Thomas W Simpson
Dr Tom Simpson is currently a Research Fellow at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge; an Affiliated Lecturer at the Faculty of Philosophy; and a 0.5FTE postdoctoral researcher on the Trusting Banks project.
From 1 Sept 2013, he will be the University Lecturer in Philosophy and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.
His research centers on the notion of trust, with particular focus on its implications for policy. Trust is located at the intersection of practical and theoretical reason. Areas of practical application include: the Internet and information and computing technologies; banking; war. Areas of theoretical application include: testimony and social epistemology, and religious epistemology.
The Trusting Banks project is a 5 year, 1.3m euro collaboration between Cambridge and Groningen, led by Prof dr Boudewijn de Bruin and Prof Alex Oliver. Funded by the NWO (the Dutch Research Council), it started in Autumn 2012. Further details here.
Tom completed his PhD at the Faculty of Philosophy in Cambridge with a dissertation entitled Trust on the Internet. The project was sponsored by Microsoft Research Cambridge. A summary can be found in a feature article published by Research Horizons, the University of Cambridge's showcase for cutting-edge research (pdf).
Publications
Articles
- Computing and the Search for Trust. In Dialogues: Trust, Computing and Society, ed. by Richard Harper (forthcoming 2013)
- What is Trust?, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 93:4 (2012) 550-569. (link)
- Trustworthiness and Moral Character, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice (forthcoming). (Pre-print; early view)
- Evaluating Google as an Epistemic Tool, Metaphilosophy 43:4 (2012) 426-445. ( Pre-print; link.)
- Testimony and Sincerity, Ratio 25:1 (2012) 79-92. (Pre-print; link.)
- Robots, Trust and War, Philosophy and Technology 24:3 (2011) 325-337. (Pre-print; link.)
- e-Trust and Reputation, Ethics and Information Technology, 13:1 (2011) 29-38. (Pre-print; link.)
Reviews
- Critical Notice of Benjamin McMyler, Testimony, Trust and Authority; and Paul Faulkner, Knowledge on Trust. Mind (forthcoming)
Do email him for copies of the published version if needed.
Teaching (2012-13)
Lecturing
- Free Will (Part 1A, Paper 1; 4 lectures)
- Course coordinator for 'Philosophy in Business' elective, Executive MBA, Judge Business School.
- 'Philosophical Issues raised by New Technology', Institute for Continuing Education, Cambridge.
Supervising
- Part 1B, Ethics (Paper 3)
- Part 2, Ethics (Paper 3)
- Part 2, Philosophy of Religion (C11 Metaphysics paper, run by Divinity Faculty)
- Part 2 Dissertations (Ethics of Drones; Ethics of Unconventional Force)
- MPhil Dissertation (Ethics of Revolutions)
Contact Details
Email Address: tws21(at)cam.ac.uk
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, CB2 3HU
- Quick links
- About the Faculty
- Hermes webmail