Socially engaged philosophy

Studying philosophy often evokes images of ivory tower contemplation – scholars grappling with 'big questions' about the meaning of life, the nature of reality, and the foundations of knowledge.

Yet this perception risks casting philosophy as divorced from the practical concerns that shape our lives. At the end of the day, we have to get up and interact with people and the world, irrespective of whether we can know with certainty that they are real or not.

Philosophy at Cardiff rebuts this picture. Our work is firmly rooted in enriching our understanding of pressing ethical and social concerns: identifying and mitigating injustice and oppression, engaging critically with emerging digital technologies and artificial intelligence, addressing the complex relationships between morally questionable art and artists, developing frameworks for understanding suffering, grief, and loneliness, and establishing principles for ethical urban design.

This is philosophy that doesn't simply think about the world – it actively participates in it.

In her forthcoming book Depravity: the story of dangerous art Daisy Dixon tells the history of art from a unique philosophical angle, charting the most depraved art humanity has ever produced: paintings by dictators and paedophiles; novels inspiring murder; oppressive sculptures; ‘obscene’ music; and installations damaging the planet.

The book sets a new agenda in philosophical aesthetics, but also in political and legal domains by having implications for debates on freedom of expression, museum curation, and town planning policies.

Depravity will soon be published by Faber & Faber in the UK, and Viking Penguin in the US.

The team’s expertise in the philosophy of technology continues to expand, with an ever-increasing focus on AI. In recent work, Dr Sarah Fisher argues that AI-generated content should be clearly labelled, not least because Large Language Models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini tend to bullshit – producing convincing responses to our questions that have no regard for the truth.

Dr Lucy Osler focuses on the social dimension of algorithms and Companion AI and their potential role in shaping our emotional lives and sense of who we are.

Can animals grieve? In a recent interview with the BBC, Dr Becky Millar argues that they can. While grief has typically been treated as a uniquely human emotion, Dr Millar draws on empirical research on animal responses to death, to advocate recognising the possibility of non-human animals’ ability to experience grief.

Dr Anna Klieber co-organised a successful event with Dr Tareeq Jalloh (Manchester) and Prof Ethan Novak (Standford) on Folks need to Chill about Drill! Discussions on Freedom, Rap and Social Justice. Drill rap is one of the fastest growing genres within the UK music sector.

Despite its cultural and economic potential, police forces have banned drill performances, prevented artists from uploading videos or distributing music on the internet, and used lyrics as evidence against singers in court.

Artists, academics, and performers came together to discuss the injustices of how we police, silence, and interpret Drill, with a particular focus on how Drill artists are treated by the police and courts.

In his Welsh-language book Ysbryd Morgan, Dr Huw Williams foregrounds the rich intellectual history in Wales, focusing on radical figures such as Pelagius, Richard Price, and JR Jones. His book experiments with form, deploying imaginary dialogues, and reimagining Welsh-language philosophy.

This academic research has provided the foundation for a variety of contributions to the public sphere in Wales, including raising awareness of Welsh thinkers such as Richard Price and exploring the Welsh public sphere in The Welsh Way.

Currently working with the Cardiff Civic Society – who lobby Cardiff Council and the Welsh Government – Dr Panos Paris and Dr Daisy Dixon are helping promote the importance of beauty in urban planning.

‘Beauty in the City’ has been shaping public perception of urban beauty, with an aim to change planning policies towards beautiful design as a matter of justice.

Dr Mary Edwards’ recently co-edited a book of essays on Feminist philosophy and emerging technologies. In this, she wrote about how we should think about incel communities as a group. Dr Anneli Jefferson has also co-authored an article examining how our social environments shape the moral agency of incels.

Bringing Dr Patrick Hassan into the fold, the team are currently collaborating on a paper which explores the characteristic misogyny of incels in terms of the phenomenon of malice.

They draw upon a Schopenhauerian framework to give a new account of incel moral psychology that emphasises their own inner-suffering (e.g. feelings of inferiority, resentment, frustrated desire, etc) as intimately connected to their aim of humiliating women in absentia.