Forum Panels

As part of the Fellowship, Laura Cull Ó Maoilearca collaborated with Sarah Fine and the Forum for European Philosophy - an educational charity championing public philosophy - to curate 2 public panel events connected to the themes of the project in 2020 and 2021.

Empathy

November 3, 2020

with Laura Cull Ó Maoilearca, Nadina El-Enany & Danielle Sands

In an age of stark political division and inequality, kindness seems a rare commodity and the failings in our social, moral, and political life are often thought to stem from a lack of empathy. For others, empathy leads to biased decision-making and distracts us from addressing society’s structural problems. But what is empathy? What are its limits? Can there be empathy between humans and other animals? Can our societal and political problems be alleviated without it, or is an ethical life impossible without empathy? We explore the nature of empathy.

Grief

November 15, 2021

with Will Daddario, Priya Jay & Michael Cholby

Grief is something we all experience in our lifetimes, but how well do we understand it? Can we grieve well? Is mourning for public figures very different to the grief we feel after the death of friends and family? What is it like to grieve in the midst of something like a pandemic, where so many lives are touched by tragedy? And what have we learned about grieving though this pandemic, where death is both very publicly discussed but also hidden by the demands of social distancing? We explore the nature of grief and grieving.

The panels were part of the Forum’s events series - due to be held live at LSE in central London, but then moved online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The events were free, open to all, and made available as podcasts and on YouTube.

These build on a previous Forum panel on Dance collaboratively organized by Forum Fellow, Sarah Fine and Laura Cull Ó Maoilearca held in November 2018.

Listen to the podcast here.

About the Forum

Founded in 1996, the Forum for Philosophy is a non-profit organization that has gained widespread recognition for its work as initiator and sponsor of engaging and thoughtful events that facilitate wider participation in academic philosophy. Our full and varied programme showcases the work of contemporary academic philosophers from all philosophical traditions, often in conversation with each other and with academics from other disciplines, while studiously avoiding academic papers.

Events are always open to everyone, free to attend, and usually do not require registration. We also produce podcasts and our website hosts an ever-growing archive of philosophical discussion. Finally, we also publish essays, also available via our website, written by contemporary philosophers on a wide variety of topics. In all of our activities, we promote thought-provoking discussion of science, art, and politics from a philosophical perspective.

For more information: blogs.lse.ac.uk/theforum