It’s 100 years since the first Royal Institute of Philosophy Lectures were held in 1925. To mark the centenary, the 2025/6 London Lecture Series focuses on the theme Philosophy in Retrospect and in Prospect. Distinguished philosophers have been invited to reflect on where their area of the discipline has got to over the last hundred years, and/or where it might go – or should go – over the next hundred.
All lectures include a post-lecture "in conversation" session with our Academic Director Edward Harcourt, followed by audience Q&A.
Why philosophers need to think about pregnancyPregnancy is both a fundamental part of human life and importantly different from anything else humans experience. It involves growing another human inside your body, in an intimate process that may permanently transform your body and your sense of self. In this talk, Professor Fiona Woollard will explore how philosophy can help us to understand pregnancy and improve the treatment of people who are pregnant. Professor Woollard will also discuss how thinking seriously about pregnancy can challenge philosophy, forcing us to rethink standard philosophical ideas and methods.
About the speakerFiona Woollard is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southampton. Her main research interest is the philosophy of pregnancy, birth and early motherhood/parenthood. Her recent publications include Can You Do Harm to Your Fetus? Pregnancy, Barriers, and the Doing/Allowing Distinction, co-authored with Elselijn Kingma and published in Ethics. She is currently working on a book, How To Be a Good Enough Mother: An Emancipatory Account of What Makes a Parent a Mother and What Mothers Must Do for Their Children.
