Centre for Aesthetic, Moral and Political Philosophy

Interdisciplinary research in aesthetic, moral and political philosophy.

The Centre for Aesthetic, Moral and Political Philosophy's core membership comprises staff and PGRs working on a broad range of issues across value theory. The centre currently has a core membership of 18 research active academic staff who have a significant research focus in CAMP areas and regularly participate in its activities.

The Director of the Centre is Dr Joseph Bowen.

Our research

The Centre for Aesthetic, Moral, and Political Philosophy (CAMP) supports and develops research of the highest quality in practical philosophy at large, with a particular emphasis on foundational questions about normativity, morality, aesthetics, and practical reason.

Topics of current research include:

the nature of normativity
analysis of normative and evaluative language and thought
explanation and justification in normative theory
moral and aesthetic knowledge and skepticism
moral psychology (especially blame, moral worth, moral luck)
moral, aesthetic, and epistemic virtue and vice
gender and gender identity
ethics of war and self-defence
distributive justice

CAMP has a supportive, lively and active research environment. The centre hosts a regular fortnightly research seminar where both its members and invited speakers present work in progress. Members often organise conferences and workshops on themes related to the centre’s research specialisms, as well as the occasional wine and cheese night and research retreat!

The centre is a basin of attraction for researchers far and wide. In addition to CAMP's core membership –comprising staff and PGRs working on a broad range of issues across value theory—it is common for visiting research fellows and staff specialising in other sub-disciplines to participate in the centre’s activities as well.

Inter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied Centre and Centre for Metaphysics and Mind

A close relationship is maintained with the Inter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied Centre (IDEA), particularly around areas of healthcare and environmental ethics, business and leadership ethics, and social and political philosophy. Many of our members work closely with Centre for Metaphysics and Mind (CMM) to foster areas of common interest, including the metaphysics of ethics and art, the analysis of normative language, human agency and its relation to morality, and the nature of moral, aesthetic, and epistemic values and virtues.

Our weekly research seminar

A weekly research seminar is held during term time, where members of the philosophy community at Leeds and visitors from both the UK and abroad present their work in progress. These seminars are open to all interested parties. In addition, CAMP organises regular workshops, sometimes in collaboration with other research centres in the School.

2024-25 Speaker series

Below is CAMP’s speaker series for the upcoming academic year. All talks take place in Botany House, 1.03, from 3-5 unless otherwise stated.

Date	Speaker
9th Oct	Romy Eskens (Utrecht)
23rd Oct	Tom Angier (Cape Town)
6th Nov	Joe Bowen
20th Nov	Rach Cosker-Rowland
27th Nov (4-5pm, room tbc.)	Nathan Barrett
4th Dec	Simone Gubler (Brown)
2025
29th Jan	Bart Smith-Johnson // Sam Summerfield
12th Feb	Carl Fox
26th Feb	With CLSR, Karamvir Chadha (Durham)
12th March	Gerald Lang
26th March	Johann Frick (Berkley)
7th May	Pekka Väyrynen
TBC May	Rahul Kumar (Queens)

Impact and engagement

Earlier work on reasons for action and moral psychology provides theoretical foundations for the work on good judgement, character and integrity done in IDEA.

Jointly this work is making a large impact on ethics in the workplace through consultancy, development of codes of professional conduct and ethics, and engaging professionals and practitioners in ethical reasoning and judgement.

Research by CAMP members on creativity and on art and morality has provided the basis for a wide range of impact activities, including public workshops and talks at places such as Tate Britain, the National Icelandic Visual Arts Awards and Miami Basel Arts Fair. Members have been interviewed in the popular media, have advised on the Channel 4 series Hidden Talent, acted as consultants to the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Broadcasting Standards Commission and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment.

Research by CAMP members on gender/gender identity have also yielded impact activities, such as the ‘Stories of Gender in West Yorkshire’ exhibition at Leeds City Museum, which was attended by over 400 people over two days.

Centre for Aesthetic, Moral and Political Philosophy