The idea of &lsquo\;well-being&rsquo\; has been in the news media in the UK quite a lot \;of late\, and it lies close to the heart of the thinking and policies of the \;current &lsquo\;Con-Dem&rsquo\; Government\, as is evidenced by the speeches and writings \;of Prime Minister David Cameron. It can be connected to the idea of &lsquo\;the \;big society.&rsquo\; This has become controversial recently\, as the Arts and \;Humanities Research Council (AHRC) of the UK recently made a commitment to \;fund research which explores this idea and has\, in consequence\, been \;accused of bias/partiality in favour of government sponsored\, \;&lsquo\;ideologically driven&rsquo\; research projects. The thinking behind this \;initiative is also associated with the work of Richard Layard at the London \;School of Economics and with the British &lsquo\;think-tank\,&rsquo\; The Social Market \;Foundation.
The idea behind the conference is to explore the notion of well-being\, both \;in theory and in practice (policy).
The academic convenors for the conference are Dr. Tony Burns (CSSGJ\, \;University of Nottingham) and Dr. Kelvin Knight (CASEP\, London Metropolitan \;University). The local organizer is Tony Burns. \;E-Mail addresses of \;convenors are: \;tony.burns@nottingham.ac.uk\; \;kelvin.knight@londonmet.ac.uk
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Mary Midgley
Title: &lsquo\;Ought Humans to be Immortal?&rsquo\;
Dr. Midgley is one of the leading British moral philosophers of the \;twentieth century\, writing for both academic and lay readerships. A \;selection of her many books includes: The Solitary Self: Darwin and the \;Selfish Gene (Acumen\, 2010)\; Earthy Realism: The Meaning of \;Gaia \;(Imprint Academic\, 2007)\; \;Utopias\, Dolphins and Computers: Problems of Philosophical \;Plumbing (Routledge\, 1996)\; \;Beast and Man: The Roots of Human Nature (Routledge\, 1995 [1978])\; The \;Ethical Primate: Humans\, Freedom and Morality (Routledge\, 1994)\; Evolution \;as a Religion: Strange Hopes and Stranger Fears (Routledge\, 1985)\; \;and Animals \;And Why They Matter: A Journey Around the Species Barrier (University of \;Georgia Press\, 1983).
Professor John Milbank
School of Theology &\; Religious Studies (University of Nottingham\, UK)
Title: TBC
Professor Milbank is the author of several books including Theology and \;Social Theory: Beyond Secular Reason (Blackwell\, 2006)\; and Being \;Reconciled: Ontology and Pardon (Routledge\, 2003). He is co-editor\, with \;Creston Davis and Slavoj Zizek\, of Theology and the Political: The New \;Debate (Duke University Press\, 2005)\; he is also co-editor\, with Catherine \;Pickstock and Graham Ward\, of Radical Orthodoxy: A New Theology \;(Routledge\, \;1998)\, a collection of essays which has occasioned much debate.
Professor Greg Currie
Department of Philosophy (University of Nottingham\, UK)
Title 'Is Narrative Good for You?&rdquo\;
Professor Currie is involved in editing several journals. In addition to \;many journal articles\, his publications include his recent Narratives and \;Narrators: A Philosophy of Stories (OUP\, 2010)\; The Nature of \;Fiction \;(CUP\, 2008 [1990])\; \;Image and Mind: Film\, Philosophy and Cognitive Science \;(CUP\, 2007)\; and a \;collection of essays\, Arts and Minds \;(Clarendon Press\, 2004).