Values and Virtues for a Challenging World

A day of public  philosophical debate at the heart of Welsh government

What are the attitudes, skills and values needed to navigate the unpredictable challenges of our rapidly changing world?

Setting out to provide some answers to this question, Values and Virtues for a Challenging World is a new book of essays published by Cambridge University Press and edited by four Cardiff University philosophers –– Dr Anneli Jefferson, Dr Orestis Palermos, Dr Panos Paris and Professor Jonathan Webber.

The book’s authors will spend a day in September exploring their ideas with education and public policy professionals to investigate how we can prepare ourselves to respond to unpredictable events in ways that promote flourishing human lives. The discussion is open to the public.

Head of Philosophy at Cardiff University, Professor Jonathan Webber explained the idea behind the day:

“We live in an increasingly unpredictable world. The past few years have seen the COVID-19 pandemic, a war in Europe, and extreme heat and wildfires around the world. Climate change will bring more crises like these, whose precise nature and effects will only be known when they happen. At the same time, social media is completely transforming how we understand ourselves and think about our situations.

"We need to prepare ourselves to deal well with large-scale challenges whose details we cannot predict. We need to think about the attitudes and abilities fostered in our education system, in the design of our social media, and in our institutions and public spaces more generally. This conference is designed to get those conversations started. Everyone is welcome to join in.”

The event is a collaboration between the Philosophy department at the university and the Royal Institute of Philosophy, and is made possible by Innovation for All funding.

Values and Virtues for a Challenging World takes place on Wednesday 21 September (09:30 to 16:15, Main Hall at the Pierhead, Cardiff Bay). If you would like to participate, please register your interest by email.