Talks on Computer Science & Philosophy

For slides from the latest Open Day talk, see Computer Science and Philosophy at Oxford. Recorded talks from other events (including previous Open Days) are below.

"Philosophy Plus" Event, January 2021 and 2022

The talk below was presented online "Philosophy Plus" events in January 2021 and 2022, aimed at mathematically able students considering applying for one of our joint degrees with Philosophy. The talk briefly introduces six philosophical topics before focusing on Free Will, with particular reference to ways in which computer models can assist our understanding.

To encourage further independent thought about the complexity of the issue, students were given a worksheet with questions about Free Will and Moral Responsibility. Having gone through the worksheet for themselves, students are invited to read the handout on "Thinking Through the Questionnaire", and consider whether this discussion has modified their initial views.

Oxford University Open Days 2020 and 2021

The talk below was presented online for the 2020 and 2021 Oxford University Open Days, and the links here are to associated resources:

Of necessity, the talk had to be quite short (it lasts just over 30 minutes), but some of the material in the slides handout – which was mentioned but not covered in detail – is included in the following talks:

Talk on Cellular Models (Part 3 of the talk handout above)
Talk on Recursive Gameplaying (Part 5 of the talk handout above)
Talk on the Halting Problem (Part 6 of the talk handout above)

Online International Workshop on Computer Science & Philosophy, May 2022

The talk below was presented at an international online workshop on May 7 2022, with participants from Asia to America.

For much more on the degree programme in Computer Science & Philosophy, see the page on Studying at Oxford.