Penelope Mackie (1953-2022) was a long-time member and former Head of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Nottingham. Her philosophical contributions span the areas of (1) essence, modality, identity; (2) philosophy of mind; (3) causation and counterfactuals; and (4) free will and determinism. A superbly perceptive critic, Penelope is best known for her 2006 book How Things Might Have Been. Her most recent work provides invigorating contributions to debates about neo-Aristotelian essentialism (in constructive opposition to the work of Kit Fine), Transworld identity, persistence, and the nature of perceptual experience.

This conference will celebrate Penelope’s life and work.