Reassessing Egalitarianism. Ever since the French revolution the issues of equality and egalitarianism have had enormous significance for modern democracies. These topics are also particularly important in Australian life. Indeed, Australia is often described as an 'egalitarian society'. Clarifying contemporary accounts of egalitarianism and developing our own original account will be of major national significance. In addition, this project will focus on the important areas of health and unempl ....Reassessing Egalitarianism. Ever since the French revolution the issues of equality and egalitarianism have had enormous significance for modern democracies. These topics are also particularly important in Australian life. Indeed, Australia is often described as an 'egalitarian society'. Clarifying contemporary accounts of egalitarianism and developing our own original account will be of major national significance. In addition, this project will focus on the important areas of health and unemployment, with specific consideration given to the role of individual responsibility in determining eligibility for unemployment and health benefits. The project will also help maintain Australia's place as a leader in the areas of political and social philosophy.Read moreRead less
Climate Justice. The project will offer significant insights into the effects of climate change and adaptation policy on the key area of rural well being and energy use. The project will be able to gauge whether current and proposed carbon trading schemes are just and how in particular, Australia's climate policy interacts with the Pacific region. In addition, the project will also consider the important political issue of whether democratic participation in the formation of climate policy is re ....Climate Justice. The project will offer significant insights into the effects of climate change and adaptation policy on the key area of rural well being and energy use. The project will be able to gauge whether current and proposed carbon trading schemes are just and how in particular, Australia's climate policy interacts with the Pacific region. In addition, the project will also consider the important political issue of whether democratic participation in the formation of climate policy is required and in what ways.Read moreRead less
Intergenerational Justice. The project aims to overcome a major deficiency in philosophical approaches to justice by developing a comprehensive theory about our rights and responsibilities in respect to people who are differently situated in time or in their stage of life. The theory will explain a) why we have responsibilities in respect to future and past people and what these duties are; b) how people in different age groups ought to treat each other; c) what responsibilities belong to genera ....Intergenerational Justice. The project aims to overcome a major deficiency in philosophical approaches to justice by developing a comprehensive theory about our rights and responsibilities in respect to people who are differently situated in time or in their stage of life. The theory will explain a) why we have responsibilities in respect to future and past people and what these duties are; b) how people in different age groups ought to treat each other; c) what responsibilities belong to generational roles (such as ?parent? or ?child?); and d) how all of these duties fit into a more general theory of justice.Read moreRead less
Ethics of Historical Relationships: Evaluating Ethical Claims Based on History. Demands based on history, ideas about historical obligations, concerns about historical identity, what it is means and what duties it might require, are common causes of dispute within and among nations. This project, by developing an ethical theory that can make well-founded judgments about the legitimacy of a wide range of historical claims, and by showing how the theory can be applied to particular cases, will pro ....Ethics of Historical Relationships: Evaluating Ethical Claims Based on History. Demands based on history, ideas about historical obligations, concerns about historical identity, what it is means and what duties it might require, are common causes of dispute within and among nations. This project, by developing an ethical theory that can make well-founded judgments about the legitimacy of a wide range of historical claims, and by showing how the theory can be applied to particular cases, will provide a better understanding of the nature of these disputes and how they might be resolved. Read moreRead less
Egalitarian Responses to Climate Change. The project will offer significant insights into the effects of climate change and adaptation policy on the disadvantaged at a time when there is significant policy change in this area. The project will develop a philosophical framework for assessing whether current and proposed carbon trading schemes are just. In addition, the project will also consider the important political issue of whether democratic participation in the formation of climate policy i ....Egalitarian Responses to Climate Change. The project will offer significant insights into the effects of climate change and adaptation policy on the disadvantaged at a time when there is significant policy change in this area. The project will develop a philosophical framework for assessing whether current and proposed carbon trading schemes are just. In addition, the project will also consider the important political issue of whether democratic participation in the formation of climate policy is required and in what ways. Read moreRead less
Moral Injury and the Ethics of Military Conditioning . Military personnel undergo extensive conditioning in the name of combat effectiveness and resilience. The aim of this project is to determine whether any of the intended effects of this conditioning constitute "moral injuries", and to describe the ethical and policy implications if so. This will deepen our understanding of the ethics of military recruitment, training, and socialisation. The expected outcomes include a statement of the obliga ....Moral Injury and the Ethics of Military Conditioning . Military personnel undergo extensive conditioning in the name of combat effectiveness and resilience. The aim of this project is to determine whether any of the intended effects of this conditioning constitute "moral injuries", and to describe the ethical and policy implications if so. This will deepen our understanding of the ethics of military recruitment, training, and socialisation. The expected outcomes include a statement of the obligations owed to professional soldiers on account of the potential for moral injury in preparing them for deployment. This will enhance Australia’s reputation for being ethically proactive and for taking a holistic approach to the welfare of its military servicemen and women.Read moreRead less
Big-Picture Bioethics: policy-making and liberal democracy. We live an era of rapid growth in biotechnology generating new and difficult ethical questions that need to be tackled by bioethicists and politicians. This project goes beyond typical approaches in bioethics to explore the "big picture": how policies are generated in ethically-contentious domains. It is important to examine how the values of different stakeholders are reflected in such processes to ensure that they are in accordance wi ....Big-Picture Bioethics: policy-making and liberal democracy. We live an era of rapid growth in biotechnology generating new and difficult ethical questions that need to be tackled by bioethicists and politicians. This project goes beyond typical approaches in bioethics to explore the "big picture": how policies are generated in ethically-contentious domains. It is important to examine how the values of different stakeholders are reflected in such processes to ensure that they are in accordance with Australia's commitment to fostering a multicultural, pluralistic, democratic society. This project will produce practical recommendations for refining public consultation in healthcare policy-making through an examination of three relevant contentious case studies in Australia with comparison to Canada.Read moreRead less
Ethics, responsibility and the carbon budget. This project aims to provide a rigorous ethical framework for dividing the world’s remaining ‘carbon budget’ (CB). In order to avoid climate change the world must drastically limit its emissions of greenhouse gases. The project will develop a new analysis of how our assumptions concerning risk and harm shape conception of the CB. It will also provide a new understanding of how future emission rights should be allocated given that countries have emitt ....Ethics, responsibility and the carbon budget. This project aims to provide a rigorous ethical framework for dividing the world’s remaining ‘carbon budget’ (CB). In order to avoid climate change the world must drastically limit its emissions of greenhouse gases. The project will develop a new analysis of how our assumptions concerning risk and harm shape conception of the CB. It will also provide a new understanding of how future emission rights should be allocated given that countries have emitted vastly different quantities of greenhouse gases in the past. The project will analyse how the CB will impact the climate transition plans of countries such as Australia. The project will thus bring significant new research in philosophy to bear on a practical issue.Read moreRead less
The Morality of Cooperation and Concern. The ethical issues of the greatest ongoing importance to the Australian community concern the conflicts between the interests of individuals and those of society. This project tackles those issues at a fundamental level. Its practical applications are of pressing importance to policy and public debate. It offers guidance to the many Australians whose work involves reflection on ethical principles - such as ethics committee members. It will contribute to t ....The Morality of Cooperation and Concern. The ethical issues of the greatest ongoing importance to the Australian community concern the conflicts between the interests of individuals and those of society. This project tackles those issues at a fundamental level. Its practical applications are of pressing importance to policy and public debate. It offers guidance to the many Australians whose work involves reflection on ethical principles - such as ethics committee members. It will contribute to the international profile of Australian moral philosophy, while broadening the knowledge base of the discipline in this country. And it will add to Australia's reputation as a country that takes ethics seriously.Read moreRead less
Structured Moral Pluralism. The Australian intellectual scene is characterized by intensely lively ethical debate, and a very high international reputation for the quality of its moral philosophy. This project will add significantly to the breadth of theoretical ethics in this country, by developing in detail an approach that has not previously been strongly represented. It offers a new approach to thinking about the foundations of ethics and reasoning from those foundations. Its practical appli ....Structured Moral Pluralism. The Australian intellectual scene is characterized by intensely lively ethical debate, and a very high international reputation for the quality of its moral philosophy. This project will add significantly to the breadth of theoretical ethics in this country, by developing in detail an approach that has not previously been strongly represented. It offers a new approach to thinking about the foundations of ethics and reasoning from those foundations. Its practical applications are of pressing importance to policy and public debate. It also offers guidance to the many Australians whose work involves applying ethical principles, such as ethics committee members. Read moreRead less