a small group of research postgraduate students to study these topics over the course of two full days under the guidance of one of the leading experts on them.

Participants will have a passion for both topics of the masterclass. They will be expected to prepare by reading texts assigned by Prof. Williamson and to arrive full of questions and ideas from the reading and beyond.

To apply, please send (i) a brief description of your research and (ii) a cover letter explaining how you hope to benefit from attending. Please also have your supervisor send (iii) a letter explaining how you would contribute to and benefit from the masterclass. If you wish, you may also submit (iv) a writing sample on any topic. All materials should be sent to masterclass@bppa-online.org by March 1. Successful applicants will be notified by March 15.

Thanks to the generous support of the Institute of Philosophy and the Analysis Trust, we are able to cover meals and accommodation for all participants. Some travel bursaries may also be available, but participants are encouraged to seek funding from their departments.

Organisers: Simona Aimar (Oxford University) & Grant Reaber (Northern Institute of Philosophy, Aberdeen University)

The British Postgraduate Philosophy Association (BPPA) invites submissions to an online podcast symposium to be hosted on the BPPA website in Spring 2012. Each week a paper will be podcasted on the BPPA website (http://www.bppa-online.org/), a written response will be posted by a respondent in reply, and the thread will be opened for general questions and responses.

Submissions, which must be no longer than 4000 words and preferably shorter, should be sent to BPPA2012@googlemail.com by February 13th 2012 with the subject line: Podcast submission. Submissions should be prepared for blind review with a cover sheet specifying the author’s email address and institution.

Podcasts and papers will be posted weekly on the BPPA website from 26th March 2012. Participants are expected to record an mp3 file of themselves presenting the paper (a program such as audacity can be used for this purpose.) They are then expected to provide the BPPA with an mp3 of their presentation, a pdf of the paper, and an abstract of around 150 words by March 26th. The presentations should be at most 30 minutes long, extremely clear, and presentable to a general philosophical audience.

The aim of the podcast symposium is to provide an additional forum for postgraduate philosophers to discuss their research with one another at zero cost.