Mgr. Kamila Pacovská, Ph.D. | Centre for ethics

Location: 07 023, building G

Research interests

Areas: Ethics and moral philosophy, moral psychology, theory of action, philosophy of emotions, Platonic-Wittgensteinian ethics, virtue ethics, philosophy and literature
Topics: Self-deception, nature of responsibility, moral luck, philosophy of love, moralism, pride and humility, moral ambition, perfectionism, guilt, shame, remorse, admiration, ethics of fame, philosophy of power
Authors: Plato, Aristotle, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Søren Kierkegaard, Simone Weil, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Iris Murdoch, Peter Winch

Web on academia.edu; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3905-5909

Education
2005 – 2013 Ph.D. in philosophy, Charles University in Prague (supervisor: Marina Barabas, thesis: Guilt and Wrongdoing: Problem of Responsibility)
1999 – 2005 Mgr in Mathematics and Philosophy, Charles University in Prague (diploma thesis: Moral Reasons and the Limits of Argument in Analytical Ethics of the Second Half of 20th Century)

Teaching Experience
2011 – present Assistant-professor at the Department of Philosophy, University of Pardubice (specialisation in ethics and in the history of ethical theories)
2007/2008 Course ‘Rozum a cit’ [Reason and Emotion], Charles University in Prague

Membership in professional associations and boards

Associate Editor of The Journal of Ethics, an International Philosophical Review (from January 2022).
Associate Editor of Organon F, international journal of analytic philosophy (from January 2019).
Member of the editorial circle of Filosofický časopis [the Philosophical Journal] (from July 2024)
Council member of the Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences (from January 2022).
Member of the PhD Programme board, University of Hradec Kralove (from September 2024)
Member of the PhD Programme board, University of Pardubice (from September 2024)

PhD Supervision
Current PhD students (main supervisor): Mgr. Monika Melzerová (Thesis: Social punishment, start 2024); Mgr. Serhiy Kish (thesis: The role of emotions in intractable moral conflict, start 2022)
Graduates (main supervisor): Mattimai Bakor Syiem (thesis: The Role of Shame and Guilt in the Moral Development of Children, defended August 26, 2024); Vojtěch Janů, Ph.D. (dissertation: Searle's Conception of Biological Naturalism, defended 29th June 2021)

Prizes and Awards

14/05/2018 - Young Scientist Award granted by the Learned Society of the Czech Republic for excellent work in the field of philosophy and ethics
12/11/2021 - The University of Pardubice Rector's Award for young scientists (on account of the contribution to the development of the area of philosophy at the University of Pardubice)

Publications

Books

Základní etické teorie [Basic Ethical Theories], (eds. O. Beran, K. Pacovská), Pavel Mervart, Červený Kostelec 2022.
Problémy etiky I [Problems of Ethics I], (eds. O. Beran, K. Pacovská), Pavel Mervart, Červený Kostelec 2022.
Problémy etiky II [Problems of Ethics II], (eds. O. Beran, K. Pacovská), Pavel Mervart, Červený Kostelec 2022.
Wittgensteinovská etika [Wittgensteinian Ethics], (eds. O. Beran, K. Pacovská), Pavel Mervart, Červený Kostelec 2022.
Vina, láska, náhoda [Guilt, Love, Luck], Pavel Mervart, Červený Kostelec 2018.
Filosofie lásky a přátelství [Philosophy of Love and Friendship] (eds. T. Hejduk, K. Pacovská), Pavel Mervart, Červený Kostelec 2016.
Love and Its Objects. What Can We Care For? (eds. Ch. Maurer, T. Milligan, K. Pacovská), Palgrave Macmillan 2014.

Articles

‘Fame goes to one’s head’: The lures of fame and the moral perils of addiction, pride and vanity", in C. Robb, A. Archer, M. Dennis (eds), The Philosophy of Fame and Celebrity, London, Bloomsbury, 2025, 32-49.
“Being at Home in the World”, in H. Hrachovec, J. Mácha (eds.), Platonism. Proceedings of the 43th International Wittgenstein Symposium, Publications of the Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein Society, Berlin / Boston, De Gruyter, 2024, 247-267, https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111386294-016
“Try to be loved & not-admired.” Lili Bart’s Moral Struggle" in S. A. Salskov, O. Beran, N. Hämäläinen (eds), Ethical Inquiries After Wittgenstein, Springer, Nordic Wittgenstein Studies, vol. 8, 2022, p. 49-62.
"Remorse and Self-love: Kostelnička’s Change of Heart", The Journal of Ethics 25, 2021, 467–486.
"Wanting to be better: On the self-defeating character of moral perfection", in Campbell, M., Reid, L. (eds), Ethics, Society and Politics: Themes from the Philosophy of Peter Winch, Springer, Nordic Wittgenstein Studies, vol. 6, 2020, p. 167-182.
"Moral Character and the Significance of Action: Judging Dmitri Karamazov", Philosophical Investigations, 42 (4), 2019, p. 333-349.
"Love and the Pitfall of Moralism", Philosophy 93 (2), 2018, p. 231–249.
"Platónská tradice v současné anglosaské etice". [Platonic Tradition in Contemporary Anglophone Ethics]. In: Přístupy k etice III (ed. J. Jirsa et al.), Filosofia, Praha 2016, p. 219-252.
"Banker Bulstrode Doesn't Do Wrong Intentionally. A Study of Self-deceptive Wrongdoing". In: The Journal of Value Inquiry, 50(1), 2016, p. 169-184.
"Bankéř Bulstrode a problém zodpovědnosti a sebeklamu." ["Banker Bulstrode and the Problem of Responsibility and Self-deception"] In: Reflexe 48 (2015), p. 149-161.
"Loving Villains: Virtue in Response to Wrongdoing". In: Love and Its Objects. What Can We Care For? (eds. Ch. Maurer, T. Milligan, K. Pacovská), Palgrave Macmillan 2014.
"Etický význam pojmu lidství: obrana "druhismu" v díle B. A. O. Williamse a C. Diamond". [The Ethical Significance of Humanity. The Defence of Speciesism in the Work of B.A.O. Williams and C. Diamond] In: Filosofický časopis 6/2014.
"Bankéř Bulstrode nečiní zlo úmyslně. Případ sebeklamného provinění" [Banker Bulstrode Doesn't Do Wrong Intentionally. A Case of Self-deceptive Wrongdoing]. In: Reflexe 44 (2013), p. 51-78.
"Soumrak etiky činu" [The Twilight of the Ethics of Action]. In: Nomádva 14 (2013).
"Morální pravidla před Wittgensteinem a po něm" [Moral Rules Before and After Wittgenstein]. In: Filosofie dnes, II (2010), no. 2, p. 59-72.
"Why is it Sometimes Easier to Love Rex and Fiffi than to Love Our Adolescent Children?" (with Christian Maurer) In: S. Hales (ed.), What Philosophy Can Tell You About Your Dog. Chicago: Open Court Publishing 2008.
Review: V. Kolman (ed.), From Truth to Proof. In: Organon F, XV (2008), no. 1, p. 111-113.
"Kritika metaetiky v díle P. Footové a dalších ‘deskriptivistů’" [A Critique of Metaethics in the work of P. Foot and other “Descriptivists”]. In: Studia Neoaristotelica: Časopis pro aristotelsky orientovanou křesťanskou filosofii, III (2006), no. 1, p. 62-74.

Translations

Scientific editor of several volumes of translations, see above “Edited volumes”
Murdoch, I., "Svrchovanost dobra nad ostatními pojmy" [The Sovereignty of Good over Other Concepts], in: T. Hejduk, K. Pacovská (eds.), Filosofie lásky a přátelství, Nakladatelství Pavel Mervart, Červený kostelec 2016, s. 295-318.
Gaita, R., "Dobrota přesahující ctnost" [Goodness beyond Virtue], in: T. Hejduk, K. Pacovská (eds.), Filosofie lásky a přátelství, Nakladatelství Pavel Mervart, Červený kostelec 2016, s. 319-329.
Weil, S., "Bojujeme za spravedlnost?" [Luttons-nous pour la justice?], in: T. Hejduk, K. Pacovská (eds.), Filosofie lásky a přátelství, Nakladatelství Pavel Mervart, Červený kostelec 2016, s. 283-293.

Presentations

"Immoral Imagination, conflict and the shifting of the possible", XXV World Congress of Philosophy, Rome, August 5th 2024.
"Home as a Place of Evil. Why Moral Psychology Shouldn’t Shun Maltreated Children.“ Conference The Ethics of Home: Patriotism, Cosmopolitanism and Alienation, University of Pardubice, 2nd June 2022.
"'Try to be loved & not-admired.' Lili Bart’s Moral Struggle," conference of the European Philosophical Society for the Study of Emotions, on-line, 12th June 2021.
"Self-love and Remorse. Kostelnička's Change of Heart," Uppsala University, Higher Seminar in the Philosophy of Language and Culture, 5th February 2021.
"The Irresistible Spell of a Populist Leader", workshop Partisanship and Compassion in a time of Populism, King's College London, 27-28th August 2019.
"'Love does not act by force'. Simone Weil on love and justice", conference Love and Justice, Pardubice, 5th September 2018.
"Loving Contemplation between Wonder and Judgment?", workshop Love, Forgiveness and Reconciliation, King's College London, 2nd September 2016.
"Loving Contemplation: Wonder or Judgment?", 5th Colloquium on the Modalities of the Good, Prague, 14th-16th July 2016.
"Joy as Loving Contemplation", Conversation Joy, Love and Hatred, Yale Center for Faith and Culture, 27th –28th May 2016.
"Remorse and Self-Love" - Love and the Good, Pardubice, 25th September 2015
"Loving the Miserable: Murdoch and Weil on the Reality of Others" - Iris Murdoch International Conference, Kingston University, 12th September 2014; Love's Passion: Philosophical Perspectives on Love, University of Hertfordshire, 16th September 2014
"Skutečnost neštěstí. Weil a Gaita o géniích a světicích" [The Reality of Affliction. Weil and Gaita on Genii and Saints] - Umění neštěstí, selhání a utrpení, Czech Academy of Science, 6th March 2015
"Dmitri Karamazov Is Not a Murderer. The Significance of Action", 4th Colloquium on the Modalities of the Good, Prague, 23rd July 2014; Welsh Philosophical Society, Gregynog Hall, 2nd May 2015
"Beauty, Goodness and Love: Simone Weil's interpretation of the Iliad" - Art and Morality, Budapest, 5th June 2014
"Loving Villains" - Love and its Objects, Pardubice, 18th July 2013
"Problém zodpovědnosti v současné anglosaské etice" [The Problem of Responsibility in Contemporary Analytic Ethics] – Svoboda rozhodování v dějinách a současnosti filosofie, Olomouc, 6. října 2011
"Loving Villains, Villain Loving" – Recent Developments in the Philosophy of Love, Université de Fribourg, Switzerland, 30th September 2011
"Morální jednání jako epizoda?" [Moral Action as an Episode?] - Čas fysiky a čas etiky, Praha, CR, 25th May 2011
"Pravidla v morálním jednání" [Rules in Moral Action] - Hradecké filosofické dny, Hradec Králové, CR, 23rd September 2010
"Remorse and the Voluntary" - 2nd Colloquium on the Modalities of the Good, Prague, CR, 4th August 2010
"Banker Bulstrode: a Study of Permeating Evil" - Colloquium on the Modalities of the Good, Prague, CR, 6th August 2009
"Banker Bulstrode: Study of a Wrongdoing" - Philosophy and Literature Graduate Conference, University of Warwick, 26th May 2009
"Impartiality and Love in Ethics" - Philosopher’s Rally, Warsaw University, Poland, 11th – 13th May 2007
"Structuralism in the Philosophy of Mathematics" - 15th Annual Conference of Doctoral Students, Charles University in Prague, CR, 6th June 2006
"Osobní identita a její role v morálním hodnocení" [Personal Identity and its Role in Moral Judgment] - Conference of the Association of Philosophy Teachers at Theology faculties of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, České Budějovice, CR, 27th – 29th August 2006

Invited lectures

"Humility and Moral "Success"", 8th Colloquium on the Modalities of the Good, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, July 23, 2024
"Humility for Success and Failure“, The Ethics and Society Research Groups Joint Session (University of Vienna), April 22, 2024.
„Sláva stoupá do hlavy” Pokušení a neřesti úspěšných", Department seminar, University of J. E. Purkyně, Ústí nad Labem, December 4, 2023
“Fame goes to one’s head”: The lures of fame and the moral perils of addiction, pride and vanity", Department Colloquium, University of Tübingen, November 22, 2023
"Humility and Love as Response to Wrongdoing", Conference Attitudes and reactive practices: wrongs and stigmatization, Université Rennes, October 4-6, 2023
“Good Act as a Surprise: Attention and Creativity in Moral Responses“, LMS seminar, University of Hradec Králové, 8 March 2023.
"Being at home in the world." Platonism. 43rd International Wittgenstein Symposium, Kirchberg am Wechsel, 8-13 August 2022 (postponed from 2020 due to pandemics).
"Home as a Place of Evil. Why Moral Psychology Shouldn’t Shun Maltreated Children.“ Dutch Research School of Philosophy's (OZSW) Moral Psychology Study group, Tilburg University, 24th May 2022.
"Simone Weil and attending to the afflicted. On Breakdowns, Misfortunes and Good Samaritans." Workshop Ethics and Emotions, ZEPP Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, 9th May 2022.
"Simone Weil, pozornost a neštěstí" [Simone Weil, Attention and Affliction], Masaryk University Brno, 2nd May 2022.
"Simone Weil and attending to the afflicted", Ethical attention: Murdoch in philosophical dialogue, on-line, University College Dublin & University of Pardubice, 4-5 February 2022.
"The Irresistible Spell of a Populist Leader", Think! Central European Student Conference in Analytic Philosophy, University of Bayreuth, 17-19 May 2019.
"Teorie lásky a past moralismu" [Theories of Love and the Pitfall of Moralism], Jednota filosofická, Olomouc, 8th March 2017.
"Joy as Loving Contemplation", Conversation Joy, Love and Hatred, Yale Center for Faith and Culture, 27th–28th May 2016.
"Remorse and Self-Love", Université Fribourg, 20th October 2015.
"Dmitri Karamazov Is Not a Murderer. The Significance of Action", Welsh Philosophical Society, Gregynog Hall, 2nd May 2015.
„Ilias, neboli báseň o lásce. Interpretace Simone Weil" [Ilias or the Poem of Force. Simone Weil Interpretation] - colloquium Reflexia Homéra v antické filozofii, Banská Bystrica, 22nd November 2013
"Wrongdoing Without Intention: Self-deceptive Action", University of Hertfordshire, 27th February 2014.
"Loving villains", University of Hertfordshire, 27th February 2014.
"Wrongdoing Without Intention: Self-deceptive Action", University of Leeds, 17th February 2014.

Grants and Scholarships

2024-2028 - Combatting self-righteousness - a vice of the digital age, ERC CZ Grant No. LL2308 (MŠMT) - team member (from July 2024)
2024, 02-06 - AKTION, AÖCZ-Habilitatonsstpendium, five months scholarship at the Department of Philosophy, Central European University, funded by OeAD – Austria´s Agency for Educaton and Internationalisaton, Federal Ministry of Educaton, Science and Research (BMBWF)
2023-2028 - Beyond Security: Role of Conflict in Resilience-Building (CoRe), Grant No. CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004595 of the Operational Programme Johannes Amos Comenius) - Principal investigator of the UPa team
2022-2023 - ECEGADMAT, Grant no. 22-15446S of the Czech Science Foundation - member of the research team
2016 - 2022 - Centre for Ethics as Study in Human Value (Grant no. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15_003/0000425 of the Operational Programme Research, Development and Education - Principal investigator/Deputy head of research
2013 – 2016 – Love and Friendship in Ancient and Contemporary Philosophy, Grant no. 13-14510S of the Czech Science Foundation - member of the research team
September 2012 – Aktion, one month scholarship at the University of Vienna
2012 – 2014 – The Idea of University (Grant no. CZ.1.07/2.2.00/28.0270 of the Education for Competitiveness Operational Programme) - lector
2008 – 2009 Anglo-Czech Educational Fund, one year scholarship at the University of Edinburgh
2006 – Erasmus, three month scholarship at the University of Glasgow
2006 – 2007 Graduate Center for logical foundations for semantics and representation of knowledge - member of the center

Workshops and conferences organized

Conference The Ethics of Home: Patriotism, Cosmopolitanism and Alienation, University of Pardubice, 1-3 June 2022 (with Matej Cíbik, Antony Fredriksson and Niklas Forsberg).
Workshop Disagreement, (in) tolerance and political discourse, University of Pardubice, 12-14th September 2019 (with Matej Cíbik).
Workshop Love, Forgiveness and Reconciliation, King's College London, 2nd September 2016 (organized with Tony Milligan).
Conference: Love and the Good, Pardubice, 24-26th September 2015 (Organized with Tomáš Hejduk and Tony Milligan)
Symposium II: Ethical Values and Emotions, Central and Eastern European Ethical Network, Palacky University, Olomouc, 28-30th May 2015 (with Martin Cajthaml and Vlastimil Vohánka)
Umění neštěstí, selhání a utrpení [Art of Affliction, Failure and Suffering], Czech Academy of Science, 6th March 2015 (with O. Beran)
Love's Passion: Philosophical Perspectives on Love, University of Hertfordshire, 15-16th September 2014 (Organized with Tony Milligan)
4th Colloquium on the Modalities of the Good, Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Science, Prague, 23rd-25th July 2014 (Organized with Marina Barabas)
Workshop: Love and its Objects, Pardubice, 18-20th July 2013 (Organized with Tomáš Hejduk)
3rd Colloquium on the Modalities of the Good, Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Science, Prague, 1st-3rd August 2012 (Organized with Marina Barabas and Christopher Cowley)
2nd Colloquium on the Modalities of the Good, Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Science, Prague, 4th-6th August 2010 (Organized with Marina Barabas)
Colloquium on the Modalities of the Good, Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Science, Prague, 5th-6th August 2009 (Organized with Marina Barabas)

Public lectures and (radio) interviews:

Interview for the podcast Mysli a žij! [Think and live!] (in Czech) "Pokora je ctnost pro digitální věk, zchlazuje zbytečný konflikt" [Humility is a virtue for digital age, it cools unnecessary conflict], 3 December 2024.
"Věra Junková jako hrdinka hodná následování" ["Věra Junková as a hero worth emulating], Seminar dedicated to the legacy of Věra Junková, 27th September 2024.
Interview with Erik Havlík for @filozofickedrobky
“Good Act as a Surprise: Attention and Creativity in Moral Responses“, lecture for Tilburg philosophy student association Sapientia Ludenda, Institute of Philosophy Academic Conference Centre, 11 March 2023
"Dobrý člověk překvapí. Pozornost a kreativita v otázce dobrého jednání" [The good man surprises you. Attention and Creativity in Good Action], Letní filosofická škola ÚFaR, 23 September 2022
"Být ve světě jako doma" [To be at home in the world], lecture at the Gymnázium Holice, 27th June 2022
Public discussion "Jak učit etiku a proč?" [How to teach ethics and why?], Hvězdy filosofie, organised by Jakub Jirsa, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 17th June 2022.
Interview: Lesky a bídy současné české filosofie [The Splendors and miseries of of contemporary Czech philosophy] (Eliška Fulínová and Tomáš Koblížek with Kamila Pacovská a Ondřej Švec), Reflexe 61, 117-136.
„Pokušení slávy“ [Temptation of Fame], Department seminar, 10th March 2021
„Univerzita Pardubice má evropský zvuk“ [University of Pardubice has a European Timbre], interview in Czech Radio Pardubice, 5th March 2021, https://pardubice.rozhlas.cz/univerzita-pardubice-ma-evropsky-zvuk-ucit-...
„Lítost a sebeláska. Vnitřní obrat Kostelničky” [Remorse and Self-love. Kostenička’s Change of Heart], Café Universitas FILDA, 15th December 2020; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNqw5uoy9gk
„Myšlení v chodu” [Thinking while walking], interview in Czech Radio Vltava, 14th December 2019; https://vltava.rozhlas.cz/mysleni-v-chodu-o-chuzi-za-chuze-se-ctyrmi-fil...
„Etika ctností“ [Virtue ethics], interview in Czech Radio Vltava, 28th May 2019; https://vltava.rozhlas.cz/etika-ctnosti-8074259
„Radost, kontemplativní emoce” [Joy, a Contemplative Emotion], Café Universitas, 22nd March 2016