Department of Philosophy
5th Floor
Arts Building
Trinity College
Dublin 2
Ireland
Email: ucmpbell@tcd.ie
Tel: (01) 896 1529
Philosophy Department News
Chair of Philosophy, Professor Peter Simons awarded Honorary Doctorate
The Department of Philosophy is pleased to announce that Professor Peter Simons is being awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Bolton.
Professor Simons taught philosophy to full–time and part–time humanities students at the then Bolton Institute of Technology from 1977–80. He was later External Examiner for Philosophy there and supported the Institute's advancement to University status.
Congratulations to the five Trinity philosophy students elected to Foundation Scholarships in 2012:
Jack Gleeson – Philosophy and World Religions and Theology
Jolyon Lloyd–Davies – Philosophy, Political Science, Economics and Sociology
Myles McCormick – Philosophy, Political Science, Economics and Sociology
Matthew O'Dowd – Philosophy and Psychology
Ashika Singh – Single Honours Philosophy
2011 Undergraduate Awards of Ireland and Northern Ireland
Congratulations to Trinity Philosophy graduate Jeremy Kingsley who was winner in the Philosophical Studies section of the Undergraduate Awards of Ireland and Northern Ireland 2011 with an essay entitled "Truthmakers and Future Contingents." The essay has been published in Volume 3 of the award's journal.
Inaugural Conference of the Irish Phenomenological Circle
Nature, Freedom and History – Merleau–Ponty after 50 years
The Department of Philosophy at Trinity College Dublin in conjunction with the Irish Phenomenological Circle hosted the inaugrual conference of the Irish Phenomenological Circle. The conference was held June 22–24, 2011 at Newman House, St. Stephen's Green, Dublin, and featured an internationally renowned group of speakers. For more information please click here.
Turbayne International Berkeley Prize Competition
The Department of Philosophy congratulates Dr. Stefan Storrie on winning the prestigious Colin and Ailsa Turbayne International Berkeley Essay Prize Competition (University of Rochester, USA). The title of Dr. Storrie's winning essay was "Berkeley's apparent Cartesiansim in De Motu".
The Consolations of Philosophy: Reflections on an Economic Downturn, Columba Press, Dublin 2011
The Department of Philosophy is delighted to announce the publication of a new book written by members of the department and edited by Dr. Paul O'Grady. The book emerged from an extra–mural course where lecturers presented different philosophical perspectives on the current economic crisis. The introduction establishes the contribution philosophy is capable of making in contemporary Irish society, noting that philosophy thrives in circumstances where old certainties are jettisoned. Various topics such as religious belief, atheism, consumerism, Buddhism, Pragmatism, art, the thought of Kant, Plato and the Stoics and the very value of consolation itself are discussed.
The motivation of the book is to make philosophy accessible and to let its relevance to contemporary life be seen. All the contributors have taught at TCD and present a vivid cross section of the diversity and richness of contemporary philosophical thought. As the country debates the kinds of policies which ought to shape our collective future, these essays present reflections on fundamental values, making sense of questions about meaning, knowledge and human purpose. The very diversity of contribution shows the wealth of resources available in the philosophical tradition to address these questions, a wealth invaluable for creating a genuinely pluralistic society.
Paul O'Grady, the editor, is a lecturer in Philosophy and Fellow of TCD.