Peter Millican

In 2005 Dr Peter Millican was appointed as Gilbert Ryle Fellow in Philosophy at Hertford College, Oxford (though for two years he was shared with Oriel College). In 2007 he was promoted to Reader in Early Modern Philosophy. From 2005 until 2010, he was Co-Editor of the journal Hume Studies. Hume's philosophy has indeed been the main focus of his research, though he continue to work also in Epistemology, Ethics, Philosophy of Language and of Religion. His teaching at Oxford is also quite varied, including General Philosophy, Formal Logic, History of Philosophy, Epistemology and Metaphysics, Logic and Language, and Philosophy of Religion.

Peter Millican's Website The Philocomp Project Faculty Profile Page College Profile Page Davidhume.org

Ethics in AI

Over the last decade, concerns about the power and danger of Artificial Intelligence have moved from the fantasy of “Terminator” to...

Image of Radcliffe Camera with Oxford University banner above

Alan Turing on Computability and Intelligence

Futuremakers

Welcome to Futuremakers from the University of Oxford, where our academics debate key issues for the future of society. Season Four:...

General Philosophy (2018)

A series of 8 lectures on General Philosophy, delivered to first year Oxford University undergraduates in Michaelmas term 2018. The...

David Hume (2018)

A series of 8 lectures on David Hume’s philosophy, delivered to Oxford University undergraduates in Michaelmas term 2018. The lectures...

Introduction to David Hume's Treatise of Human Nature Book One

Hume's Central Principles

Second Series on David Hume and his Philosophy. Focusing on his central principles in philosophy including Hume's theory on Ideas,...

General Philosophy

A series of lectures delivered by Peter Millican to first-year philosophy students at the University of Oxford. The lectures comprise of...

Title	Description	People	Date
Ethics in AI Seminar: Responsible Research and Publication in AI	Ethics in AI Seminar - presented by the Institute for Ethics in AI	Peter Millican, Rosie Campbell, Carolyn Ashurst, Helena Webb	12 July, 2021
Turing 2018/8: Searle versus Turing - Conclusion	Lecture 8 in Peter Millican's 2018 Turing series.	Peter Millican	14 January, 2021
Turing 2018/7: Blockhead, the Chinese Room, and ELIZA	Lecture 7 in Peter Millican's 2018 Turing series.	Peter Millican	14 January, 2021
Turing 2018/6: "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" - Overview of Turing's 1950 paper	Lecture 6 in Peter Millican's 2018 Turing series.	Peter Millican	14 January, 2021
Turing 2018/5: Settling Hilbert's Entscheidungsproblem, and the Halting Problem	Lecture 5 in Peter Millican's 2018 Turing series.	Peter Millican	14 January, 2021
Turing 2018/4: Enumerating the Computable Numbers, and the Universal Turing Machine	Lecture 4 in Peter Millican's 2018 Turing series.	Peter Millican	14 January, 2021
Turing 2018/3: "On Computable Numbers" - Turing's 1936 Paper	Lecture 3 in Peter Millican's 2018 Turing series.	Peter Millican	14 January, 2021
Turing 2018/2: Hilbert's Programme and Gödel's Theorem	Lecture 2 in Peter Millican's 2018 Turing series.	Peter Millican	14 January, 2021
Turing 2018/1: Types of number, Cantor, infinities, diagonal arguments	Lecture 1 in Peter Millican's 2018 Turing series.	Peter Millican	14 January, 2021
Coronavirus and ‘Disease X’	Professor Peter Millican interviews the Oxford scientists working at the forefront of research into Disease X	Peter Millican, Sarah Gilbert, Peter Horby, Jimmy Whitworth, John Bell, Erica Charters	14 January, 2021
Ebola	Professor Peter Millican begins the final episode of this series in 2014, at the onset of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.	Peter Millican, Kevin Decock, Katie Ewer, Brian Angus, Blanche Oguti	14 January, 2021
HIV/AIDS	In the ninth episode of our History of Pandemics season, Professor Peter Millican leaves the perils of influenza behind, only to discover an entirely new virus: HIV.	Peter Millican, Harold Jaffe, John Frater, Kevin Decock, Jimmy Whitworth	14 January, 2021
The 'Spanish' Flu	Professor Peter Millican arrives in the twentieth century, during the last years of the Great War, to a pandemic which you may have read a lot about during the early coverage of our current COVID outbreak.	Peter Millican, John Oxford, Brian Angus, Claas Kirchhelle	14 January, 2021
'Russian' Flu: the pandemic that wasn't?	In this episode, Professor Peter Millican discusses a controversial outbreak...	Peter Millican, Julia Mannherz, Claas Kirchhelle, Brian Angus, Blanche Oguti	14 January, 2021
Cholera	Professor Peter Millican makes it to the nineteenth century to discuss the achievements of John Snow	Peter Millican, Claas Kirchhelle, Brian Angus, Blanche Oguti	14 January, 2021
Does AI threaten Human Autonomy?	This event is also part of the Humanities Cultural Programme, one of the founding stones for the future Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities.	Peter Millican, Jonathan Pugh, Jessica Morley, Carina Prunkl	7 December, 2020
Smallpox, and Jenner	Welcome to the eighteenth century, at a point when Europe is going through another major smallpox outbreak, a disease that by this point has been plaguing populations around the globe for centuries.	Peter Millican, Claas Kirchhelle, Brian Angus, Blanche Oguti, Erica Charters	1 December, 2020
The Great Plague	in the final plague episode of the series, Professor Peter Millican talks to his guests about the last major outbreak of this horrific disease in seventeenth-century England.	Peter Millican, Paul Slack, Emma Smith, Kees Windland	1 December, 2020
The Black Death	Professor Peter Millican arrives in the fourteenth century and meets history's most notorious plague outbreak.	Peter Millican, Samuel Cohn, Blanche Oguti	1 December, 2020
The Plague of Justinian	Welcome to the Eastern Roman Empire in the sixth century. This time, Professor Peter Millican discusses a plague that historians and medical experts agree was likely the first plague pandemic humanity experienced.	Peter Millican, Michael McCormick, Abigail Buglass	1 December, 2020
Athens: the first plague?	Join Professor Peter Millican in 5th century Athens, a crowded city in the midst of a siege, where a devastating disease had just erupted.	Peter Millican, Tim Rood, Brian Angus, Blanche Oguti, Nicolette D'Angelo	1 December, 2020
Ethics in AI Education	This event is also part of the Humanities Cultural Programme, one of the founding stones for the future Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities.	Peter Millican, Milo Phillips-Brown, Max Van Kleek, Helena Webb	5 November, 2020
General Philosophy 2018 Handouts	PDF handouts to accompany Peter Millican's 2018 General Philosophy series.	Peter Millican	23 June, 2020
General Philosophy 2018 Slides	PDF slides to accompany Peter Millican's 2018 General Philosophy series.	Peter Millican	23 June, 2020
GenPhil 2018/8: God and Morality	Lecture 8 in Peter Millican's 2018 General Philosophy series.	Peter Millican	23 June, 2020
GenPhil 2018/7: Free Will and Responsibility	Lecture 7 in Peter Millican's 2018 General Philosophy series.	Peter Millican	23 June, 2020
GenPhil 2018/6: Identity, Self-Interest, Free Will	Lecture 6 in Peter Millican's 2018 General Philosophy series.	Peter Millican	23 June, 2020
GenPhil 2018/5: The Mind, and Personal Identity	Lecture 5 in Peter Millican's 2018 General Philosophy series.	Peter Millican	23 June, 2020
GenPhil 2018/4: Facing Up to Scepticism	Lecture 4 in Peter Millican's 2018 General Philosophy series.	Peter Millican	23 June, 2020
GenPhil 2018/3: Scepticism and Induction	Lecture 3 in Peter Millican's 2018 General Philosophy series.	Peter Millican	23 June, 2020
GenPhil 2018/2: Matter, Mind, and Humanity	Lecture 2 in Peter Millican's 2018 General Philosophy series.	Peter Millican	23 June, 2020
GenPhil 2018/1: Historical Introduction	Lecture 1 in Peter Millican's 2018 General Philosophy series.	Peter Millican	23 June, 2020
Hume 2018 Handouts	PDF handouts to accompany Peter Millican's 2018 Hume series.	Peter Millican	21 May, 2020
Hume 2018 Slides	PDF slides to accompany Peter Millican's 2018 Hume series.	Peter Millican	21 May, 2020
Hume 2018/8: Sceptical Crisis and Second Thoughts	Lecture 8 in Peter Millican's 2018 Hume series.	Peter Millican	21 May, 2020
Hume 2018/7: Scepticism about Body, Soul and Self	Lecture 7 in Peter Millican's 2018 Hume series.	Peter Millican	21 May, 2020
Hume 2018/6: Causal Interpretation, to Scepticism	Lecture 6 in Peter Millican's 2018 Hume series.	Peter Millican	21 May, 2020
Hume 2018/5: Probability and the Idea of Necessity	Lecture 5 in Peter Millican's 2018 Hume series.	Peter Millican	21 May, 2020
Hume 2018/4: Induction and Belief	Lecture 4 in Peter Millican's 2018 Hume series.	Peter Millican	21 May, 2020
Hume 2018/3: Faculties and Relations, to Causation	Lecture 3 in Peter Millican's 2018 Hume series.	Peter Millican	21 May, 2020
Hume 2018/2: Ideas, Impressions, and Abstraction	Lecture 2 in Peter Millican's 2018 Hume series.	Peter Millican	21 May, 2020
Hume 2018/1: Hume’s Background and Chief Aims	Lecture 1 in Peter Millican's 2018 Hume series.	Peter Millican	21 May, 2020
Mark Carney on Climate Change	Professor Millican travels to the Bank of England to interview its Governor, Mark Carney.	Peter Millican, Mark Carney	20 December, 2019
Solving climate change - nature or technology?	Solving climate change can involve either mitigation – reducing the greenhouse gases we're putting into the atmosphere – or adaptation – the process of adjusting to our changing environment.	Peter Millican, Nathalie Seddon, Jim Hall, Helen Gavin	20 December, 2019
Is climate conflict inevitable?	In this Futuremakers episode we ask experts the question - is climate conflict inevitable?	Peter Millican, Kate Guy, Troy Sternberg	13 December, 2019
Climate change - who should we sue?	In this episode of Futuremakers, we’re asking what does a rise in litigious climate action mean for society as we race to meet climate targets?	Peter Millican, Fredi Otto, Liz Fisher, Myles Allen	13 December, 2019
Can we be green AND capitalist?	In this episode we ask; can we be green AND capitalist?	Peter Millican, Ben Caldecott, Thomas Hale, Charmain Love, Johan Rockström	28 November, 2019
Should nuclear power be part of our energy system?	Should nuclear power be part of our energy system? Join our host, philosopher Peter Millican, as he explores this topic with experts from Oxford.	Peter Millican, Nick Eyre, Sarah Darby, James Marrow	28 November, 2019
What did the Paris Climate Agreement change?	What did the Paris 2015 Climate Agreement change? what did the politicians at Paris actually achieve?	Peter Millican, Fredi Otto, Richard Miller, Sugandha Srivastav	7 November, 2019
Climate change: do individual actions matter?	Is there still potential for actions on an individual level to shape the future of the planet?	Peter Millican, Susan Jebb, Tina Fawcett, Tristram Walsh	28 October, 2019
How do you build a greener country?	What does the current infrastructure in the UK look like, and how far is it from where we need to be to meet our international commitments?	Peter Millican, Cameron Hepburn, April Burt, Alison Smith	28 October, 2019
Climate change and politics - why haven’t we done more?	With the IPCC warning that policymakers have limited time to keep global warming to a maximum of 1.5° C - why haven’t we done more?	Peter Millican, Caroline Lucas, Ryan Rafaty, Tristram Walsh	28 October, 2019
Twelve years to climate disaster?	The IPCC’s 2018 Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C broke into the public consciousness through media reporting that we only had twelve years to limit climate change catastrophe.	Peter Millican, James Painter, Myles Allen, Helen Johnson	28 October, 2019
Could quantum computing change the world?	Peter Millican tries to discover the truth about a global race to develop the world’s first scalable quantum.	Peter Millican, Peter Leek, David Deutsch, Vera Schafer, David Lucas, Simon Benjamin, Tyson Jones, Natalia Ares, Jason Smith, Andrew Briggs, Chris Timpson, Jamie Vicary, Ali El Kaafarani	11 April, 2019
Season Finale: AI selection box	In the final episode of our series, we’re looking back at the themes we’ve discussed so far, and forward into the likely development of AI.	Gil McVean, Sandra Wachter, Nigel Shadbolt, Peter Millican	8 January, 2019
Is China leading the way in AI?	In the penultimate episode of series one of Futuremakers, we’re looking at the development of AI across the globe.	Peter Millican, Mike Wooldridge, Xiaorong Ding, Sophie-Charlotte Fischer	19 December, 2018
What does AI mean for the future of humanity	Join our host, philosopher Professor Peter Millican, as he explores this topic with three experts from Oxford University.	Peter Millican, Allan Dafoe, Mike Osborne, Jade Leung	12 December, 2018
Has AI changed the way we find the truth?	Around the world, automated bot accounts have enabled some government agencies and political parties to exploit online platforms in dispersing fake messages.	Peter Millican, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Vidya Narayanan, Mimie Liotsiou	6 December, 2018
From Ada Lovelace to Alan Turing, the birth of AI?	Many developments in science are achieved through people being able to ‘stand on the shoulders of giants’ and in the history of AI two giants in particular stand out.	Peter Millican, Ursula Martin, Andrew Hodges, Jacob Ward	19 November, 2018
Does AI have a gender?	Join our host, philosopher Peter Millican, as he explores the topics of gender and AI.	Peter Millican, Gina Neff, Carissa Véliz, Sian Brooke	12 November, 2018
Is AI good for our health?	Join our host, philosopher Peter Millican, as he explores the topic "Is AI good for our health?"	Peter Millican, Alison Noble, Paul Leeson, Jessica Morley	2 November, 2018
Is the banking sector about to change for ever?	AI is already playing a role in the finance sector, from fraud detection, to algorithmic trading, to customer service, and many within the industry believe this role will develop rapidly within the next few years.	Peter Millican, Stephen Roberts, Nir Vulkan, Jannes Klaas	22 October, 2018
Are all algorithms biased?	Our lives are increasingly shaped by automated decision-making algorithms, but do those have in-built biases? If so, do we need to tackle these, and what could happen if we don't?	Peter Millican, Sandra Wachter, Helena Webb, Brent Mittelstadt	22 October, 2018
How will the automation of jobs likely progress?	In 2013 two Oxford academics published a paper entitled 'The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?', estimating that 47% of U.S. jobs were at risk of automation.	Peter Millican, Mike Osborne, Judy Stephenson, David Clifton	22 October, 2018
Trailer: season one launching 22nd October!	Down winding streets, beyond the dreaming spires, inside the college walls, debates are happening - in every study room and lecture theatre - about the future of society. Futuremakers, from the University of Oxford, invites you to that debate.	Peter Millican	16 October, 2018
8. Conclusion; Scepticism in the Treatise and the Enquiry	Eighth and final lecture in Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Central Principles.	Peter Millican	14 August, 2012
7. Scepticism with Regard to Reason, the Soul and the Self	Seventh lecture in Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Central Principles.	Peter Millican	14 August, 2012
6. Hume on the External World	Sixth lecture in Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Central Principles.	Peter Millican	14 August, 2012
5: Hume on Causal Necessity	Fifth lecture in Peter Millican's series on Hume's Central Principles.	Peter Millican	14 August, 2012
4: Hume on Induction	Fourth lecture in Peter Millican's series on Hume's Central Principles.	Peter Millican	14 August, 2012
3: Hume's Logic: Relations, and Forms of Argument	Third lecture in Peter Millican's series on Hume's Central Principles.	Peter Millican	14 August, 2012
2. Overview, Theory of Ideas, and Faculty Psychology	Second lecture in Peter Millican's series on Hume's Central Principles.	Peter Millican	14 August, 2012
1. Historical Background, and His 'Chief Argument'	First lecture on David Hume's Central Principles; focusing on the historical background and Hume's Chief Argument.	Peter Millican	14 August, 2012
5. Of the Sceptical and Other Systems of Philosophy	Accompanying slides for Lectures 5a to 5c of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise of Human Nature Book One.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
4. Of Knowledge and Probability	Accompanying slides for Lectures 4a to 4f of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise of Human Nature Book One.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
3. Abstract Ideas, Space and Time	Accompanying slides for Lectures 3a to 3c of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise of Human Nature Book One.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
1. Introduction, Hume's Theory of Ideas and the Faculties	Accompanying Slides for Lectures 1a to 1c of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature Book One.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
5c. Of the Ancient and Modern Philosophies	Third and Final part of Lecture 5 of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature Book One. Of the Skeptical and Other Systems of Philosophy.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
5b. Of Skepticism with Regard to the Senses	Second part of Lecture 5 of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature Book One. Of the Skeptical and Other Systems of Philosophy.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
5a. Of Skepticism with Regard to Reason	First part of Lecture 5 of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature Book One. Of the Skeptical and Other Systems of Philosophy.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
4f. The Point of Hume's Analysis of Causation	Sixth part of Lecture 4 of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature Book One. Of Knowledge and Probability.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
4e. Understanding Hume on Causation	Fifth part of Lecture 4 of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature Book One. Of Knowledge and Probability.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
4d. Of the Necessary Connection	Fourth part of Lecture 4 of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature Book One. Of Knowledge and Probability.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
4c. Belief and Probability	Third part of Lecture 4 of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature Book One. Of Knowledge and Probability.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
4b. The Argument Concerning Induction	Second part of Lecture 4 of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature Book One. Of Knowledge and Probability.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
4a. Relations, and a Detour to the Causal Maxim	First part of Lecture 4 of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature Book One. Of Knowledge and Probability.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
3b. Space and Time	Second part of Lecture 3 of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature Book One. Abstract Ideas, Space and Time.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
3a. Hume's Theory of General (or Abstract) Ideas	First part of Lecture 3 of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature Book One. Abstract Ideas, Space and Time.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
2. Hume's Theory of Relations	Lecture 2 of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature Book One.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
1c. Hume's Faculty Psychology	Third part of lecture one of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature Book One.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
1b. The Theory of Ideas	Second part of lecture one of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature Book One.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
1a. Hume's Theory of Ideas and the Faculties	First part of lecture one of Peter Millican's series on David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature Book One.	Peter Millican	1 August, 2012
General Philosophy Lecture 8	PDF slides from Peter Millican's General Philosophy lecture 8.	Peter Millican	1 December, 2010
8.4 Persons, Humans and Brains	Part 8.4. The final part of this series. Explores the distinction between mind and body and whether this makes a difference to the idea of personal identity.	Peter Millican	1 December, 2010
8.3 Problems for Locke's View of Personal Identity	Part 8.3. Criticisms of Locke's view of personal identity; if personal identity is dependent on memory then how does forgetting personal history and the concept of false memory change Locke's view of personal identity.	Peter Millican	1 December, 2010
8.2 John Locke on Personal Identity	Part 8.2. Looks at John Locke's view of personal identity; how consciousness and 'personal history' distinguish personal identity and the idea of memory as crucial for personal identity.	Peter Millican	1 December, 2010
8.1 Introduction to Personal Identity	Part 8.1. Introduces the concept of personal identity, what is it to be a person, whether someone is the same person over time and Leibniz's law of sameness.	Peter Millican	1 December, 2010
General Philosophy Lecture 7	PDF slides from Peter Millican's General Philosophy lecture 7.	Peter Millican	1 December, 2010
7.4 Making Sense of Free Will and Moral Responsibility	Part 7.4. A brief explanation of Hume's argument for sentimentalism and Robert Kane's views on free will and determinism.	Peter Millican	1 December, 2010
7.3 Hume on Liberty and Necessity	Part 7.3. Looks at Hume's views on liberty and its relationship to causal necessity; that we have free will but it is causally determined.	Peter Millican	1 December, 2010

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