The philosophical influences on anthropology. This project aims to undertake a comprehensive account of Kant’s impact on the early history of anthropology, offering a new framework for understanding philosophy’s role as a cultural force in society. The project will investigate the importance of Kant’s twin narratives of progressive human development and racial difference for understanding the course taken by anthropology when determining government policies regarding race relations. The benefit ....The philosophical influences on anthropology. This project aims to undertake a comprehensive account of Kant’s impact on the early history of anthropology, offering a new framework for understanding philosophy’s role as a cultural force in society. The project will investigate the importance of Kant’s twin narratives of progressive human development and racial difference for understanding the course taken by anthropology when determining government policies regarding race relations. The benefit of this reconstruction will be the identification of contemporary examples of Kant’s continued legacy, especially in the context of legacies of racial bias, and to the nature of claimed racial and ethnic identities.Read moreRead less
The experimental self in early modern philosophy. This project aims to analyse an unrecognised connection between the emergence of experience-grounded theories of the self and the rise of early modern experimentalism. These are two developments in early modern philosophy which paved the way for today’s conception of science. By studying the influence of Cartesian physiology on early modern accounts of embodied cognition, the project seeks to correct some of the misconceptions of the period. The ....The experimental self in early modern philosophy. This project aims to analyse an unrecognised connection between the emergence of experience-grounded theories of the self and the rise of early modern experimentalism. These are two developments in early modern philosophy which paved the way for today’s conception of science. By studying the influence of Cartesian physiology on early modern accounts of embodied cognition, the project seeks to correct some of the misconceptions of the period. The project aims to clarify the role of human agency in advancement of knowledge, and develop a conceptual framework that allows a more nuanced and complex understanding of the relationship between the humanities and sciences.Read moreRead less
Virtue with Aristotle: Recovering an Ancient Ethical Theory for Our Time. This project aims to show how Aristotle’s theory of virtue can guide our individual and collective attempts to live good human lives in challenging times. This project expects to produce the first comprehensive study of Aristotle’s concept of virtue in all three areas of human activity in which he applies it (moral action, theoretical cognition, and craft and artistic production) and to show its relevance for contemporary ....Virtue with Aristotle: Recovering an Ancient Ethical Theory for Our Time. This project aims to show how Aristotle’s theory of virtue can guide our individual and collective attempts to live good human lives in challenging times. This project expects to produce the first comprehensive study of Aristotle’s concept of virtue in all three areas of human activity in which he applies it (moral action, theoretical cognition, and craft and artistic production) and to show its relevance for contemporary ethical theory and practice. Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced understanding of the concepts of virtue and flourishing and their historical roots in Aristotle’s ethical writings. This should provide significant benefits, such as building our collective resilience.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL170100160
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,568,846.00
Summary
A philosophy of medicine for the 21st century. This project aims to develop a new theory of health and disease to accommodate developments in contemporary biology such as the ‘developmental origins of health and disease’, the role of the microbiome in physiology, and the fact that our bodies are sites of evolutionary conflict between multiple genomes, particularly in early life. Present science does not fit with common-sense ideas about the identity and the goals of living systems and the projec ....A philosophy of medicine for the 21st century. This project aims to develop a new theory of health and disease to accommodate developments in contemporary biology such as the ‘developmental origins of health and disease’, the role of the microbiome in physiology, and the fact that our bodies are sites of evolutionary conflict between multiple genomes, particularly in early life. Present science does not fit with common-sense ideas about the identity and the goals of living systems and the project expects to generate a close collaboration between philosophers and biomedical scientists so that new ideas about health and disease can be fed back into proof-of-principle projects for innovative new approaches to the study of health and disease. The project will conduct methodologically innovative research in the philosophy of medicine, working in close collaboration with biomedical scientists to confront the transformational discoveries about the nature of living systems that have been made in the first years of the current century and to actively shape new forms of enquiry into health that reflect those discoveries. It will make the discipline of philosophy an active participant in the creation of integrative biomedical research.Read moreRead less
Reason, value, and virtue. This project aims to show how key ethical ideals from philosopher Immanuel Kant, such as human dignity, autonomy, cosmopolitanism, and good will, emerged from ancient Stoic ethics. This project will investigate the influence of Stoicism on the development of Kant’s moral philosophy. The project aims to show that the Stoic influence on Kant’s ethics is governed by a shared concept of human rationality. This project will provide a better understanding of contemporary eth ....Reason, value, and virtue. This project aims to show how key ethical ideals from philosopher Immanuel Kant, such as human dignity, autonomy, cosmopolitanism, and good will, emerged from ancient Stoic ethics. This project will investigate the influence of Stoicism on the development of Kant’s moral philosophy. The project aims to show that the Stoic influence on Kant’s ethics is governed by a shared concept of human rationality. This project will provide a better understanding of contemporary ethical values.Read moreRead less
Examining scientific, philosophical, and folk perspectives on time=. This project aims to consider three very different physical theories, each of which reconciles quantum mechanics and general and special relativity in a different way. While science is more accessible than ever, we are increasingly faced with a scientific world-view that is antithetical to the way we see the world and experience ourselves in it. This project will consider the tension between the scientific picture of the world ....Examining scientific, philosophical, and folk perspectives on time=. This project aims to consider three very different physical theories, each of which reconciles quantum mechanics and general and special relativity in a different way. While science is more accessible than ever, we are increasingly faced with a scientific world-view that is antithetical to the way we see the world and experience ourselves in it. This project will consider the tension between the scientific picture of the world and our experience of the world, and aims to reconcile the two by bridging the gap between lived experience and scientific findings. The project will provide a range of ways of bridging the tension between these physical theories with our lived experience.Read moreRead less
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
The development of Australian community psychiatry. This project aims to analyse recent developments in Australian psychiatry by considering their broader social, cultural, and political contexts. In the 1970s, Australian psychiatry, primarily based in mental hospital care, came under sustained critique by psychologists, psychiatrists interested in developing alternative treatment methods, and broader social movements. This project will investigate how psychiatrists, psychologists, and other men ....The development of Australian community psychiatry. This project aims to analyse recent developments in Australian psychiatry by considering their broader social, cultural, and political contexts. In the 1970s, Australian psychiatry, primarily based in mental hospital care, came under sustained critique by psychologists, psychiatrists interested in developing alternative treatment methods, and broader social movements. This project will investigate how psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals aimed to change mental hospital care and develop community psychiatry to provide alternatives. The project will examine the initiatives of the pioneers in Australian community psychiatry and its relationship to the broader deinstitutionalisation movement. The project will also analyse the resulting changes in research and practice.Read moreRead less
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
Finding equivalence between natural and artificial intelligences. This project aims to investigate the ways in which artificial intelligence is equivalent to human intelligence. Computers outperform humans in many domains, yet it is clear that computers often don’t perform tasks the way humans do. Developing innovative methods for evaluating claims of equivalence by drawing on simpler, well-understood model systems like the honeybee brain, the project expects to fill this existing knowledge gap. ....Finding equivalence between natural and artificial intelligences. This project aims to investigate the ways in which artificial intelligence is equivalent to human intelligence. Computers outperform humans in many domains, yet it is clear that computers often don’t perform tasks the way humans do. Developing innovative methods for evaluating claims of equivalence by drawing on simpler, well-understood model systems like the honeybee brain, the project expects to fill this existing knowledge gap. Expected outcomes include a framework that provides powerful, nuanced criteria for comparison of natural and artificial intelligences. Benefits are expected to include enhanced guidance for the development of AI systems both in everyday contexts and as exploratory tools in comparative and cognitive neuroscience.Read moreRead less