[SydPhil] Institute for Ethics & Society Workshop - Under Pressure: Character, Certainty, Conspiracy - Thursday 3 September

[Catherine Wesselinoff]

Institute for Ethics & Society Workshop - Under Pressure: Character, Certainty, Conspiracy
How people change (or fail to) under pressure, false certainty and misinformation
Thursday 3 September 2026, 10:00 am – 4:30 pm
In an age of outrage, algorithms and information overload, how do we become people of resilient character, humble conviction and wise discernment? Drawing on several funded research projects in Europe and Australia, this workshop explores how pressure exposes the heart and yet shapes the self, how self-righteousness quietly corrupts our capacity for knowledge and understanding of self and others, and how conspiracy theories and AI-generated “slopaganda” shape the way we see the world.
The IES is pleased to host this event on the occasion of Laura Candiotto’s visit to Sydney. Laura is Associate Professor of Moral Philosophy (Universities of Cagliari and Pardubice). She currently leads two research projects, including ‘Vicious Epistemic Cultures’ on the ethics of knowledge with a specific focus on emotional friction in revision responsibility, funded by the Czech Science Foundation. Laura is currently working on a monograph, Emotional Friction, and a co-edited collection entitled Vice Epistemology and the Philosophy of Emotions (Routledge).
SPEAKERS
Laura Candiotto (Cagliari and Pardubice) ‘Character revision under duress’
John Lippitt (Notre Dame IES and Pardubice) ‘Failures of receptivity: self-righteousness as a stealthy vice’
Adam Piovarchy (Notre Dame IES) ‘Conspiracy theories are Infohazards’
Mark Alfano (Macquarie) ‘Slopaganda’
Event poster: https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/-mrtCnx1jnixqB7wnS9fQqhJhqy0?domain=notredame.edu.au
Location:
The University of Notre Dame Australia,
NDS23/102 (Wilcox Mofflin Building)
46-52 Mountain Street Ultimo, NSW, 2007
Or online via Teams
For enquiries, Teams link and to RSVP:
John Lippitt (john.lippitt at nd.edu.au<mailto:john.lippitt at nd.edu.au>)
Dr Catherine Wesselinoff
The University of Notre Dame Australia.
Lecturer | School of Philosophy and Theology
Lead, Strategic Programs and Partnerships | Institute for Ethics and Society (IES)

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Aesthetics Area Editor (Acting)

Recent Publications:
"Beauty's Comeback", Debates in Aesthetics, Vol 19. No. 2, 2025, pp 35-45.
"Apophatic Beauty in the Hippias Major and the Symposium", The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 82, Issue 1, 2024, pp 36-44.
The Revival of Beauty: Aesthetics, Experience, and Philosophy, Routledge, 2023.

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