Professor Simon James

Professor/ DEC Chair / Curriculum Officer

Affiliations
Affiliation
Professor/ DEC Chair / Curriculum Officer in the Department of Philosophy
Professor of Philosophy in the Durham CELLS (Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences)

Biography

I came to philosophy by a roundabout route, taking a BSc in Biological Sciences, followed by an MA in the History and Philosophy of Science, before obtaining a PhD for a thesis on environmental ethics in 2001.

My work engages with a wide range of issues in environmental philosophy, from Buddhist approaches to wildlife conservation to our moral relations with rock formations, and from the (so-called) problem of animal minds to the virtue ethical question of whether a good life must be a green life.

In my spare time, I enjoy playing guitar and (with Helen and our two daughters, Emily and Charlotte) walking in wild (or wildish) places.

Office Hours

2-5 every Thursday during term time.

My office is Room 206, upstairs in 50 Old Elvet, the main building of the Philosophy Department.

Staff profile