Dr Stephen Law

Email: s.law@heythrop.ac.uk
Telephone: 020 7795 4222

Biography

Before joining Heythrop, I was previously the Junior Research Fellow in Philosophy at The Queen’s College, Oxford , where I obtained my doctorate. I first entered university as a mature student, having previously worked as a postman. 

Current teaching

I currently teach:
 
Contemporary Philosophical Problems (half of course)
Reason and Argument (Yr 1 course)
Wittgenstein option
Philosophy of Language option
 
Also: contribute to evening MA on Philosophy teaching.
 
I am tutor for admissions BA Philosophy and also run the Heythrop A Level philosophy conferences  
 
Research Interests

My main research interests at the moment are Wittgenstein, natural kinds, physicalism, the nature of necessity, the problem of evil, faith reason and God.
 
Publications

Some recent publications:

• “Loar’s Defence of Physicalism”, Ratio 17, no 1, (2004): 60-67
• Honderich and The Curse of Epiphenomenalism, Journal of Consciousness Studies, 2006.
• “Five Private Language Arguments” Philosophical Studies, 2004
• “Review article: The Child’s Mind”, Journal of Philosophy of Education, 37 No 1 (2004): 185-192
• “Systems of Measurement” Ratio , 2005.
• “The Evil God Challenge”, Religious Studies 46 (2010): 353-373
• “Plantinga’s Belief-Cum-Desire Argument Refuted”, Religious Studies, 2011
• “Miracles, Evidence, and the Existence of Jesus” Faith and Philosophy, 2011
• "Naturalism, Evolution, and True Belief", Analysis, forthcoming 2012.
• "Putnam vs Natural Kinds and Real Essence" (under review)
  
  I am also editor of the Royal Institute of Philosophy’s popular journal THINK. See http://www.royalinstitutephilosophy.org/think/index.html.

Books
 
My book The War For Children’s Minds was Routledge’s lead title for 2006. It focuses on issues concerning moral and religious education, using philosophical tools to help clarify and assess key arguments. Phillip Pullman said it “should be read by every parent, every teacher and every politician”.
 
The book was based on a prize-winning essay (joint winner of the £5,000 ESRC-Prospect Millenium essay prize in 2000). The publication had considerable impact and was reviewed by e.g. The Economist and featured on Radio 4 Today programme and Radio 3 Nightwaves (where I was in discussion about the book with Prof. Anthony O’Hear). It was also focus of e.g. a two-page feature in The Guardian.
 
Other (introductory) books include:
 
• Very Short Introduction to Humanism (OUP, 2011)
• The Great Philosophers (Quercus, 2007)
• The Philosophy Gym (Headline, 2000) – German version was winner of the E5,000 Mindleheim Philosophy Prize in 2009
 
Blog

You may read my blog at www.stephenlaw.org