Spinoza, Kant and Deleuze on freedom and ethical difference: an immanent approach. Transcendent moral philosophies, such as those in the Kantian tradition, have significant disadvantages when it comes to developing ethical and political tools for multicultural communities such as Australia, as they lack the flexibility to negotiate between moral and religious groupings adhering to competing moral absolutes. In using Deleuze's thought to develop a non-transcendent or immanent approach to ethics, ....Spinoza, Kant and Deleuze on freedom and ethical difference: an immanent approach. Transcendent moral philosophies, such as those in the Kantian tradition, have significant disadvantages when it comes to developing ethical and political tools for multicultural communities such as Australia, as they lack the flexibility to negotiate between moral and religious groupings adhering to competing moral absolutes. In using Deleuze's thought to develop a non-transcendent or immanent approach to ethics, the project seeks to address this problem. It will provide a means of negotiating this plurality of beliefs without recourse to transcendent or universal values, or to any one dominant moral code. This approach aims to have a marked impact on national debate over the philosophical and practical possibilities of such an ethics.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
Biohumanities: Philosophical, Historical, and Socio-Cultural Studies of Contemporary Bioscience. Improving understanding of the meaning and implications of contemporary bioscience, especially genetics and molecular biology, through bioliterate research in the humanities and social sciences, and conversely through better assimilation of bioscience and its significance by the humanities and social sciences. The research will be conducted in close collaboration with the Australian scientific commun ....Biohumanities: Philosophical, Historical, and Socio-Cultural Studies of Contemporary Bioscience. Improving understanding of the meaning and implications of contemporary bioscience, especially genetics and molecular biology, through bioliterate research in the humanities and social sciences, and conversely through better assimilation of bioscience and its significance by the humanities and social sciences. The research will be conducted in close collaboration with the Australian scientific community and will be disseminated back to the scientific community, to the humanities and to the Australian public. The project will bring to Australia the strengths of the applicant's existing collaborations with leading research centres in this field in the USA, UK and Canada.Read moreRead less
From alchemist's den to science city: architecture and the expression of experimental science. This project will discover the precise and nuanced ways in which architecture configures, influences and expresses the ideas and ideals of contemporary experimental science. Digital drawings, animations and critical textual analysis will expose the ways in which architecture shapes the public perception and practice of experimental science.
A Cultural and Intellectual History of Automated Labour . This project will trace how debates about labour automation have been shaped by cultural depictions of work, from the eighteenth century to today. It will produce new knowledge about how people have viewed industrial transformation, from the steam engine to modern forms of labour saving - electronic, digital, biological, and artificial intelligence. The project will combine historical study with an examination of the way artists and write ....A Cultural and Intellectual History of Automated Labour . This project will trace how debates about labour automation have been shaped by cultural depictions of work, from the eighteenth century to today. It will produce new knowledge about how people have viewed industrial transformation, from the steam engine to modern forms of labour saving - electronic, digital, biological, and artificial intelligence. The project will combine historical study with an examination of the way artists and writers have responded to labour automation. Expected benefits include informing public debate about the future of work, and shaping policy in arts-science museums and laboratories. Outcomes will include publications, public forums, conferences, training of research students and international collaboration. Read moreRead less
A unified theory of the individual - a central problem in analytical philosophy. This project will further increase Australia's already high profile in analytic philosophy. This will foster an intellectual environment within Australia that will attract highly skilled overseas academics who bring knowledge and funding to Australia, benefiting both Australian researchers and students. This will in turn attract overseas fee-paying students who bring economic and cultural benefits to Australia.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100559
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
The structure of nonclassicality and the foundations of quantum theory. What exactly makes quantum computers faster than classical computers and why does the world obey the counterintuitive rules of quantum mechanics? This project will use insights gained from researching the information-processing capabilities in a quantum world to investigate the nature of the theory itself and ways in which it might be modified.
Frontiers of Australian science popularisation. This project details Australia's role in science popularisation in the 1960s and 1970s, when the boundary between science fiction and science fact was often blurred. The project will explore how popular science of that era framed today's crucial issues of climate change, overpopulation and space exploration.
A Critical Genealogy of Normality. The rather divergent ideas about normality that emerged in nineteenth-century medical thought continue to have a widespread cultural influence today. Cultural assumptions about what constitutes a normal body inform a wide range of medical practices and underpin the use of standardised testing to determine health or disability. They are also in play when doctors decide when to undertake preventative health measures and when to intervene surgically. A detailed un ....A Critical Genealogy of Normality. The rather divergent ideas about normality that emerged in nineteenth-century medical thought continue to have a widespread cultural influence today. Cultural assumptions about what constitutes a normal body inform a wide range of medical practices and underpin the use of standardised testing to determine health or disability. They are also in play when doctors decide when to undertake preventative health measures and when to intervene surgically. A detailed understanding of how bodily norms come to be established has an important role to play in both shaping medical ethics and in helping people make more informed choices about elective surgical procedures.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