We shall build on the high standards of research and teaching established by the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, expanding into new areas and addressing questions such as: What is human flourishing and well-being, and how can they best be promoted? How should humanity prepare for the next pandemic, and how can history and philosophy work together to answer this question? What should be done to protect people and societies from pernicious influences such as online manipulation and fake news? What are the most effective ways to prevent future wars? How can AI be used to enhance, rather than impede, ethical decision-making? How should we think about the responsibility of current people for future generations? What can research in moral psychology contribute to moral responses to global challenges such as climate change?
We are strongly committed to promoting clear ethical analysis and thinking to underpin policy making at local, national, and global levels. We shall also be continuing to offer our world-leading Masters in Practical Ethics, while developing our visitors’ programme, and closer links with the Universities of Tokyo and Kyoto in particular, through the Anglo-Japanese Alliance Programme. Given the scale of the Institute, its ethical mission, and its interdisciplinarity, we propose to serve as a focus for outward-facing ethics in Oxford, collaborating with other research centres and co-ordinating activities.
Our world-leading, open access Journal of Practical Ethics will be published out of the Institute, and our series of annual lectures by distinguished scholars will continue, with Prof. Kimberley Brownlee in 2025 and Prof. Miranda Fricker in 2026. Books developed from the lectures will appear in an ongoing series published by Oxford University Press. We will also continue to develop and expand our programme of public and policy engagement, including our Essay Prize competition, for undergraduate and graduate students across the UK, our Bitesize Ethics programme of talks, and contributions to public debate through our website and well-known media outlets. Our goal is to use philosophy for real, positive, and measurable change in the world.
Our research aims to help people to reflect on the values, concepts and arguments at stake in important questions. It will support more informed public and private decision-making and lead to decisions that are better for the individual and for the world.
There are profound and difficult challenges for humanity that lie ahead. The Uehiro Oxford Institute cannot resolve all of these. But it can hope to inform and promote debate, and to foster the skills in reasoning and analysis that our world will need. The Institute will lead globally in translating thought into action, and demonstrating how good philosophy can contribute to and inspire positive change.
