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Rai Gaita's work brings a distinctive conception of good and evil to bear on a range of central and abiding moral questions. His work has shaped and changed the understanding of core moral and political issues by the general public in Australia and in other countries, and it has influenced the attitudes of policy makers and lawyers. Some of his books are on the reading list for the Higher School Certificate in Australia and have therefore had an immediate impact on the moral sensitivities of young Australians.
Not many contemporary moral philosophers have had such impact beyond the academic sphere. Why and how has Gaita achieved this impact? While academic philosophers tend to present their ideas in more technical form, Gaita's work crosses the boundaries between philosophical inquiry and literature. He brings philosophical issues to life by using the narrative form. For instance, his book Romulus, My Father, which uses biography to meditate on the human condition, has reached and influenced vast numbers of people. It was adapted into a film of the same title internationally released in 2007 and 2008. The inextricable connection between form and content in Gaita's work enables non-philosophical audiences to engage with, and respond to, his moral philosophy. In addition, his work has made a substantial contribution to the publishing and creative industries through the outstanding success of his books and related outputs.
The Spinoza Research Network (SRN) contributed to public discourse through online presence, public lectures and radio interviews, with impact through increased understanding and awareness, and changes in behaviour. The project had impact on cultural life through engagement with artists and impact on their practice. The SRN was a 2-year AHRC-funded project for researchers in multiple disciplines working on Spinoza with non-academics. In 2008-10 SRN gained 200 members from over 16 countries. Membership is currently around 250. The outputs were an interactive website, two conferences, and an edited book, public speaking, a Facebook group, a reading group, and two radio interviews.
The published research of University of St Andrews philosophers has been used to inform, support, and develop the work of teachers of philosophy in primary and secondary education, principally within Scotland where the teaching of philosophy has doubled in the last 10 years [S7]. There are two elements to the impact.
(1) Colleagues' world-leading research into philosophical topics and authors covered by school syllabi has been made accessible to secondary-school teachers and their pupils, via `introductory' publications, via events and personal contacts in St Andrews and in schools, and via a formal programme of continuing professional development. To date, teachers from one-third of all Scottish centres (schools/colleges) delivering Philosophy Higher have received accredited philosophy training via this St Andrews programme — this is significant insofar as it is not currently possible for teachers to complete a course of Initial Teacher Education in Philosophy in Scotland, meaning teachers must gain philosophy training and support elsewhere.
(2) Berys Gaut's novel philosophical work on creativity has had an impact on the teaching of philosophy to very young children, mediated both through a book for teachers co-authored by Gaut with a nursery-school teacher, and by events and personal contacts as detailed below. Both elements of impact have been coordinated by Dr Lisa Jones, under the auspices of a philosophy-in-schools programme (POPS) [see http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/philosophy/pops/].
Labour Left, the Labour Party Think Tank, is a grassroots organisation developing new public discourses that aim to move Labour towards an ethical socialist position. Professor Beverley Clack works with Labour Left to provide intellectual support for developing Labour Party policy. Her research, which focuses on a common wellbeing, has been used to inform debate in the party around notions of ethical socialism as the basis for policy. She has contributed to public events, including two fringe events at the Labour Party Conferences of 2011 and 2012, collaborated with Mags Waterhouse in producing a blog for the Huffington Post, and contributed a chapter to The Red Book on the theme of ethical socialism.
This case study demonstrates the impact of research on Philosophical Dialogue and Rhetoric in the context of the marketisation of Higher Education. In this context, impact was (and is) created through the facilitation of Socratic dialogues, and the dissemination of reflections on the pedagogical nature of these dialogues against the increasing marketisation of Higher Education. This case study aims to show a change in awareness, attitude and understanding of individual participants, especially a (philosophical) revaluation of their own experience. It also aims to change the pedagogical attitudes and practices of participating teachers and lecturers.
Impact arises from two books that have helped reshape and give new focus to the teaching of philosophy of art and, in particular, the philosophy of literature by giving wide acceptance to analytic methods and producing an alternative paradigm to previously dominant `continental' approaches to philosophy of literature and critical theory. The beneficiaries of this research were Higher Education Institutions involved in the teaching of literature, critical theory and philosophy. The books are having a significant impact on the way both these subjects are taught and conceived.
Researchers in the history of philosophy at the University of St Andrews have brought their findings into public discourse both within Scotland and beyond. St Andrews philosophers have particular expertise in the tradition of Scottish philosophy, and in finding a place for that tradition in the Scotland of today. They also show the continuing vitality and relevance of the thought of major figures from beyond Scotland, such as Thomas Aquinas and Immanuel Kant. Through media outlets, continuing discussions with audiences outwith the academic world, and relationships with contemporary artists, philosophers at St Andrews are involved in on-going conversation with the larger community about what the philosophical tradition has to offer us in today's world.
In recent years, few institutions have contributed more intensively than Southampton to the wider appreciation of two of the 19th Century's most influential thinkers, Arthur Schopenhauer and Friedrich Nietzsche. By way of a determined campaign of public engagement, we have shared our research on Schopenhauer and Nietzsche with over three million members of several different publics. This has resulted in genuine cultural enrichment: our interlocutors have encountered new approaches to topics that they find intrinsically compelling, and have been prompted to think and feel differently about issues that are — or that have come to be — of real significance for them.
The impact was on practitioners in art and education who used research on sexuate difference in their practices. Sexuate differences are bodily, social and cultural differences around gender that are not strictly based on sexual difference; for instance, they can be cultural differences around pregnancy. The research raised awareness of the significance of gender in contemporary cultural production and the development of educational practices. Three conferences and a network website generated dialogue, new works and novel ways of thinking about gender across artistic and educational communities. Public space for art works was made available through a website and public events.
This case study focuses upon the translation of academic research into the improved school teaching of philosophy. Since 2003, the Department has run an annual one-day national conference, free of charge, alternating between sixth-form teachers and pupils. The impact of these has been: