We are the AIRE collective research group. We are philosophers and researchers based in Galway, working at the intersection of Public Philosophy and Environmental Philosophy, particularly interested in the philosophical and moral value of attention. As part of the Philosophy in the Wild initiative, our project will consist of a series of meetings and practices spread over several months.

Our central aim is to explore the complex relationships between non-charismatic species and humans, focusing in particular on those species inhabiting the university campus – an environment we often conceive as exclusively human. Instead, we want to highlight how the campus is already a ‘mixed’ space, shared with a multiplicity of non-human entities that deserve our attention and care. An example of these species on campus, that is ever-present yet frequently overlooked or dismissed as a nuisance, are pigeons. As animals that live in close proximity to humans yet rarely granted meaningful moral or aesthetic consideration, pigeons epitomise the kind of overlooked presence we hope to revalue. Their ambiguous status – neither truly wild nor fully domesticated – makes them a perfect lens through which to explore urban multispecies entanglement.

Project Activities

The project will include several phases and events:

·   Early Summer 2025: We will install small cameras and sound recorders in the garden of the Philosophy Department – already known, somewhat ironically, as the Philosophy in the Wild Garden – to document the lives and presence of our non-human companions on campus.

·   Posters will be circulated among students and staff, inviting them to pay attention to on-campus species and contribute by photographing, filming, or recording sounds of these beings. These contributions will be regularly shared on our social media and will form the basis of an artistic exhibition at the project’s conclusion.

·   10-11 October 2025: Some of us are on the organising board of the IPS. We are organising a pre-event prior to the IPS 2025 Conference on Nature, where we will invite a university scientist to give a talk about non-human species on campus. Conference participants will be encouraged to contribute their own photos, videos, sound recordings, and short reflections or philosophical quotes inspired by their engagement with the theme.

Final Event – February 2026

The final event will span two to three days and include both reflective and experiential components.

Day 1: Beauty, Attention, and the Non-Charismatic

·  Phase 1: We will begin with a Community of Philosophical Inquiry (CPI) focused on the role of beauty in shaping our attention towards non-human animals. Often, our ethical concern is directed towards those who fit our aesthetic preferences – typically the charismatic or visually appealing. This poses a moral and ecological problem for species that are invisible, endangered, or considered ‘ugly’ or repulsive – such as pigeons, whose grey tones and ubiquity often render them invisible or ‘undesirable’ in the public imagination, despite their rich behavioural complexity. Through philosophical dialogue, we aim to expand our circle of attention to include non-charismatic species within our shared environments, such as the insects in our garden or the animals along the nearby river.

·  Phase 2: Following the CPI, participants will engage in “sit spots” – a practice of multisensory immersion in a specific outdoor location for approximately 20 minutes, inspired by Simone Weil’s account of attention and echoing Mary Midgley’s idea of listening (Midgley 1985). Participants will be invited to take brief notes, which will later contribute to our final multispecies poetry.

Day 2: Language, Perception, and Reimagining Experience

·  Phase 1: The second day will focus on the way human language and perception – often shaped by anthropocentric assumptions – frame our understanding of the world (Midgley 1984; 1994). Drawing on Midgley, we will explore how such biases obscure the perceptual worlds of non-human animals and limit our capacity for ethical cohabitation. This session will take a more deconstructive approach, inviting participants to engage in imaginative exercises aimed at envisioning alternative, non-anthropocentric ways of experiencing the world. These reflections will help illuminate the challenges of shared existence in hybrid environments like the university campus, thinking together about sensory pollution and other barriers to multispecies cohabitation.

·  Phase 2: The CPI will be followed by another set of practical, multisensory activities. Using the previously collected videos, sound recordings, and even olfactory cues, participants will be guided through an experiential journey intended to approximate a more-than-human way of perceiving the campus.

Closing: Multispecies Poetry

At the end of the final day, we will create a multispecies poem, integrating the informal notes from participants with more structured reflections and quotations gathered throughout the project. Pigeons, for instance, with their cooing rhythms and habitual presence, may find their way into the textures of our multispecies poetry – not as metaphors, but as co-authors.

For more information on the Philosophy in the Wild project, visit https://www.notesfromabiscuittin.com/voyages/2025-philosophy-in-the-wild/

If you want to get involved, please email us at airegalway@gmail.com!

See you there!