Ethical restoration after oppressive violence: a philosophical account. Contemporary political ethics has to face the question of how to repair relations that have broken down after crimes, oppression and political violence. Using the work of European and feminist philosophers to examine historical and recent cases including post-liberation France, post-genocide Rwanda and post-colonial Australasia and neighbouring countries, this project aims to develop a philosophical account of ethical restor ....Ethical restoration after oppressive violence: a philosophical account. Contemporary political ethics has to face the question of how to repair relations that have broken down after crimes, oppression and political violence. Using the work of European and feminist philosophers to examine historical and recent cases including post-liberation France, post-genocide Rwanda and post-colonial Australasia and neighbouring countries, this project aims to develop a philosophical account of ethical restoration, focusing on just punishment, forgiveness, reconciliation, building trust and atonement.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100918
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$395,220.00
Summary
The Amphibian Ark: hope in an era of extinction . A fungal disease is driving hundreds of frog species to extinction. Conservationists are saving species in The Amphibian Ark, a transnational network of biosecure holding tanks and cryogenic banks of frozen tissue. This project will explore the political, economic and cultural forces driving the selection of certain endangered species to live in this twenty-first century Ark. The methods of multispecies ethnography will be used to follow frogs an ....The Amphibian Ark: hope in an era of extinction . A fungal disease is driving hundreds of frog species to extinction. Conservationists are saving species in The Amphibian Ark, a transnational network of biosecure holding tanks and cryogenic banks of frozen tissue. This project will explore the political, economic and cultural forces driving the selection of certain endangered species to live in this twenty-first century Ark. The methods of multispecies ethnography will be used to follow frogs and their fungal pathogens through the Ark, from scientific laboratories and zoos to recreated semi-wild ecosystems. Findings from this research will advance interdisciplinary scholarship in the humanities about extinction, redemption and survival.Read moreRead less
A new understanding of responsibility in the ethics of human reproduction. New developments in reproductive medicine and prenatal testing technologies are transforming pregnancy and generating difficult moral and policy questions for parents and the Australian community. This project will provide a new framework for reproductive responsibility that helps to ensure a healthy start to life for all Australians.
Economic Sanctions after the Cold War. This project investigates the post-Cold War proliferation of economic sanctions. Advocates of sanctions see them as peaceful alternatives to armed conflict that uphold international norms without resort to force. Yet sanctions have significant and unpredictable effects and their use remains deeply contested. This project draws on detailed archival research to understand how liberal polities have come to view economic sanctions as non-violent tools of diplo ....Economic Sanctions after the Cold War. This project investigates the post-Cold War proliferation of economic sanctions. Advocates of sanctions see them as peaceful alternatives to armed conflict that uphold international norms without resort to force. Yet sanctions have significant and unpredictable effects and their use remains deeply contested. This project draws on detailed archival research to understand how liberal polities have come to view economic sanctions as non-violent tools of diplomacy and how this view has been contested by those subjected to them. By analysing the moral, political and economic theories that inform the imposition of sanctions, the research will throw new light on a crucial dimension of international politics. Read moreRead less
Rewriting the Social Contract: Technology, Ecology, Extremism. This project aims to develop a new approach to understanding the purpose and power of social contracts: implicit agreements among members of a society to cooperate for mutual benefit. Australia’s post-war prosperity has relied on a robust social contract, but it is under increasing strain today from new technological, environmental and socio-political realities. Using techniques from philosophy and social theory, this project seeks t ....Rewriting the Social Contract: Technology, Ecology, Extremism. This project aims to develop a new approach to understanding the purpose and power of social contracts: implicit agreements among members of a society to cooperate for mutual benefit. Australia’s post-war prosperity has relied on a robust social contract, but it is under increasing strain today from new technological, environmental and socio-political realities. Using techniques from philosophy and social theory, this project seeks to examine the main pressures on the social contract today, and to propose how it can be reinforced. Intended benefits include strengthening social cohesion through better understanding the causes of reduced wellbeing, social fragmentation and unrest, and through proposing ways to mitigate their costly effects.Read moreRead less
Rethinking Zoo Biology: The Histories, Effects and Futures of Captivity. This project aims to transform our understanding of the captive management of wild animals by examining the histories, effects and potential futures of zoo biology. It expects to clarify, synthesise and generate knowledge in the history and philosophy of zoo biology using interdisciplinary approaches to the intersection of human and animal lives. Expected outcomes of this project include international and interdisciplinary ....Rethinking Zoo Biology: The Histories, Effects and Futures of Captivity. This project aims to transform our understanding of the captive management of wild animals by examining the histories, effects and potential futures of zoo biology. It expects to clarify, synthesise and generate knowledge in the history and philosophy of zoo biology using interdisciplinary approaches to the intersection of human and animal lives. Expected outcomes of this project include international and interdisciplinary collaborations that will develop sophisticated methods and conceptual resources for understanding and improving human-wildlife relations. This will provide significant environmental and social benefits, protecting threatened biological communities and helping them to flourish alongside people in changing conditions.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101531
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$363,592.00
Summary
Bewildering Animals: Towards A New Philosophical Ethology. This project aims to develop a new field of inquiry: philosophical ethology. Ethology is the scientific and objective study of animal behaviour. At a time of dwindling habitats and biodiversity loss, new insights into animal cognition, technology and culture have unsettled the traditional view of animals as merely reactive machines. The project aims to conduct a historical, conceptual and epistemological study of the sciences of animal b ....Bewildering Animals: Towards A New Philosophical Ethology. This project aims to develop a new field of inquiry: philosophical ethology. Ethology is the scientific and objective study of animal behaviour. At a time of dwindling habitats and biodiversity loss, new insights into animal cognition, technology and culture have unsettled the traditional view of animals as merely reactive machines. The project aims to conduct a historical, conceptual and epistemological study of the sciences of animal behaviour, and to provide conceptual resources for understanding human relations with wildlife. Its goal is to develop new insight into changing human and natural systems and contribute to debates in the environmental humanities and animal studies.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100473
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$346,434.00
Summary
The invention of collateral damage and the changing moral economy of war. This project aims to provide a novel philosophical account of the invention of the concept of collateral damage in war. It seeks to understand the historical and institutional processes that have produced a moral distinction between deliberate harm inflicted on non-combatants, and the non-intentional harm that is seen as an inevitable side effect of modern warfare. Drawing on archival material and military manuals, and com ....The invention of collateral damage and the changing moral economy of war. This project aims to provide a novel philosophical account of the invention of the concept of collateral damage in war. It seeks to understand the historical and institutional processes that have produced a moral distinction between deliberate harm inflicted on non-combatants, and the non-intentional harm that is seen as an inevitable side effect of modern warfare. Drawing on archival material and military manuals, and combining insights from the history of human rights and contemporary European political philosophy, the project aims to produce a sophisticated philosophical framework for understanding the social and political implications of conceiving civilian deaths as collateral damage to contribute to public debate about the human costs of war.Read moreRead less
An analysis of foetal imaging and the ethics of the selective termination of pregnancy. This project examines the impacts of routine obstetric ultrasound on the experience of pregnancy, focusing on the ethics of selective termination following diagnosis of abnormalities. The project contributes to the national research priority goal of a healthy start to life, by examining the ethical aspects of ensuring foetal health in Australia.
The invention of norms: how ethics, law, and the life sciences shape our social selves. This project aims to produce a new account of the emergence and role of the concept of norms. While norms have been the subject of significant academic attention, their history has never been recorded. This project aims to study the development of the conceptual vocabulary of norms, normality and normativity in the key areas of the life sciences, legal discourse, and ethics. Showing how these discourses link ....The invention of norms: how ethics, law, and the life sciences shape our social selves. This project aims to produce a new account of the emergence and role of the concept of norms. While norms have been the subject of significant academic attention, their history has never been recorded. This project aims to study the development of the conceptual vocabulary of norms, normality and normativity in the key areas of the life sciences, legal discourse, and ethics. Showing how these discourses link up to one another and to social institutions, it will produce new insights into the 'normalising' society. Its purpose is thus to understand how individuals and public policy can successfully navigate the proliferation of norms in various fields today, in a situation of increasing diversity of rules and cultural codes.Read moreRead less