Welcome to my website!
Here you will find details of my activities and interests as a philosopher, writer, composer and naturalist.
You will also find information concerning my academic and teaching activities including the classes that I run and useful free course materials for A-level and undergraduate philosophy students.
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As a composer and arranger I take commissions – see my Music page for further information.
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Get in touch by using the Contact page or via email: a.brockless@gmail.com
Biography
I studied philosophy at the University of Hertfordshire where I won a university Humanities Prize in 2004 and continued my studies as a postgraduate at Durham University completing a research MA in 2006.
From 2006 – 2015, I taught undergraduate philosophy at Heythrop College, University of London and from 2011 – 2015 also taught A-level philosophy at Sutton Grammar School, where I was head of department from 2012. Since then I have taught as a guest lecturer for The London School of Philosophy and pursued a freelance career. In the academic year 2017-2018 I held the post of Visiting Lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire, taught A-level philosophy at Roedean School in Sussex and was editor of the British Wittgenstein Society. I am on the editorial board of Anthem Press.
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I write music - mainly for strings and voice. My music has been featured on both BBC TV and radio; videos of live performances can be found on the Music page of this website
My main philosophical interests include contemporary moral philosophy, the role of the arts in education, philosophical accounts of the concept of human individuality, and the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. All of my interests are coloured by a love of the natural world.
​Outside of my academic teaching, I pursue a love of natural history through conservation work that includes undertaking survey work and analysis, as well as more practical work such as scrub clearance and the construction of dry-stone walls. I have also worked professionally for the National Trust as a Species Protection Warden in Northumberland and as a Countryside Ranger for the Deadwater Valley Trust in East Hampshire. For two years I wrote two columns for the Dorking Advertiser Newspaper - one on wildlife and the other on philosophical questions that are raised in local and national news stories.
I have published in academic journals of philosophy and written feature articles for wildlife magazines. I also write music, some of which can be listened to on this website.