Professor Julian Dodd

Professor Julian Dodd

Profile

I joined the University of Leeds in July, 2020 as Head of the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science.

Before that I was at the University of Manchester for twenty years, as Lecturer in Philosophy (from 1999) and then Professor of Philosophy (from 2006). During my time at Manchester I served two three-year terms as Head of Department.  

I gained a BA in Philosophy from the University of Sussex and a BPhil (1990) and DPhil (1994) in Philosophy from the University of Oxford, finishing the latter while a full-time lecturer at Bolton Institute of Higher Education (now the University of Bolton). There I found it thrilling to teach a student cohort consisting largely of enthusiastic and committed returners to full-time education. They certainly put me through my paces.

I’ve enjoyed a wide range of service to the profession, most notably by serving on the Mind Association Executive and as Director of the Assocation from 2015-18.  

Responsibilities

  • Head of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science
  • Professor of Philosophy

Research interests

For the last fifteen years or so I’ve worked mainly in the philosophy of music, writing two monographs, Works of Music: An Essay in Ontology (OUP, 2007) and Being True to Works of Music (OUP, 2020). The former, largely an exercise in applied metaphysics, gave me some notoriety as a defender of platonism about musical works; the latter, in a change of direction, focusses on evaluative issues, exploring the various norms of authenticity that govern our practice of performing works of Western classical music. 

I have other research interests. My paper, ‘What 4’33”  is’ (AJP 96 (2018) 629-41) won the American Society of Aesthetics 2019 Ted Cohen Prize, and I have also published on the nature artistic value, conceptual art, and the early Wittgenstein. I am currently completing two papers: one drawing an analogy between understanding music and understanding people, the other pitching in to that under-researched topic, Wittgenstein on following a rule.  

<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Any research projects I'm currently working on will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>

Qualifications

  • BA in Philosophy (Sussex)
  • BPhil in Philosophy (Oxford)
  • DPhil in Philosophy (Oxford)

Professional memberships

  • Mind Association (Honorary Life Member)
  • British Philosophical Association
  • American Society of Aesthetics

Current postgraduate researchers

<h4>Postgraduate research opportunities</h4> <p>We welcome enquiries from motivated and qualified applicants from all around the world who are interested in PhD study. Our <a href="https://phd.leeds.ac.uk">research opportunities</a> allow you to search for projects and scholarships.</p>