'Philosophy Today' Public Lecture Series 2026

About this event

The popular Philosophy Today series is back for 2026 with a new line-up of public lectures that connect philosophical ideas to everyday experience. Across six evenings, Trinity philosophers explore what it means to live, work, feel, and remember in today’s world - and how philosophy continues to help us make sense of it all.

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Fee

€85 for the entire series (6 lectures). A concessionary rate of €40 applies to: students, OAPs, unemployed, groups of 20+, TCD staff and graduates.

Date, Time & Place

Thursdays, 19:00-20:30, JM Synge Theatre, Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin.

Schedule

Starts Thursday 29 January 2026 and continues every second Thursday for six weeks.

Please note, due to the interactive nature of each session, including live Q&A, the Philosophy Today series will only be available for in-person attendance and will not be offered online.

** Thursday, 29th January 2026 | Dr Pablo Magaña Fernández**

‘Levelling the Boardroom? The Philosophy (and Economics) of Workplace Democracy'

Politicians and managers both wield power over our lives - yet only one group faces elections. Should workplaces be more democratic? Philosopher Pablo Magaña Fernández invites us to consider the case for workplace democracy, exploring what it might look like, why it matters, and how far it could change the way we work.

** Thursday, 12th February 2026 | Dr Ashley Shaw**

'Subjects of Desire'

From hunger and wanting to love and longing, our desires drive so much of what we do. But how do they shape our decisions, our values, and our sense of self? In this talk, philosopher Ashley Shaw explores how thinkers have tried to understand the power of desire, and what this can tell us about the complex ways our feelings and values shape the choices that define our lives.

** Thursday, 26th February 2026 | Professor Tom Farrell**

'A Completed Science - More Than a Dream?'

From atoms to galaxies, scientific progress has transformed our understanding of the world. But can it ever fully explain consciousness itself? Philosopher Tom Farrell considers the hope , and the limits, of the scientific project, asking whether the dream of a complete, materialist explanation of everything is within reach, or an illusion of our own making.

** Thursday, 12th March 2026 | Professor Kenneth Silver**

'How Rich is Too Rich?'

Debates about justice often focus on poverty, but what about wealth at the top? Philosopher Kenneth Silver explores the idea of Limitarianism - the view that there’s a moral limit to how rich anyone should be. How might extreme wealth affect fairness, democracy, and social trust? And what, if anything, should we do about it?

** Thursday, 26th March 2026 | Dr Rossella De Bernardi**

'The Ethics and Politics of Emotion Norms'

From “no need to get angry” to “show more confidence,” we constantly encounter social norms about emotions. In this lecture, Dr. Rossella De Bernardi will explore how philosophical analysis can help illuminate troubling inequalities around such norms and how they morally and politically matter.

** Thursday, 9th April 2026 | Dr Julian Bacharach**

'Memory: Link to the Past, or Mental Construction?'

Can we trust our memories - or are they just stories we tell ourselves?

Psychology and neuroscience reveal how memories are stitched together from fragments, shaped by bias, and prone to error. Yet far from a crisis, philosopher Julian Bacharach argues this reveals something essential about how memory connects us - not just to our past, but to one another through shared experience.

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