Well-Being

The idea of ‘well-being’ 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 ‘Con-Dem’ Government, as is evidenced by the speeches and writings of Prime Minister David Cameron. It can be connected to the idea of ‘the big society.’ 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, ‘ideologically driven’ 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 ‘think-tank,’ 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: [email protected]; [email protected]

Keynote Speakers

Dr. Mary Midgley

Title: ‘Ought Humans to be Immortal?’

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?”

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).