A Buddhist challenge to Western conceptions of logic. This project aims to advance and defend a theory about the nature of logic and rationality. The project will draw on Buddhist logic texts and demonstrate their relevance to contemporary Western debates about the nature of logic. It seeks to show that a Buddhist theory of logic can challenge widely-entrenched but unexamined Western conceptions of the nature of logic. The project is expected to advance intellectual engagement between Buddhist a ....A Buddhist challenge to Western conceptions of logic. This project aims to advance and defend a theory about the nature of logic and rationality. The project will draw on Buddhist logic texts and demonstrate their relevance to contemporary Western debates about the nature of logic. It seeks to show that a Buddhist theory of logic can challenge widely-entrenched but unexamined Western conceptions of the nature of logic. The project is expected to advance intellectual engagement between Buddhist and Western philosophers, bring attention to texts and theories not currently available to the Western philosophical world, and demonstrate the importance of a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to global philosophy.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL130100141
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,996,807.00
Summary
The origins of inequality, hierarchy, and social complexity. Despite obvious failures, humans cooperate far more than other mammals. This project explains how we came to be so unlike other animals; how our cooperative practices transformed us; and how those practices changed, as human societies became increasingly complex after the invention of farming.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100001
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$383,183.00
Summary
Buddhist ethics and moral psychology. This project aims to investigate the ethical and moral psychological foundations of Buddhist thought. It aims to critically analyse the theoretical differences between Buddhist philosophical traditions to reveal a plurality of theoretical grounds on which Western thinkers can embrace Buddhist insights. The project is expected to advance intellectual engagement between Buddhist and Western ethicists, and to demonstrate the importance of a collaborative, inter ....Buddhist ethics and moral psychology. This project aims to investigate the ethical and moral psychological foundations of Buddhist thought. It aims to critically analyse the theoretical differences between Buddhist philosophical traditions to reveal a plurality of theoretical grounds on which Western thinkers can embrace Buddhist insights. The project is expected to advance intellectual engagement between Buddhist and Western ethicists, and to demonstrate the importance of a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to global philosophy.Read moreRead less
The Language of Knowledge. Knowledge is central to our lives. The way we attribute knowledge to others governs whom we trust, how we reason, what we do, and whether we succeed. The significance of this project consists in a deeper understanding of our attributions of knowledge, situated within the context of questions. This project offers the benefits of quality foundational research in an interdisciplinary venue. It connects to a range of areas of National Research Priority including An Environ ....The Language of Knowledge. Knowledge is central to our lives. The way we attribute knowledge to others governs whom we trust, how we reason, what we do, and whether we succeed. The significance of this project consists in a deeper understanding of our attributions of knowledge, situated within the context of questions. This project offers the benefits of quality foundational research in an interdisciplinary venue. It connects to a range of areas of National Research Priority including An Environmentally Sustainable Australia, Promoting and Managing Good Health, and Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries, insofar as all of these areas of National Research Priority are concerned with the acquisition and transfer of knowledge.Read moreRead less
The High-Level Structure of Consciousness. The study of consciousness is often regarded as the last great frontier for science. Work in this area has flowered recently, but it has focused on low-level aspects of consciousness, such as visual perception of color and shape. We aim to discover the high-level structure of consciousness, which involves attention, self-consciousness, and the unity of consciousness, among other things. The project involves international collaboration in a three-way int ....The High-Level Structure of Consciousness. The study of consciousness is often regarded as the last great frontier for science. Work in this area has flowered recently, but it has focused on low-level aspects of consciousness, such as visual perception of color and shape. We aim to discover the high-level structure of consciousness, which involves attention, self-consciousness, and the unity of consciousness, among other things. The project involves international collaboration in a three-way interaction between philosophy, cognitive science, and phenomenology. This work has potential social benefits, for example in understanding attention in distracted drivers, and potential medical benefits, in understanding breakdowns of the unity of consciousness in patients with mental illnessRead 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
A Unified Theory of 'If's. This project aims to develop a unified theory of ‘if’s. Our understanding of an uncertain and risky world requires hypothetical reasoning involving ‘if’s. They are significant theoretically: in science, history, politics, economics, psychology, computer science, linguistics, and philosophy. They are significant practically: in our planning, decision-making, policy priorities, legal judgments, environmental and medical interventions. Yet we lack a comprehensive, readily ....A Unified Theory of 'If's. This project aims to develop a unified theory of ‘if’s. Our understanding of an uncertain and risky world requires hypothetical reasoning involving ‘if’s. They are significant theoretically: in science, history, politics, economics, psychology, computer science, linguistics, and philosophy. They are significant practically: in our planning, decision-making, policy priorities, legal judgments, environmental and medical interventions. Yet we lack a comprehensive, readily implementable theory of ‘if’s. The project expects to provide such a theory, based on probability, improving on approaches from philosophy and linguistics, and benefitting both these fields. It also promises significant benefits for artificial intelligence/machine learning.
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Epistemic Warrant: Transmission Failure, Basic Knowledge, and Entitlement. This Project will bring substantial intellectual, cultural, and economic benefits to the nation - not only by increasing research strength, contributing to research output and establishing an international research partnership, but also by deepening the relationship between the study of the mind and theory of knowledge as a traditional area within philosophy and thus helping to maintain the pivotal position of philosophy ....Epistemic Warrant: Transmission Failure, Basic Knowledge, and Entitlement. This Project will bring substantial intellectual, cultural, and economic benefits to the nation - not only by increasing research strength, contributing to research output and establishing an international research partnership, but also by deepening the relationship between the study of the mind and theory of knowledge as a traditional area within philosophy and thus helping to maintain the pivotal position of philosophy in our intellectual life. Students, early-career researchers and established philosophers will benefit from access to the intellectual and institutional resources of international partner universities and there will be substantial and quantifiable financial contributions by international universities and research agencies.Read moreRead less
Philosophical progress. Understanding the nature and possibility of progress in philosophy will shed light not only on philosophy as a funded research discipline within the university system in Australia, but also on the nature of research within the humanities and social sciences more generally.
Knowledge of consciousness. This project explores and defends a new philosophical perspective on introspective knowledge and charts its connection to larger issues of human rationality and consciousness.