One of the main goals of Reuben College is to facilitate interdisciplinary research and collaboration in order to tackle some of the most challenging questions of our time, such as how to mitigate climate change or how to safely use AI to promote healthcare. To this end, it is of the utmost importance that we also examine the ethical issues and societal implications arising from scientific and technological developments, as well as the social and cultural values which often drive opinions and decisions.
Our “Ethics and Values” research theme focuses on applied ethics and real-world problems. It creates strong links across the diverse research expertise within the College community by engaging with the ethical questions that arise from research. Deploying theories and analytical techniques from philosophy, sociology, law, political science and other disciplines within the humanities, we aim to encourage and facilitate critical thinking about what research we conduct, how we conduct it, and with what goal.
Among some of the academic enrichment opportunities we offer to Reuben College are:
- Joint seminars and events on the cultural ethics of museums, art and design (delivered through our strong links with GLAM)
- Skills workshops on ethical reasoning and argumentation, and on what to consider when applying for research ethics approvals
- Joint seminars with Reuben Fellows in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), biomedicine and climate change
- Oxford-style public debates on challenging issues
- Public engagement events (e.g. film screenings) on cutting edge ethical and societal issues to generate and provoke joint reflection and discussion
Dr Jonathan Pugh, one our Official Fellows for Ethics and Values, kindly took part in an online Q&A to discuss more of his work. Please click here to read more.
