October 7, 2011, by Guest blog

Stephen Mumford

Me

Professor of Metaphysics and Dean of the Faculty of Arts at University of Nottingham. Firm believer that it is OK to lose at football so long as you enjoyed the game. Owner of experimental ties. Fan of Sonic Youth.

Biography

I was born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire on July 31st 1965 and attended Outwood Grange School. After working as a low-grade civil servant for three years, I read Philosophy and History of Ideas with Politics at Huddersfield Polytechnic (now University). After that I entered the Philosophy Department at the University of Leeds to take an MA in Philosophy of Mind. There I met Robin LePoidevin who became my PhD supervisor. I was awarded a PhD in 1994 for ‘Dispositions and Reductionism’ and was offered a two-year lectureship at Leeds. I left to join the Philosophy department at Nottingham in 1995, where I have been ever since. I was for three years the Head of Department and then for two years Head of the School of Humanities (the School of which Philosophy is a part). I am currently Dean of the Arts Faculty: a four-year appointment. While at Nottingham, I wrote my books Dispositions, Laws in Nature, David Armstrong, Watching Sport: Aesthetics, Ethics and Emotions and co-wrote Getting Causes from Powers.
My research is very important to me and I like to travel to meet other philosophers and attend conferences. I find it very helpful to discuss philosophy with others and try out ideas and I also like to see how philosophy is done in other parts of the world. I like to be involved in collaborative projects, including co-authored work. As well as philosophy and my family, football is the other great passion of my life, though I support no team. I have written a couple of football books and a number of articles for Groundtastic magazine.

Publications