Philosophy

Institute of Creativity, Communities and Culture (ICCC)

Our research in philosophy covers a range of specialisms ranging from moral philosophy and values, metaphysics and the philosophy of science to global justice, research ethics and the philosophy of mental health.

There is a long history of philosophical research at the University, pre-dating the foundation of our Centre for Professional Ethics which is one of the oldest research-only ethics centres in Europe.

Who we are:

  • A small group of innovative philosophy researchers with a large international reach
  • We have a substantial research income of £2.3million in the 2021 REF period
  • Our expertise is in applied philosophy and interdisciplinary philosophy-based research
  • Our international impact includes the Global Code of Conduct for Research in Resource-Poor Settings which has been adopted by the European Commission as a mandatory reference document for research funded under the Horizon 2020 programme. This has been followed by other funders and adopters.

Our work is often applied and inter-disciplinary, focussing on contemporary issues in, for example, global justice, emerging technologies, and mental healthcare but rooted in mainstream research traditions in philosophy.

Our research cuts across many faculties and schools, covering these main areas:

Impact

The emphasis on an international dimension and an interdisciplinary approach to philosophy is exemplified by Schroeder’s and Chatfield’s ground-breaking work on international justice which analyses global institutional frameworks such as the intellectual property rights system and its impact on health. This research is focused on World Health Organization priorities (public health and access to medicines for the poor) and United Nations priorities (UN Convention on Biodiversity benefit sharing with vulnerable populations; UNESCO efforts on promoting responsible research and innovation) and has led to the impact described in our two impact case studies which combine philosophical and ethical analysis with an interdisciplinary and uniquely collaborative approach.

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Members

Dr Gloria Ayob
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Mental Health
School of Nursing and Midwifery

Gloria's research and teaching interests concern topics in the philosophy of psychiatry. She supervises doctoral research in this area, and leads the MA Philosophy and Mental Health.

kchatfield
Dr Kate Chatfield
Deputy Director Centre for Professional Ethics
School of Health, Social Work and Sport

Kate's work is focused primarily upon matters of research ethics and ways to enhance ethical standards in research. This includes participation in research projects with a focus upon ethics, developing and delivering research ethics and integrity training, publishing on ethics ma…