JULIAN RATCLIFFE

I am a Postdoctoral Affiliate of the Institute for Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford.

Previously I was a Postdoctoral Associate of the Oxford Philosophy Faculty. I completed my DPhil in Philosophy at the University of Oxford, my MPhilStud in Philosophy at King’s College London, and my BA in Philosophy at University College London.

My primary interests are in social philosophy and the philosophy of language. I am also interested in issues in feminist philosophy and the philosophy of AI.

My current research focusses on the linguistic and political implications of the contingency of our conceptual frameworks. I aim to answer the question of whether the contingency of our concepts undermines their normative authority and, if so, how we ought to determine which concepts to use.

My previous research focused on genealogy as a philosophical methodology, the theory of meaning, the structure of normativity, and social critique.

I was awarded a Royal Institute of Philosophy Student Bursary to support my research in 2023.

Between my master’s and doctoral studies I worked as an international development consultant at Triple Line Consulting.