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Reinventing Philosophy as a Way of Life. The core aim of this project is to examine modern re-inventions of the classical ideal of philosophy as a way of life. It will investigate the reanimation of this idea in post-Kantian philosophy, including well-known figures such as Nietzsche but also neglected figures such as Jean-Marie Guyau. The research will be highly significant in providing the first sustained study of how 19th and 20th century European philosophy transformed ancient philosophical s ....Reinventing Philosophy as a Way of Life. The core aim of this project is to examine modern re-inventions of the classical ideal of philosophy as a way of life. It will investigate the reanimation of this idea in post-Kantian philosophy, including well-known figures such as Nietzsche but also neglected figures such as Jean-Marie Guyau. The research will be highly significant in providing the first sustained study of how 19th and 20th century European philosophy transformed ancient philosophical schools, such as Epicureanism and Stoicism. Read moreRead less
Racial Classifications in Transnational Context: Aborigines and Islanders in Australia, Native Americans, African Americans and Afro-Brazilians. This ongoing project seeks to develop a new and more powerful scholarly paradigm for understanding race through a comparative historical study designed to identify features which are common to concepts of race as they have emerged and shifted in the different societies studied, and to distinguish these from features which are specific to particular soc ....Racial Classifications in Transnational Context: Aborigines and Islanders in Australia, Native Americans, African Americans and Afro-Brazilians. This ongoing project seeks to develop a new and more powerful scholarly paradigm for understanding race through a comparative historical study designed to identify features which are common to concepts of race as they have emerged and shifted in the different societies studied, and to distinguish these from features which are specific to particular societies and/or eras. In addition to developing and demonstrating the approach, the project will reanalyse the racialisation of the four colonised groups, each of which have figured centrally in studies of race. One monograph and at least three major journal articles will result.Read moreRead less
Evolvability and the Evolution of Complexity. Anyone engaging in a moment's reflection on the striking richness, diversity, and complexity of the biological world is faced with the question: how did it get here? Though natural selection is central to answering this question, important new work has identified various conditions that make some lineages of organisms "evolvable": capable of changing in ways that radically expand the range of further possible changes. This project will clarify and in ....Evolvability and the Evolution of Complexity. Anyone engaging in a moment's reflection on the striking richness, diversity, and complexity of the biological world is faced with the question: how did it get here? Though natural selection is central to answering this question, important new work has identified various conditions that make some lineages of organisms "evolvable": capable of changing in ways that radically expand the range of further possible changes. This project will clarify and integrate these various conditions using empirical examples and simple models. The resulting work from this project will provide a clearer general understanding of what biological complexity is, and how science has compelling candidates for understanding how it evolves.Read moreRead less
John Locke, botany and natural kinds. This project will enhance the status of research into early modern science and philosophy in Australia. It is a project of major significance in Locke studies and in the history of botany and it will impinge on a number of current philosophical debates to which Australians are already making a major contribution: the nature of biological species; natural kinds; and scientific method. Those who work on early modern thought in Australia will also benefit from ....John Locke, botany and natural kinds. This project will enhance the status of research into early modern science and philosophy in Australia. It is a project of major significance in Locke studies and in the history of botany and it will impinge on a number of current philosophical debates to which Australians are already making a major contribution: the nature of biological species; natural kinds; and scientific method. Those who work on early modern thought in Australia will also benefit from the close relationship that will be established between the University of Sydney and Oxford University. The publications issuing from the project will be of international significance.Read moreRead less
Descartes' Ontology of Everyday Life. Australia has a strong international reputation in philosophy and the history of philosophy. This project will contribute to our standing in the international community of scholars and to the teaching of Australian students in the historical origins of contemporary ideas and problems. It will furthermore contribute to the growing recognition of early modern interdisciplinary studies within Australia by drawing on ideas from the history of science, early mode ....Descartes' Ontology of Everyday Life. Australia has a strong international reputation in philosophy and the history of philosophy. This project will contribute to our standing in the international community of scholars and to the teaching of Australian students in the historical origins of contemporary ideas and problems. It will furthermore contribute to the growing recognition of early modern interdisciplinary studies within Australia by drawing on ideas from the history of science, early modern philosophy, medieval philosophy and the history of early modern thought and ideas.Read moreRead less
Indigenous land claims in historical context. By enlightening the history of Indigenous legal opposition to dispossession from the beginning of colonisation, this project will provide a means of engaging with the political challenges and responses posed by legal conflicts with Indigenous peoples over the question of land.
Genocide: Critical History of an Idea. Australians have been accused of genocide against Indigenous peoples. Australian troops are sent abroad to participate in humanitarian interventions based on the occurrence of genocide. Yet its meaning is bitterly contested. By explaining the origins of the genocide concept, how and why it has changed since its codification after World War II, as well as how it is used today, I will clarify knowledge of genocide's meanings in international law, politics and ....Genocide: Critical History of an Idea. Australians have been accused of genocide against Indigenous peoples. Australian troops are sent abroad to participate in humanitarian interventions based on the occurrence of genocide. Yet its meaning is bitterly contested. By explaining the origins of the genocide concept, how and why it has changed since its codification after World War II, as well as how it is used today, I will clarify knowledge of genocide's meanings in international law, politics and diplomacy. Australia's status and role in the international community is based in part on its stance against genocide. It is imperative, therefore, that its meanings are accurately understood.Read moreRead less
Medicine and Culture: Bioethics in Historical Perspective, 1850 to the present. Australia has long been looked to as an example for legislative and community responses to new medical technologies and as a leader in debates about medical ethics. The project will contribute to the international profile of Australia as a leader in health policy issues, as well as sustaining a focus on informed community debate.
The Buddhist roots of neo-Confucian philosophy. This project will: show for the first time how Buddhist philosophy shaped the intellectual construction of neo-Confucian philosophy; demonstrate that Chinese philosophy owes far more to its engagement with other philosophical traditions than has hitherto been demonstrated; and enable us to view Chinese philosophy as part of a global enterprise.
Science, Knowledge and the Transmission of Psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis has always wanted to be a science. From Sigmund Freud to Jacques Lacan, disputes in psychoanalysis have typically hinged on the question of whether the knowledge produced by psychoanalysis deserves the appellation scientific. If so, in what way? If not, why not? What sort of psychoanalytic institution would be adequate to psychoanalysis? scientific claims? This interdisciplinary project is a historical, critical and constr ....Science, Knowledge and the Transmission of Psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis has always wanted to be a science. From Sigmund Freud to Jacques Lacan, disputes in psychoanalysis have typically hinged on the question of whether the knowledge produced by psychoanalysis deserves the appellation scientific. If so, in what way? If not, why not? What sort of psychoanalytic institution would be adequate to psychoanalysis? scientific claims? This interdisciplinary project is a historical, critical and constructive examination of psychoanalytic theory and practice, which re-examines key texts from the vantage point of the scientific question. Finally, the project will ask what psychoanalysis can contribute to the understanding of other scientific practices.Read moreRead less