Research output per year
Research output per year
Personal profile
Overview
PhD thesis
Epistemic exclusion and epistemic self-defence: collective and individual responsibilities, rights and harms
Supervisors
Research interests
Social ontology, social epistemology, political theory, global justice, rights, ethics
Additional information
I am currently the Analysis Studentship Fellow for 2020/21. My previous PhD work was generously funded by a doctoral studentship award from The University of Manchester and a final year doctoral studentship from the Society for Applied Philosophy.
Prior to my PhD, I read PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics) at the University of Oxford, graduating in 2015, and I studied the MLitt in Philosophy at the University of St Andrews, awarded with Distinction in 2016.
Even more prior, I had a career as a programme director and strategy consultant, working primarily in the banking and retail industries.
Alongside my research and teaching, I am the Administrator for The Mind Association; the Editorial Assistant for the journal Global Justice: Theory, Practice, Rhetoric; and a MAP (Minorities and Philosophy) UK mentor. I also regularly speak at schools, colleges and other access events on my research and was previously a Manchester Access Programme tutor. Please feel free to contact me in respect of any of these roles.
From September 2018 to November 2018 I held a funded Visiting Fellowship at The Tilburg Center for Logic, Ethics, and Philosophy of Science at the University of Tilburg (Netherlands).
Research interests
Current research
I am interested in philosophical questions at the crossroads of social epistemology, social ontology, political theory and global injustice. My PhD project brings these themes together: first, by identifying and examining the epistemic and ontological harms faced by severely excluded social groups, taking UK welfare claimants as a case study; second, by introducing and analysing the moral permissibility and practicality of an epistemic resistance which relies on manipulating the cognitive biases of dominant knowers through techniques such as epistemic nudging; and third, by addressing a range of conceptual issues in collective responsibilities for global poverty, the rights of corporate agents, and the proper focus for restitutive justice.
My publications to-date present: the problem of the reliable liar for sensitivity-based accounts of testimonial knowledge; the nature of harm in the case of global poverty; the need for a relational account in international reconciliation projects; various issues in epistemic injustice and in the treatment of marginalised groups in the media; and the status of corporate personhood rights (I was awarded the International Social Ontology Society‘s inaugural essay prize for early career scholars (up to six years post-PhD), for the last of these).
Publications
“What Social Media Facilitates, Social Media Should Regulate: Duties in the New Public Sphere” (forthcoming). Co-authored with Fay Niker.
The Political Quarterly
“Epistemic Injustice and the Attention Economy” (2020). Co-authored with Alfred Archer.
Ethical Theory and Moral Practice. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-020-10123-x.
“The Right to Press Freedom of Expression vs the Rights of Marginalised Groups: An Answer Grounded in Personhood Rights” (2020). In Miguel Garcia-Godinez, Rachael Mellin and Raimo Tuomela (eds.) Social Ontology, Normativity and Law. De Gruyter: Berlin: 79-96.
“Structural Alienation: Catherine Lu’s Structural Approach to Reconciliation from within a Relational Framework” (2019). Global Justice: Theory Practice Rhetoric , 11(2): 1-14.
“How Might Financial Aid form a part of the Negative Duty Not to Harm, in the Case of Global Poverty?” (2018). Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, (2018), vol.118, iss.3: 419-428.
“The Curious Case of Ronald McDonald’s Claim to Rights: An Ontological Account of Differences in Group and Individual Person Rights”(2018). Journal of Social Ontology, vol.4, iss.1 (2018): 1-28.
“Suggestions and Challenges for a Social Account of Sensitivity” (2016). Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective 5(6): 18-26.
What social media facilitates, social media should regulate:
duties in the new public sphere
Media contributions and coverage
Blog posts
- It is not enough to listen carefully - we also need to identify who is not in the epistemic room. Justice Everywhere.
- Trump vs Twitter: who has the right to do what?. Justice Everywhere.
- “Not people like us”: the epistemic objectification of the UK’s most vulnerable and why the pandemic is unlikely to change this treatment. Cardiff University, ‘Open for Debate’.
Interviews
- “Not safe for publication: interview with Leonie Smith”. The University of Manchester NSFP Researcher podcast.
- “Leonie Smith talks about her research on epistemic injustice“. The University of Manchester.
Activities and esteem
Papers presented by invitation
|
Symposium on Stephanie Collins' Group Duties |
“Epistemic injustice and groups” |
Oct 2021 |
|
SWiP Turkey invited speaker series |
“What is our concept of impostor syndrome, and what do, and should, we want it to be?” |
June 2021 |
|
Conference in Social Ontology. 'Doing Things Together' |
“What Are the Agents of the Press and What Are the Agents of Social Media?” |
Apr 2021 |
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‘Ontology, Normativity and the Law’ |
“Reinterpreting the legal responsibilities of the media for UK poverty-based rights abuses” |
May 2019 |
|
Hertfordshire Philosophy Research Seminar |
“The UK media: collective and individual responsibilities for poverty abuse” |
Apr 2019 |
|
Hertfordshire Philosophy Society public talk |
“How to win over epistemic enemies and influence people” |
Apr 2019 |
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Moral Psychology Research Group |
“How to win over epistemic enemies and influence people” |
Nov 2018 |
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Tilburg Research Seminar in Epistemology and Philosophy of Science |
“Epistemic nudging: the permissibility of manipulation in resisting testimonial injustice” |
Oct 2018 |
|
MANCEPT workshops 2018 |
“Just Epistemic Resistance: ethics in context” |
Sep 2018 |
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‘Rationality and Democracy’ workshop |
“Nudging and epistemic paternalism: their value in promoting epistemic freedom of choice” (University of Vienna, Austria). |
Jun 2018 |
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Postgraduate colloquium |
“Epistemic objectification: the possibility of resistance under conditions of exclusion” (University of Melbourne, Australia). |
May 2018 |
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MANCEPT seminar series |
“Epistemic resistance: individual and collective permissibility” |
May 2018 |
|
CeASR Social Change seminar |
“Povertyism, media bias, and epistemic harm” |
May 2018 |
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‘Collectivity and Responsibility’ |
“From collective to individual remedial responsibility for global harms” |
Apr 2018 |
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KCL Department of Philosophy seminar |
“Epistemic exclusion and resistance under austerity” |
Nov 2017 |
|
UK Social and Political Inequalities Group |
“UK austerity measures and epistemic exclusion” |
Jun 2017 |
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The Vienna Forum for Analytic Philosophy |
“Povertyism, exclusion, and epistemic objectification” |
May 2017 |
|
AHRC North West Consortium forum |
“The curious case of Ronald McDonald’s rights as a person” |
Dec 2016 |
|
Stirling Philosophy Society public talk |
“The curious case of Ronald McDonald’s rights as a person” |
Nov 2016 |
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The 12th Rocky Mountains Ethics Congress |
“Asylum-seekers, the media and personhood” |
Aug 2020 |
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The Munich Graduate Conference in Ethics 2020 |
“Asylum-seekers and collective media discrimination” |
Jul 2020 |
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SAP Annual Conference 2020 |
“Asylum seekers, epistemic injustice and the UK media” |
Jul 2020 |
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‘Philosophy of migration and asylum’ conference |
“Asylum seekers, epistemic injustice and the UK media” |
Jun 2021 |
|
IAPS World Congress 2020 |
“Asylum seekers, epistemic injustice and the UK media” |
TBC (*postponed) |
|
APA 94th Pacific Division Meeting 2020 |
“Poverty, Meritocracy, & Epistemic Injustice” (co-authored) |
Apr 2020 |
|
MANCEPT workshops 2019 |
“Debating rights: (mis) diagnosing epistemic and human rights abuse by the UK mainstream media against UK welfare claimants” |
Sep 2019 |
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ENSO Biennial Conference VI (2019) |
“The UK media: collective and individual responsibilities for poverty abuse” |
Aug 2019 |
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SAP Annual Conference 2019 |
“Epistemic nudging: the permissibility of cognitive manipulation in resisting testimonial injustice” |
Jun 2019 |
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ASPP Annual Conference 2019 |
“The inability of UN rights legislation to address UK poverty abuse” |
Jun 2019 |
|
Tenth Annual Braga Meetings 2019 |
“Human rights legislation and UK poverty abuse: a failed case of application” |
Jun 2019 |
|
‘Death, Dying, and End Times’ conference |
“‘I didn’t ask to be born’: you don’t get to give me death, just to bring about my happy life” (University of Alberta, Canada). |
Apr 2019 |
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The Princeton Workshop in Social Philosophy |
“Just resistance: the permissibility of epistemic nudging in overcoming epistemic harm” (Princeton University, USA). |
Feb 2019 |
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‘Epistemic Injustice’ workshop |
“Reclaiming our agency as marginalised knowers” |
Feb 2019 |
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Warwick Graduate Conference in Political and Legal Theory 2019 |
“Negotiating with the epistemic enemy” |
Feb 2019 |
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‘Human Rights, Poverty and Social Justice’ |
“The Inability of Rights Legislation to Address UK Poverty Abuse” |
Nov 2018 |
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GAP 10th Annual Conference |
“Epistemic resistance” |
Sep 2018 |
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‘Current Trends in Social Epistemology’ |
“Epistemic nudging” |
Aug 2018 |
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‘Contemporary Issues in Ethics & Epistemology’ |
“Epistemic injustice and the tools of the oppressor” |
Jun 2018 |
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Ninth Annual Braga Meetings 2018 |
“Human rights legislation and UK poverty abuse: a failed case of application” |
Jun 2018 |
|
‘Injustice, Resistance, and Progress’ conference |
“Just resistance: the permissibility of epistemic nudging in overcoming epistemic harm” LSE Dept of Government, with the Jean Beer Blumenfeld Center for Ethics (London School of Economics, UK). |
Jun 2018 |
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‘Moral Epistemology conference |
“Just resistance: the permissibility of epistemic nudging in overcoming epistemic harm” (ACU, Melbourne, Australia) |
May 2018 |
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Oxford Graduate Conference in Political Theory 2018. |
“Just resistance: the permissibility of epistemic nudging in overcoming epistemic harm” |
Apr 2018 |
|
LSE Political Theory Grad Conference (2018) |
“Injustice, insight, and resistance” |
Mar 2018 |
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Summer school in ‘Social Epistemology’ |
“Testimonial injustice and epistemic objectification” |
Aug 2017 |
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The Ninth Congress of ESAP 2017 |
“A non-instrumentalist account of epistemic objectification” |
Aug 2017 |
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The 91st Joint Session of the Aristotelian Society and Mind Association |
“How might compensation form a part of the negative duty not to harm, in the case of global poverty?” |
Jul 2017 |
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SAP Annual Conference 2017 |
“Alleviating global poverty: Why the easiest action is also one that is demanded of us” |
Jun 2017 |
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St Andrews’ ‘The Ethics of Giving’ conference |
“Individual charitable giving and the negative duty not to harm” |
May 2017 |
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SWiP ‘The Profession we Want’ conference |
“Starting from gender and sexism: spreading the word, changing the culture” |
May 2017 |
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Stockholm Philosophy Grad Conference (2017) |
“Global poverty and individual duties” |
Apr 2017 |
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Oxford Grad Philosophy Conference (2016) |
“How might compensation form a part of the negative duty not to harm, in the case of global poverty?” (University of Oxford, UK). |
Nov 2016 |
|
‘I, You and We Phi’ workshop |
“Performative personhood and shared group agency” |
Oct 2016 |
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MANCEPT workshops 2016 |
“An ontological account of group-agent / individual-agent differences in responsibilities and rights” |
Sep 2016 |
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ISOS Biennial Conference: Collective Intentionality X (2016) |
“An ontological account of group-agent / individual-agent differences in responsibilities and rights” |
Aug 2016 |
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Graduate conference in ‘Social Epistemology’ |
“Suggestions and Challenges for a Social Account of Sensitivity” (University of Tartu, Estonia) |
Mar 2016 |
Summer Schools attended / forthcoming
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Cornell University |
Summer Schhol: Athena in Action (held online) | |
|
University of Groningen |
Summer School: Public Philosophy and Social Ontology |
Aug 2019 |
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University of Madrid |
Summer School: Social Epistemology |
Aug 2017 |
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IUC, Dubrovnik |
Summer School: Social Epistemology & Relativism |
Jul 2017 |
|
University of Antwerp |
Summer School: Political Myth & Propaganda |
Aug 2016 |
Teaching
Seminar Teaching
2020/21: Creating a Sustainable World (first semester); Intro to Metaphysics and Epistemology (second semester); Study Skills for Economics (second semester).
2019/20: Early Moderns (first semester); Ethics (first semester); History of Philosophy (second semester); Economics: study skills (second semester)
2018/19: Introduction to Political Philosophy (second semester); History of Philosophy (second semester).
2017/18: Critical Thinking (first semester); Intro to Metaphysics and Epistemology (second semester).
Lecturing
2020/21: Akan Concept of Personhood (third-year Personhood and Freedon of the Will).
2019/20: Psychological Laws (second-year Philosophy of Mind).
2018/19: Social Reality (first-year M&E).
Convener
2020/21: Philosophy of Science (second-year).
Prizes and awards
- Awarded a Faculty of Humanities Outstanding Teaching Award for 2020.
- Awarded the Analysis Studentship position for 2020-2021 (taken up at the University of Manchester).
- Awarded a Doctoral Scholarship from The Society for Applied Philosophy (one of two awarded annually), 2019-2020.
- Awarded a Jacobsen Studentship from The Royal Institute of Philosophy (one of eight awarded annually, 2019-2020 (not taken up as secured alternative funding).
- Awarded the University of Manchester Presidential Medal for Distinguished Achievement, for Postgraduate Researcher of the Year 2019.
- Awarded the Faculty of Humanities (UoM) Award for Postgraduate Researcher of the Year.
- Awarded a Tilburg Center for Logic, Ethics, and Philosophy of Science (TiLPS) Visiting Fellowship (taken up Sep-Nov 2018).
- Awarded the Harry Lesser Teaching Prize (University of Manchester), Aug 2018.
- Awarded a University of Manchester PhD Studentship, 2016-2019.
- Awarded first prize in the 2016 Essay Competition of the International Social Ontology Society (ISOS) for my paper: “The Curious Case of Ronald McDonald’s Rights as a Person: An Ontological Account of Differences in Group and Individual Person Rights”.
Grants awarded for conference papers presented
Competitively awarded conference paper presenter bursaries for accommodation / travel and / or registration fees from various bodies for: the 94th Pacific Division Meeting of the APA, 2020; the University of Melbourne conference on Social Epistemology, 2018; the MANCEPT annual workshops in Sep 2016 and Sep 2018; the Postgraduate session of the Joint Session of the Aristotelian Society and the Mind Association in Jul 2017; University of Tartu conference on Social Epistemology (Estonia), Mar 2016.
Grants awarded for conferences organised
- Mind Association funding award for a conference on "Exploitation and Exploitations".
- Mind Association funding award for a conference on "Politics, the Law and Ontology".
- Royal Institute of Philosophy postgrad conference funding award for a series of conferences on aspects of Personhood and Selfhood.
- AHRC North West Doctoral Training Partnership funding awards for a series of conferences on aspects of Personhood and Selfhood. Prepared and submitted with Professor Sorin Baiasu (Keele University).
- Mind Association funding award for a conference on "The Narrative Self".
- Society for Applied Philosophy funding award for the Applied Philosophy stream of Open Minds XIII, the UoM Philosophy graduate conference.
- Mind Association funding award for Open Minds XIII and Open Minds XIV, the UoM Philosophy graduate conference.
- Aristotelian Society funding award for Open Minds XIII, the UoM Philosophy graduate conference.
- Additional funding awards received from various University of Manchester funding bodies totalling c£8,350 to date.
Impact
Events organised
- Exploitation and exploitations: philosophical theory and practice. Co-lead organiser (forthcoming, Oct 2021).
- Epistemic Injustice and Asylum. Co-organiser and panellist (Sep 2020, online).
- Politics, the Law and Ontology:a workshop in social ontology. Co-lead organiser (Apr 2019).
- Personhood and Selfhood: a three-part Royal Institute of Philosophy workshop series on: Social Personhood (Jan 2018); The Narrative Self (Apr 2018); and Selfhood and Self-Consciousness (Jul 2018). Convener for the series and lead organiser of the first workshop (joint organiser of the remaining two).
- Collective Agents and Global Structural Injustice: a MANCEPT 2017 workshop. Co-lead organiser (Sep 2017).
- Open Minds XIII (2018) and Open Minds XIV (2019): Postgraduate conferences in Philosophy.Co-lead organiser.
- PhilChat (2018) (2019) (2020): MAP (Minorities and Philosophy) events for undergraduate students. Joint organiser.
- UoM Philosophy Reading Party (2017), (2018) and (2019): annual residential philosophy trip. Originator / organiser.
- UoM Philosophy PhD seminar (2017 - 2020): Originator and convener of the weekly graduate seminar.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
External positions
Course convener / online lecturer, Philosophy in Prisons (charity)
Jan 2019 → …
Administrator / Assistant to the Director, The Mind Association
Nov 2017 → …
Editorial Assistant, Global Justice: Theory Practice Rhetoric
Oct 2017 → …
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Research output
- 2 Article
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Collective Agents and Global Structural Injustice: An Introduction to the Special Issue
Smith, L., 6 Nov 2020, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of Applied Philosophy.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Epistemic Injustice and the Attention Economy
Smith, L. & Archer, A., 1 Nov 2020, In: Ethical theory and Moral Practice. 23, 5, p. 777-795Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access