Constructing social hierarchy. This project aims to generate new philosophical tools for understanding the persistence of social injustice. It will integrate anti-individualist approaches to mind, language, and action explanation in order to better understand the ways in which social hierarchies are created and maintained, often as the unintended outcome of the actions of multiple agents. The project will enrich the public discussion of hate speech, Indigenous/Non-Indigenous relations, and gende ....Constructing social hierarchy. This project aims to generate new philosophical tools for understanding the persistence of social injustice. It will integrate anti-individualist approaches to mind, language, and action explanation in order to better understand the ways in which social hierarchies are created and maintained, often as the unintended outcome of the actions of multiple agents. The project will enrich the public discussion of hate speech, Indigenous/Non-Indigenous relations, and gender equality.Read moreRead less
Meaning in Action—new techniques for language, logic and information. This project aims to bridge philosophy, linguistics, logic and computation by developing proof-theoretical semantics for a comprehensive fragment of Montague Grammar (a formal language suited to analysing natural languages). It aims to show how this can be implemented in software, exploring and evaluating the philosophical assumptions grounding inferentialism and proof-theoretical semantics. It seeks to exploit and examine the ....Meaning in Action—new techniques for language, logic and information. This project aims to bridge philosophy, linguistics, logic and computation by developing proof-theoretical semantics for a comprehensive fragment of Montague Grammar (a formal language suited to analysing natural languages). It aims to show how this can be implemented in software, exploring and evaluating the philosophical assumptions grounding inferentialism and proof-theoretical semantics. It seeks to exploit and examine the connections between logic, linguistics philosophy and computer science and to chart how information is grounded in our interaction with the world and our norms for dialogue. The result is expected to be a more realistic and comprehensive understanding of logic and language, and tools for software that communicates more flexibly and effectively.Read moreRead less
Two-Dimensional Semantics and the Foundations of Philosophy. This project investigates fundamental philosophical questions concerning the relation between our minds and the world and the possibility of rational inquiry. The project represents a significant advance in the theoretical understanding of a broad range of central philosophical issues and it has important implications for the nature and methods of scientific inquiry. The project will contribute to the international research profile of ....Two-Dimensional Semantics and the Foundations of Philosophy. This project investigates fundamental philosophical questions concerning the relation between our minds and the world and the possibility of rational inquiry. The project represents a significant advance in the theoretical understanding of a broad range of central philosophical issues and it has important implications for the nature and methods of scientific inquiry. The project will contribute to the international research profile of Australia, consolidating its place as a leader in this domain. Read moreRead less
Mereological Composition and Material Constitution. This project embodies a number of advances in metaphysics, which is a field of research in which Australia enjoys a considerable international reputation. Our work on material constitution will also further Australia's reputation in the philosophy of mind; some of the most celebrated 20th Century contributions in the philosophy of mind have been written by Australian philosophers.
Probability and necessity in the physical sciences. This is a philosophical study of concepts that are vital to the conduct of science: namely, dispositional concepts such as force in physics, solubility in chemistry, biological fitness, and psychological traits. By offering a radical and novel interpretation of such concepts, this project has the potential to influence the future development of Australian science. Moreover, dispositions are crucial to understanding our distinctively human persp ....Probability and necessity in the physical sciences. This is a philosophical study of concepts that are vital to the conduct of science: namely, dispositional concepts such as force in physics, solubility in chemistry, biological fitness, and psychological traits. By offering a radical and novel interpretation of such concepts, this project has the potential to influence the future development of Australian science. Moreover, dispositions are crucial to understanding our distinctively human perspective on the world. The abilities to predict, reason, communicate meanings, and to act intentionally all involve dispositional states. This project addresses the fundamental nature of such states, and will thus be of significance to anyone who hopes to understand these distinctively human phenomena.Read moreRead less
Options For Proofs: New Perspectives on Propositional Logic. Philosophers and logicians recognise that proof is important, but they do not agree on what proofs are. Recent research in logic has greatly expanded our notion of proof, but this research is not unified. We need a coherent, general and applicable concept of proof. This project will unify the literature on proof and bring these insights to bear in the philosophy of language. It will show how proof can help analyse many features of ....Options For Proofs: New Perspectives on Propositional Logic. Philosophers and logicians recognise that proof is important, but they do not agree on what proofs are. Recent research in logic has greatly expanded our notion of proof, but this research is not unified. We need a coherent, general and applicable concept of proof. This project will unify the literature on proof and bring these insights to bear in the philosophy of language. It will show how proof can help analyse many features of language (more than just logical constants) but that the role of inference does not justify one kind of proof in preference to others.Read moreRead less
A Buddhist Debate and Its Contemporary Relevance. The aim of this project is to engage with one of the central debates in Tibetan philosophy concerning truth, realism and epistemic justification. It plans to explore the implications of this debate for subsequent Tibetan thought and for contemporary Western analytic philosophy. The project plans to analyse previously unstudied texts and demonstrate the fecundity of a traditional method of collaborative cross-cultural philosophy today in which Tib ....A Buddhist Debate and Its Contemporary Relevance. The aim of this project is to engage with one of the central debates in Tibetan philosophy concerning truth, realism and epistemic justification. It plans to explore the implications of this debate for subsequent Tibetan thought and for contemporary Western analytic philosophy. The project plans to analyse previously unstudied texts and demonstrate the fecundity of a traditional method of collaborative cross-cultural philosophy today in which Tibetan and Western scholars work together to develop joint analyses. It may also demonstrate that the metaphysical and epistemological ideas and arguments developed in these debates can contribute to Western philosophy.Read moreRead less
Conferring dignity in law and health care. This project aims to develop a new and more inclusive philosophical conception of dignity. It expects to generate an alternative to the exclusionary view that dignity is inherent since not all human beings possess the relevant inherent traits. The project will develop a conception of dignity as something conferred, and expects to show that such dignity can and should be conferred on all human beings. The expected outcome is a new understanding of the im ....Conferring dignity in law and health care. This project aims to develop a new and more inclusive philosophical conception of dignity. It expects to generate an alternative to the exclusionary view that dignity is inherent since not all human beings possess the relevant inherent traits. The project will develop a conception of dignity as something conferred, and expects to show that such dignity can and should be conferred on all human beings. The expected outcome is a new understanding of the importance of dignity in human rights law and in health care services. The intended benefits are better appreciation of the role of dignity in human rights, and guidance for health and aged care services on how they can promote the dignity of all of their clients.Read moreRead less
Substructural logics for limited resources. This project aims to develop logical tools for managing reasoning and computation under conditions of bounded resources: fixed limits on the amount of time, memory, or other resources that can be allocated to a particular course of reasoning or computation. By drawing on both philosophical and computational approaches to logic, the project will develop new logical systems aimed at capturing these limitations. The expected outcome is new logical methods ....Substructural logics for limited resources. This project aims to develop logical tools for managing reasoning and computation under conditions of bounded resources: fixed limits on the amount of time, memory, or other resources that can be allocated to a particular course of reasoning or computation. By drawing on both philosophical and computational approaches to logic, the project will develop new logical systems aimed at capturing these limitations. The expected outcome is new logical methods for managing limited resources, as well as boosting interdisciplinary capacity. Anticipated benefits include developing a new programming language that will enable programmers to issue strong guarantees about the resources their programs will use.Read moreRead less
Taste and community: the cultural origins of personal experience. This project explores how artistic value and meaning are attributed to artworks and how cultural artefacts and imaginative constructs may be seen to motivate ethical or socially oriented behaviour. It investigates this theme through an innovative new medium, involving a website and imagery, through which the expertise of philosophers and artists can be brought to bear on a social problem. Its outcomes will include new understandi ....Taste and community: the cultural origins of personal experience. This project explores how artistic value and meaning are attributed to artworks and how cultural artefacts and imaginative constructs may be seen to motivate ethical or socially oriented behaviour. It investigates this theme through an innovative new medium, involving a website and imagery, through which the expertise of philosophers and artists can be brought to bear on a social problem. Its outcomes will include new understanding of the process of perceiving meaning and value as a response to cultural artefacts.Read moreRead less