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.
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354503
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
The Self and its Disorders: Humanistic, Psychiatric, and Neural Perspectives. Mental disorder fragments the self, distorts its development in adolescence, and obliterates it in old age. Because no one discipline can adequately understand the self and its pathologies, this Initiative aims to bring together researchers from the humanities and the sciences of the mind to investigate what mental disorder can reveal about the nature of the self, and what humanistic approaches to the self can contribu ....The Self and its Disorders: Humanistic, Psychiatric, and Neural Perspectives. Mental disorder fragments the self, distorts its development in adolescence, and obliterates it in old age. Because no one discipline can adequately understand the self and its pathologies, this Initiative aims to bring together researchers from the humanities and the sciences of the mind to investigate what mental disorder can reveal about the nature of the self, and what humanistic approaches to the self can contribute to its scientific study. A better understanding of diminished selfhood in mental disorder will lead to improvements in social policy and thereby to social and financial benefits for the community at large.Read moreRead less
Measuring the Mind: A Framework for Building a Consciousness Meter . This project aims to develop a new framework for measuring consciousness. The lack of well-validated measures of consciousness is at the root of a methodological crisis in the science of consciousness. Drawing on work in the philosophy of science and mind, the project plans to investigate whether consciousness can be measured in the way that other natural properties can be measured. The results of this project may inform guidel ....Measuring the Mind: A Framework for Building a Consciousness Meter . This project aims to develop a new framework for measuring consciousness. The lack of well-validated measures of consciousness is at the root of a methodological crisis in the science of consciousness. Drawing on work in the philosophy of science and mind, the project plans to investigate whether consciousness can be measured in the way that other natural properties can be measured. The results of this project may inform guidelines for the objective assessment of consciousness in the context of post-coma brain injury, anaesthesia, epileptic absence seizures, infancy and non-human animals.Read moreRead less
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
Qualitative models of rationality: Philosophical foundations and applications. This project aims to establish the qualitative approach to rationality as a viable and attractive choice. Mathematical models of rationality, which aim to formalise the rules of good reasoning and decision making, traditionally assume that beliefs and desires are always given in precise, quantifiable degrees of confidence and value. This assumption is implausibly strong, and alternative, qualitative frameworks have be ....Qualitative models of rationality: Philosophical foundations and applications. This project aims to establish the qualitative approach to rationality as a viable and attractive choice. Mathematical models of rationality, which aim to formalise the rules of good reasoning and decision making, traditionally assume that beliefs and desires are always given in precise, quantifiable degrees of confidence and value. This assumption is implausibly strong, and alternative, qualitative frameworks have been developed to handle the frequent situations in which it fails. These, however, remain incomplete and their foundations poorly understood. The project will address their omissions, secure their conceptual underpinnings and use them to clarify and resolve long-standing philosophical problems.Read moreRead less
Self-control and pathologies of agency. This project will develop a philosophically and scientifically sophisticated account of the nature of self-control. This account will provide tools for allocating responsibility for failures of self-control and will contribute to the development of means for enhancing it, thereby aiding in addressing major social problems.
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
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.