The philosopher who wants us to think deeply about ordinary things

15 December 2021

Nikhil Krishnan, winner of a 2021 Pilkington Prize for outstanding teaching, says that what he loves about teaching is what he loves about philosophy: you can’t know in advance where it’s going to lead. Outside of the lecture hall he’s unravelling how philosophy came to be what it is today.

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The energy researcher who wants to build better to consume less

15 September 2021

Against a global backdrop of rising energy demands and finite resources, Rihab Khalid set out to understand how buildings can become more energy efficient. As a result, she now advocates for building and energy policies that consider cultural differences and address the needs of women.

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Dr Lucy McDonald at St John’s College, Cambridge

Philosopher’s thumbs-down to social media ‘likes’ gets award thumbs-up from Royal Institute

12 May 2021

The Royal Institute of Philosophy has awarded (jointly) its 2021 essay prize to a University of Cambridge researcher for the first philosophical analysis of ‘liking’ on social media. The essay, which focuses on Facebook, warns that ‘likes’ encourage communicative laziness while ‘like tallies’ fuel fake news, ‘gamify sociality’ and play to our psychological weaknesses.

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