The Epistemology of Colour Vision. This project will advance knowledge on the important traditional philosophical topic of colour and colour perception by drawing both on philosophical and scientific sources. The problem of colour is one to which Australian philosophy has made seminal contribution. For this reason, this project will continue to develop an Australian expertise in the area and help to make Australia a world centre of research in the area.
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
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
A model of the mind which explains the role of emotions in normal cognition and affective disorder. Depression is recognised as one of the most burdensome diseases in Australia. Though we of course make no claims, as philosophers, to cure depression our contribution is to engage philosophy productively with a vital national area of empirical research. The other area of national benefit is to consolidate Australia's developing reputation as a site for the involvement of philosophy in interdiscipl ....A model of the mind which explains the role of emotions in normal cognition and affective disorder. Depression is recognised as one of the most burdensome diseases in Australia. Though we of course make no claims, as philosophers, to cure depression our contribution is to engage philosophy productively with a vital national area of empirical research. The other area of national benefit is to consolidate Australia's developing reputation as a site for the involvement of philosophy in interdisciplinary projects which link the humanities to the sciences. Furthermore, with the project's anchoring in the humanities, there is hope that a focus on, and increased understanding of, depression will have flow-on effects in the Australian community that will help ease the stigmatisation that is still felt by many of its sufferers.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
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
The Dreamscape Project: Phenomenology and neurophysiology of dreams. The Dreamscape Project aims to discover the neural basis of dreaming. Building on the world’s largest database of sleep electroencephalograms (EEG) and associated dream reports, the project applies cutting-edge analyses of neural activity to resolve why each night, healthy adults alternate between unconscious sleep and vivid dreams. The results promise to shed light on the mystery of dreaming and help locate consciousness in th ....The Dreamscape Project: Phenomenology and neurophysiology of dreams. The Dreamscape Project aims to discover the neural basis of dreaming. Building on the world’s largest database of sleep electroencephalograms (EEG) and associated dream reports, the project applies cutting-edge analyses of neural activity to resolve why each night, healthy adults alternate between unconscious sleep and vivid dreams. The results promise to shed light on the mystery of dreaming and help locate consciousness in the physical world. Expected outcomes include best-practice guidelines for dream research and a model of open data-sharing for consciousness science. Anticipated benefits include deeper understanding of how and why everyone dreams, the role of dreams in waking life, and their impact on sleep quality and well-being.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
Consciousness in the predictive mind. The project aims to provide a unified approach to the nature of consciousness. Neuroscience and philosophy are still unable to explain how the brain gives rise to our conscious experience. Competing theories of consciousness are piecemeal, difficult to test and compare, and mostly formulated without much regard to a general theory of brain function. This project takes a different approach: it front-loads a new and influential general theory of brain function ....Consciousness in the predictive mind. The project aims to provide a unified approach to the nature of consciousness. Neuroscience and philosophy are still unable to explain how the brain gives rise to our conscious experience. Competing theories of consciousness are piecemeal, difficult to test and compare, and mostly formulated without much regard to a general theory of brain function. This project takes a different approach: it front-loads a new and influential general theory of brain function, and aims to use this theory to determine which theories of consciousness can be defended and which rejected. The anticipated outcome is a unified scientific and theoretical approach to consciousness, achieving a deeper and more integrated understanding of a major field of contemporary neuroscience and philosophy research.Read moreRead less
Challenges to moral responsibility. Agents deserve various kinds of benefits and burdens (such as punishment) only if they are morally responsible for their actions. This project aims to assess several sorts of alleged threats to our moral responsibility, and thereby to better the social allocation of goods to individuals.