Professional Speaking
I deliver presentations to universities and other organizations, live or online, in Belgium or abroad, in English or Dutch.
Below you can find some topics I talk about, together with some testimonials. I can tailor my presentations to suit audience interest.
I am always keen to share my learnings with others. If you would like to book me for a speaking engagement, please contact me.
An introduction to animal ethics
During this introduction to animal ethics, we examine key concepts in moral philosophy, the changing views of animals throughout history, and main argumentations about the moral status of animals. Participants will be provided with a toolkit of arguments aimed at stimulating their own reflections on the moral relevance of animals.
“Koen Margodt is one of the most profound and nuanced scholars within the field of animal ethics. His work is a perfect intellectual antidote against polarization and misunderstanding.”
Other Great Apes and Us: Some Similarities and Differences
How closely related are we to other great apes? Over the past few hundred years, our views of great apes have changed considerably. We often struggle to find ways that clearly distinguish ourselves from our closest living relatives. In this lecture we dive into (alleged) landmarks of human uniqueness such as tool making, emotional lives, theory of mind, language, problem-solving and morality.
“Each year, Dr. Koen Margodt provides a guest lecture at Ghent University in the course philosophical anthropology on the great apes, human uniqueness, moral status, and animal rights. With great enthusiasm, clarity, and rigor, he teaches the students about the similarities and differences between the other great apes and us. By delving into the fields of paleoanthropology, molecular biology, and ethology, Koen convincingly shows how we have historically seriously underestimated the mental capacities of non-human great apes, including their emotional lives and theory of mind skills.”
Some ethical reflections on zoos
Humanity’s perception of animals and how we should treat them has changed considerably over the last decades. We will investigate in how far zoos can navigate an ethical course in this evolving world which is increasingly concerned about animal welfare, animal rights, biodiversity threats and conservation challenges.
“As part of our lecture series on animal welfare at UGent and KU Leuven, Koen gave a very clear, structured, well-argued presentation on zoo ethics, in which he both made a more fundamental case for full moral status for certain animals, but also made very concrete suggestions to zoos. All this he did with great enthusiasm, very professionally and calmly, even when faced with strong opposing views.”
