Lewis Williams
Email: lewis.williams "at" philosophy.ox.ac.uk
About
I'm a DPhil candidate in Philosophy at the University of Oxford. My research is supervised by Professor Guy Kahane and Professor Roger Crisp and supported by the Ryle / T. H. Green Moral Philosophy Scholarship and a Global Priorities Fellowship. Before coming to Oxford in 2021, I completed an MSc in Philosophy and Public Policy at the London School of Economics and a BA in Philosophy at the University of Warwick.
Research
My doctoral research concerns normative nihilism and its implications. I am currently interested in such questions as: "How can normative nihilists deliberate?"; "Is there a place for normative discourse after normative nihilism?"; "How 'should' we act under metanormative uncertainty?".
I am also interested in a number of issues in practical philosophy more generally, especially regarding moral uncertainty, duties of beneficence, and philosophical questions surrounding meaning in life.
Publications
2023. "Moral Nihilism—So What?". Ethics, 134(1), 108-121.
This paper responds to Edward Elliott and Jessica Isserow's "Don't Stop Believing (Hold onto That Warm Fuzzy Feeling)".
Teaching
At the University of Oxford, I have given tutorials in the following courses:
General Philosophy
Ethics
Moral Philosophy: Mill, Utilitarianism
Practical Ethics
Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technology
Theory of Politics
Public Philosophy
Since 2022 I have co-hosted The Philosopher's Nest podcast along with Kyle van Oosterum. The Philosopher's Nest showcases the work, insights, and experiences of graduate students in philosophy.
Between 2019 and 2021 I hosted the Searching For It podcast. Searching For It explored various philosophical thoughts and themes that inform the search for meaning in life. Searching For It peaked at #2 on Apple Podcasts' daily Philosophy charts in the United States of America.