Sean
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Oxford Union speech
In February this year I had the privilege of speaking at the Oxford Union, a well known debating society run by students of my alma mater. I was invited to oppose the motion “This House Would Populate Mars” in an evening debate. I opposed the motion for three reasons: the extreme unpleasantness of human life…
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Leadership Styles in Higher Education
As part of my studies towards a formal qualification in “academic practice”, I was required to compose “a personal reflection on leadership styles and approaches to leadership in higher education”. The following screed resulted. There must be such a thing as leadership style, since anybody in a position of leadership (whatever that means) is going…
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New collaboration: philosophy of astrobiology
This post is about a new Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant led by Peter Vickers at Durham, which I am participating in as a co-investigator. Job adverts for a three-year funded PhD student and two-year funded postdoc to follow! Astrobiology blends planetary science, astronomy, and biology, and shares their methods. But compared to scientists working…
Sean McMahon 