The University of Sheffield
Department of Philosophy

Research Centres & Projects

The Department is home to the European Journal of Philosophy, the Hang Seng Centre for Cognitive Studies, and a number of major research projects. Please follow the links below for more information.

image The European Journal of Philosophy is edited by Chris Hookway.  It publishes the best work from across the 'analytic' and 'continental' divide, and acts as a forum for philosophical debate both within and between these traditions.
image The Hang Seng Centre for Cognitive Studies is based in the department and directed by Stephen Laurence. The Centre organizes seminars, workshops, and conferences to address foundational issues in the study of the mind and cognition. Since its founding in 1992, the centre has organized more than 40 workshops and conferences, resulting in seven volumes (published by Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press).
image The AHRC Culture and the Mind project is a five-year major interdisciplinary project (2006-2011) directed by Stephen Laurence, and funded primarily by the AHRC. The project brings together top scholars in philosophy, anthropology, and psychology for a joint research project investigating the philosophical consequences of the impact of culture on the mind and the cognitive and evolutionary foundations of culture.
image The AHRC Innateness and the Structure of the Mind project is a three-year major interdisciplinary project (2001-2004) directed by Stephen Laurence, and funded primarily by the AHRC. The project has brought together top scholars throughout the cognitive sciences to undertake a comprehensive assessment of where nativist theorizing stands and provide a definitive reference point for future nativist enquiry. The project has resulted in three volumes, published by Oxford University Press.
image Philosophy in the City is a volunteering project led and run by students of the philosophy department. It aims to disseminate the study and awareness of philosophical inquiry beyond the university, introduce philosophy to pupils from underperforming schools in a stimulating manner, and encourage those pupils to pursue their education and to offer them a means of striving towards university. The project was shortlisted for the Times Higher Education awards 2007 for 'Contribution to the Local Community' (making it to the final six), and was cited as a factor in Sheffield's being named University of the Year 2011.
bias project image
 The Implicit Bias and Philosophy project brings together an international team of philosophers, psychologists, and policy professionals to reflect upon the phenomenon of implicit bias; the project is funded by the Leverhulme Trust and the University of Sheffield.
democracy and criminal justice image The Democracy and Criminal Justice project inquires into the justice of denying prisoners the right to vote.  It asks whether offenders should lose any of the rights of citizenship and if so, to what extent they should helped to regain them.