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Philosophy and Public Affairs

Summary of the impact

St Andrews philosophers have brought their expertise into dialogue with professionals and members of the wider public, on matters of current concern. The impact has been created in three domains:

  • Impact on professional practice (Haldane's research on values, practical reasoning and punishment helps healthcare professionals make difficult decisions, and helps judges reflect upon ethical dilemmas);
  • Impact on Christian organisations and institutions (Haldane's research on the role of religion in education and in public life influences educators, campaigners, and policy-makers);
  • Impact on public debate about environmentalism and climate change (Mulgan's work on future generations and Scruton's research on environmental conservatism have played significant roles in public debate, in part mediated by Mulgan's introductory writings).

Submitting Institution

University of St Andrews

Unit of Assessment

Philosophy

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
Philosophy and Religious Studies: Philosophy

Philosophy in the City: Inspiring the next generation

Summary of the impact

Through our very successful schools outreach programme, Philosophy in the City, several members of staff have brought their research ideas to school students and teachers, with considerable influence both on the students themselves and on the way in which philosophy is taught and thought of within those schools. This activity has formed an important part of our civic engagement with Sheffield and its region, in enabling our research work to be understood beyond the academy, while drawing school pupils into the subject and influencing their attitude both to the issues we deal with and to higher education more generally.

Submitting Institution

University of Sheffield

Unit of Assessment

Philosophy

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Philosophy and Religious Studies: Philosophy

Context, Embodiment and Online Surrogacy: the Impact of 4E Cognition Research on the Ontario SmartData Initiative

Summary of the impact

Wheeler's internationally influential research on 4E (embodied-embedded-extended-enactive) cognition has played a formative role in the genesis and development of SmartData, an innovative public-policy-realizing project spearheaded by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC). IPC is an agent of the Ontario legislature that acts to uphold and promote the protection of personal privacy. The goal of SmartData is to enhance personal data privacy on the Web, by developing Internet-based agents that act as online surrogates for individuals, securely storing and intelligently disclosing personal information as required. The identified research has influenced the content and implementation of SmartData, by contributing to (i) the IPC's understanding of the link between privacy and context-sensitivity, (ii) the principles shaping the design of the online agents, and (iii) the specification of the first `proof-of-concept' SmartData product, an under-development mobile phone book ordering application.

Submitting Institution

University of Stirling

Unit of Assessment

Philosophy

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology, Cognitive Sciences
Philosophy and Religious Studies: Philosophy

Neuroscience, Free Will, Moral Responsibility, and the Church of Scotland

Summary of the impact

Vierkant has produced a distinctive body of work that explores the implications of contemporary neuroscience for the notions of free will and moral responsibility. As a result of this research, he was invited by the Church of Scotland to participate in their Society, Religion and Technology working group, which had, as part of its remit, the role of producing the Church's official position on these issues. Vierkant played a key role in formulating the group's recommendations in this regard, which in 2012 were put before the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. These recommendations were approved and have now become part of the `Blue Book' that contains the official laws and policies of the Church of Scotland. In particular, the Church changed its official stance on the implications of contemporary neuroscience with regard to free will and moral responsibility as a direct result of Vierkant's research-led recommendations in the working group report. Vierkant's research has thus led to a demonstrable and significant impact on the policy making of an important non-academic public body.

Submitting Institution

University of Edinburgh

Unit of Assessment

Philosophy

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology
Philosophy and Religious Studies: Applied Ethics, Philosophy

Spinoza Research Network

Summary of the impact

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.

Submitting Institution

University of Dundee

Unit of Assessment

Philosophy

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Literary Studies
Philosophy and Religious Studies: Philosophy

Morality, Humanity and Narrative – the Impact of Rai Gaita’s Work

Summary of the impact

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.

Submitting Institution

King's College London

Unit of Assessment

Philosophy

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Literary Studies
Philosophy and Religious Studies: History and Philosophy of Specific Fields, Philosophy

From Attitudes to Practices: new Approaches to Climate Change Policy

Summary of the impact

For the last two decades, sociologists at Lancaster have demonstrated the centrality of social organisation and practice for climate change policy. This case study focuses on the impact of Elizabeth Shove's research in particular. Shove's work challenges the prevailing emphasis on individual attitudes and behaviours and shows that the consumption of energy, water and other natural resources is an outcome of shared social practices. Through innovative forms of interaction and collaboration ("working parties"; exhibitions, etc.) Shove has inspired organisations such as WWF, the Environment Agency, DECC, DCLG, DEFRA, the Scottish Government and the International Energy Agency to take social practices seriously as topics of policy, planning and intervention. Individual behavioural models are no longer the only point of reference in policy design.

Submitting Institution

Lancaster University

Unit of Assessment

Sociology

Summary Impact Type

Environmental

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Education: Specialist Studies In Education
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

Promoting Philosophical Literacy in Pedagogy and Public Health

Summary of the impact

The impacts of Hutchinson's and Crome's separate, yet closely interlinked bodies of research emerge from their shared commitment to the value of philosophical literacy. They have both argued that professional practice across the domains of Education and Public Health is subject to the effects of cognitive and conceptual frames, which Philosophy can help to identify, appraise and improve. Crome follows this strategic path in his work on pedagogy, which seeks to highlight the theoretical assumptions that support key elements of current teaching and learning policy. Hutchinson is pursuing a collaborative partnership with Public Health professionals concerning the correlation of shame, stigma and sexually transmitted infection (STI), for which Hutchinson's work on shame provides part of the conceptual and methodological rationale. The end users and beneficiaries of their shared promotion of philosophical literacy are professionals and patients in the healthcare sector and teachers and their students in education.

Submitting Institution

Manchester Metropolitan University

Unit of Assessment

Philosophy

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Education: Curriculum and Pedagogy, Specialist Studies In Education

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