Welcome to The Society for Applied Philosophy

promoting philosophical work that has a direct bearing on areas of practical concern

About us

The Society for Applied Philosophy was founded in 1982 with the aim of promoting philosophical work that has a direct bearing on areas of practical concern. It arose from the awareness that many topics of public debate — in law, politics, economics, science, technology, medicine and more — can be illuminated by critical analysis, philosophical questioning, and reflection of questions of value. We support workshops, conferences, lectures and graduate bursaries across the field of applied philosophy, and produce the Journal of Applied Philosophy.

In accordance with our constitution, we are not allied to the ideology of any political party, social interest group, campaign or religion. Membership is open to anyone committed to the notion of human values that transcend narrow or local interests, classes and cultures, and to the identification, justification and discussion of these values as they apply to topics of public importance.

The Journal of Applied Philosophy, published by Wiley on behalf of the Society, is now well established as a major source of high quality work in this area. It is edited by Avery Kolers (University of Louisville) with the assistance of six Associate Editors and an International Advisory Board.

The Society is run by an Executive Committee, including its Administrator, Jon Cameron.

Society membership enquiries should be directed to the Society’s Membership Service Specialist, Lori Homer.

SAP Annual Conference

SAP Annual Conference 2025
27- 29 June
Radisson Hotel & Suites, Gdansk

Funding

The society is proud to support a range of activities in applied philosophy. Our funding schemes are listed below; click the More Information link for further details of each scheme.

More Information

Events

The Society holds an annual conference (at the very end of June or beginning of July) and holds an annual lecture (usually in the autumn).

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Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to the Society for Applied Philosophy’s mailing list to get all the latest news and developments.


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Join the Society

Membership of the Society is open to anyone interested in our aims, whether or not you hold a philosophical qualification or are employed as a professional philosopher.

Membership currently costs £26 per annum, or £14 for postgraduates.  This includes online access to the Journal of Applied Philosophy, as well as a reduced fee for the Society’s annual conference.   Members can also apply for event funding through the Society’s grant scheme.

Membership and journal subscription are handled by Wiley, as the publishers of the Journal of Applied Philosophy. The button will take you through to their website.

Latest News

In memoriam: Brenda Almond

The SAP is deeply saddened to hear of the death of Brenda Almond, Emeritus Professor of Moral and Social Philosophy at the University of Hull. Professor Almond co-founded the SAP with Anthony O’Hear in 1982. She devoted many years to

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Society for Applied Philosophy Annual Conference 2025

The Society’s 2025 conference will take place at Radisson Hotel & Suites, Gdansk 27-29 June. (t) Papers will be given on a wide range of topics across the field of applied philosophy (Authors of papers selected for inclusion in the programme can confirm or decline intention to attend here.) Call

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SAP sponsored event: Reproductive Ethics and Public Philosophy: A Symposium Marking Mary Warnock’s Centenary | APA Live

Mary Warnock’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology report, published 40 years ago in 1984, had a powerful influence in the UK and beyond, helping governments and the general public reach abiding resolutions regarding new reproductive technologies—even as ethical debates raged on about the old reproductive technologies. The intervening years have seen an efflorescence

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