Reasons and Rationality. The project explains how we assess the truth and falsehood of everyday claims about what people have reason to do. It also explains what legitimizes our practice of praising and blaming people for their success and failure at doing what we think they have reason to do. In so doing it provides a foundation for both our ordinary practice of holding people responsible, and for the more institutionalised counterpart of this ordinary practice in the law.
Vulnerability, autonomy and justice. Vulnerable people require assistance and care. But what are our responsibilities in relation to the vulnerable? And how can we provide assistance and care while avoiding stereotyping or paternalism? This research will advance ethical theory and be useful in solving practical problems in health research and policy.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130101601
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$337,940.00
Summary
Wellbeing, preferences, and basic goods. Since individual choice and public policy aim at promoting wellbeing, it is crucial to understand what wellbeing is. This project develops an account of wellbeing that is grounded in individual preferences, but acknowledges that people sometimes desire what is harmful to them.
Ethics and Formal Theories of Decision. The benefits of this project will include improved methods for making ethically-informed decisions in various practical situations. Among the more important applications are legal decisions and conservation management. The theory developed in this project will also help shed light on both the statistical and ethical issues raised in much-debated areas such as racial profiling. The project will also serve to enhance Australia's reputation in technical philo ....Ethics and Formal Theories of Decision. The benefits of this project will include improved methods for making ethically-informed decisions in various practical situations. Among the more important applications are legal decisions and conservation management. The theory developed in this project will also help shed light on both the statistical and ethical issues raised in much-debated areas such as racial profiling. The project will also serve to enhance Australia's reputation in technical philosophy and decision theory.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100320
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Dignity and respect: a Kantian theoretical approach to practical rationality and human agency. A core component of living a fulfilling human life is having one's dignity practically acknowledged. This project will explore what dignity is, its philosophical basis and its practical implications for bioethics; the outcomes will be to improve our understanding of human dignity and to enhance Australia's international reputation in philosophy.
A narrative theory of ethics. The project aims to conduct a detailed investigation into a narrative approach to ethics. Narrative is an increasingly popular but relatively under-theorised concept. Taking as its basis work in narrative theory and ethics by Paul Ricoeur, the project aims to provide an innovative conceptual scheme which incorporates recent philosophical accounts of selfhood, emodiment, autonomy, action, and pluralistic conceptions of the good. The project will result in a major con ....A narrative theory of ethics. The project aims to conduct a detailed investigation into a narrative approach to ethics. Narrative is an increasingly popular but relatively under-theorised concept. Taking as its basis work in narrative theory and ethics by Paul Ricoeur, the project aims to provide an innovative conceptual scheme which incorporates recent philosophical accounts of selfhood, emodiment, autonomy, action, and pluralistic conceptions of the good. The project will result in a major contribution to scholarship in philosophy and ethics, as well as to the articulation of notions such as identity, subjectivity, trust, rights, obligation and accountability, across the social sciences.Read moreRead less
Ethics of Historical Relationships: Evaluating Ethical Claims Based on History. Demands based on history, ideas about historical obligations, concerns about historical identity, what it is means and what duties it might require, are common causes of dispute within and among nations. This project, by developing an ethical theory that can make well-founded judgments about the legitimacy of a wide range of historical claims, and by showing how the theory can be applied to particular cases, will pro ....Ethics of Historical Relationships: Evaluating Ethical Claims Based on History. Demands based on history, ideas about historical obligations, concerns about historical identity, what it is means and what duties it might require, are common causes of dispute within and among nations. This project, by developing an ethical theory that can make well-founded judgments about the legitimacy of a wide range of historical claims, and by showing how the theory can be applied to particular cases, will provide a better understanding of the nature of these disputes and how they might be resolved. Read moreRead less
Addiction, moral identity and moral agency: Integrating theoretical and empirical approaches. By clarifying and evaluating scientific claims about the moral impacts of addiction on the judgment and practices of drug addicted persons and by investigating the perspectives of users and treatment professionals, our project will contribute to the development of ethical and effective public policy, treatment and education programs in the addictions area, thus helping to address the causes and reduce t ....Addiction, moral identity and moral agency: Integrating theoretical and empirical approaches. By clarifying and evaluating scientific claims about the moral impacts of addiction on the judgment and practices of drug addicted persons and by investigating the perspectives of users and treatment professionals, our project will contribute to the development of ethical and effective public policy, treatment and education programs in the addictions area, thus helping to address the causes and reduce the impact of biological, social and environmental factors which diminish life potential in drug addicted persons. The innovative features of this project will enhance Australia's international reputation in bioethics and moral psychology, extend the reach of experimental philosophy, and facilitate future interdisciplinary work.Read moreRead less
Autonomy and Identity: A Relational Theory. Autonomy is widely regarded as an important value in liberal democratic societies and underpins many of the basic rights and legal protections enjoyed by citizens. The principle of respect for autonomy is a guiding ethical principle in a range of areas, including in medical and legal contexts, for example in requirements regarding informed consent, and in ethical guidelines governing protocols for research involving human subjects. A better understandi ....Autonomy and Identity: A Relational Theory. Autonomy is widely regarded as an important value in liberal democratic societies and underpins many of the basic rights and legal protections enjoyed by citizens. The principle of respect for autonomy is a guiding ethical principle in a range of areas, including in medical and legal contexts, for example in requirements regarding informed consent, and in ethical guidelines governing protocols for research involving human subjects. A better understanding of autonomy and its relationship to the social context has the potential to produce indirect socio-economic benefits by informing theory and practice in these and other areas. Read moreRead less
Collective Obligations and Partial Compliance. The research I would conduct is likely to have considerable impact at both the national and international level. Despite the lack of systematic work on the issues my projects tackles, the importance of those issues is now widely recognized, and so work on them is likely to be widely noted and discussed. In addition, the research will have important implications for a number of the most prominent issues in contemporary life in Australia, such as issu ....Collective Obligations and Partial Compliance. The research I would conduct is likely to have considerable impact at both the national and international level. Despite the lack of systematic work on the issues my projects tackles, the importance of those issues is now widely recognized, and so work on them is likely to be widely noted and discussed. In addition, the research will have important implications for a number of the most prominent issues in contemporary life in Australia, such as issues concerning refugees, relations with the aboriginal community, and international aid.Read moreRead less