About the conference

To understand moral philosophy fully, it is sometimes useful to take a step back from normative questions about right or wrong actions, or good or bad persons or outcomes. Metaethics asks questions about these kinds of questions, or about the psychological nature of our moral judgements, the meanings of moral terms, and so on. Normative moral philosophy is, rightly, widely seen as being of importance to the general public. However, many metaethical topics are typically treated as if they are only important within the seminar room. This conference will explore whether, how, and why, metaethical topics should have a broader reach than they currently do, in other academic contexts or in society in general, including schools, media, etc. Perhaps, especially as experimental philosophy is burgeoning, and there are efforts to learn about metaethical intuitions from the public, we should aim for more dialogue with non-philosophers about such topics. 

Therefore, the aim of the conference is to enrich philosophical ethical discussion by considering the potential for greater dialogue between philosophers working in metaethics and wider society. This may involve questions about, for example, philosophical outreach, inter-disciplinary research, or the investigation of core, ordinary intuitions about the nature of right and wrong.