Daniel Davis

Profile

I am a PhD candidate working within The School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science and The InterInter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied Centre. My current research is focused on The Philosophy of Conservation and Environmental Ethics – in particular the value-ladeness of key normative concepts in conservation science such as ‘biodiversity’, ‘ecosystem health’ and ‘invasive species’ and what this may mean for their objectivity. I am also a part of the Leverhulme-funded Extinction Studies Doctoral Training Programme which has given me the opportunity to explore my reasearch, as well as broader issues associated with both the biological and cultural aspects of extinction, with colleagues and comrades across a multitude of disciplines. Over the course of my PhD so far I have tutored on the modules: ‘Great Philosophical Thinkers’, ‘How Science Works’ and ‘Philosophy of Technology’ in the Philosophy department, as well as the ‘Fieldwork and Ethics’ module for the school of Earth and Environment as part of the IDEA department.  

I completed my MA with distinction also at The University of Leeds in The School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science. I wrote my thesis on how different metaphors used in ecology give rise to differing conservation approaches; and also wrote an independent study on ‘the experimental turn’ in the Philosophy of Science. I received a first in my BA, also from The University of Leeds, where I wrote my dissertation on non-reductive physicalism and ‘the hard problem of consciousness’ in The Philosophy of Mind. 

Talks and presentations

• (2021) Earth(ly) Matters Conference – ‘To What Extent Should Conservationists Intervene in Nature’
• (2021) Extinction Studies Symposium – ‘Human/Nature Dualism and The Biological and Cultural Aspects of Extinction’
• (2016) MA Analytic Philosophy Module Presentation – ‘To What Extent Should Ontology Proceed Through An Analysis of Language’

Research interests

• philosophy of conservation
• environmental ethics
• philosophy of science
• extinction studies
• history of ecology

Qualifications

• MA Philosophy (distinction)
• BA Philosophy (first class hons)