The language of consciousness. This project aims to study language used to describe states of consciousness. It will bring the machinery of modern philosophy of language and linguistics to bear on semantic, syntactic and pragmatic aspects of the language of consciousness, as it is used both every day and in the technical contexts of the philosophy and science of consciousness. The project expects to fill a gap in philosophical and scientific study of consciousness, widely regarded both inside an ....The language of consciousness. This project aims to study language used to describe states of consciousness. It will bring the machinery of modern philosophy of language and linguistics to bear on semantic, syntactic and pragmatic aspects of the language of consciousness, as it is used both every day and in the technical contexts of the philosophy and science of consciousness. The project expects to fill a gap in philosophical and scientific study of consciousness, widely regarded both inside and outside the academy as a major test case for contemporary knowledge.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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The Evolution of the Social Brain: How Emotions and Moral Judgement Interact in the Generation of Cooperative Behaviour. Understanding the psychological forces that underpin human interactions is a necessary step to knowing how to improve those interactions. Comprehending the complex interplay of emotions and moral judgements lying behind decision-making in the social sphere will help explain such things as corruption, risk-taking, domestic violence, and political affiliation. Such knowledge can ....The Evolution of the Social Brain: How Emotions and Moral Judgement Interact in the Generation of Cooperative Behaviour. Understanding the psychological forces that underpin human interactions is a necessary step to knowing how to improve those interactions. Comprehending the complex interplay of emotions and moral judgements lying behind decision-making in the social sphere will help explain such things as corruption, risk-taking, domestic violence, and political affiliation. Such knowledge can guide the design of effective social policy, and is vital for a realistic educational strategy. This project will strengthen Australia's excellent reputation in philosophy, bring here leading scholars from diverse fields, build international research networks, and in particular forge an ongoing partnership between the ANU and the California Institute of Technology.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 Contents of Consciousness. This project aims to develop a research centre that will be a world leader in the study of consciousness. The focus will be the question: how does human consciousness represent the world? The science of consciousness has seen explosive growth internationally in the last decade, but the relationship between consciousness and representation is not well-understood. Through local and international collaboration, researchers will develop a framework for understanding ....The Contents of Consciousness. This project aims to develop a research centre that will be a world leader in the study of consciousness. The focus will be the question: how does human consciousness represent the world? The science of consciousness has seen explosive growth internationally in the last decade, but the relationship between consciousness and representation is not well-understood. Through local and international collaboration, researchers will develop a framework for understanding the representational content of consciousness and will analyze experimental work at the leading edge of neuroscience and cognitive science. This will help us to understand the nature of consciousness itself.Read moreRead less
Formal approaches to legal reasoning. This project aims to use formal epistemology to improve understanding of existing legal practices and to propose recommendations for improving the consistency and accuracy of legal proceedings. Since judges and juries rarely know all the relevant facts, they must make the best decision possible in the face of uncertainty. Formal epistemology employs probabilistic reasoning to advance understanding of how to form beliefs and make decisions in response to unce ....Formal approaches to legal reasoning. This project aims to use formal epistemology to improve understanding of existing legal practices and to propose recommendations for improving the consistency and accuracy of legal proceedings. Since judges and juries rarely know all the relevant facts, they must make the best decision possible in the face of uncertainty. Formal epistemology employs probabilistic reasoning to advance understanding of how to form beliefs and make decisions in response to uncertain evidence. The project has potential to influence the relevant policy and will result in improved legal reasoning and risk reduction in legal decision making.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
The Intellectual Construction of Confucianism in Contemporary China and Taiwan. Since the 1980s China and Taiwan have witnessed the most sustained resurgence of intellectual interest in Confucianism of the twentieth century. This project will provide the first critical analysis of that revival by addressing the complex interaction of institutional, philosophical and ideological factors, rather than study one or the other in isolation. This will enable us to understand the processes by which Chi ....The Intellectual Construction of Confucianism in Contemporary China and Taiwan. Since the 1980s China and Taiwan have witnessed the most sustained resurgence of intellectual interest in Confucianism of the twentieth century. This project will provide the first critical analysis of that revival by addressing the complex interaction of institutional, philosophical and ideological factors, rather than study one or the other in isolation. This will enable us to understand the processes by which Chinese intellectuals have sought to make Confucianism a viable philosophical and cultural resource in the modern world; and to evaluate how successful they have been in achieving these goals.
Results: One monograph; one edited volume; several essays.
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Reasons and Rationality. The project explains how we assess the truth and falsehood of everyday claims about what people have reason to do. It also explains what legitimizes our practice of praising and blaming people for their success and failure at doing what we think they have reason to do. In so doing it provides a foundation for both our ordinary practice of holding people responsible, and for the more institutionalised counterpart of this ordinary practice in the law.
The Awakening of Faith and New Confucian Philosophy. This project aims to provide a new understanding of how New Confucian philosophy was constructed in modern China. It proposes to debunk the prevailing myth that modern Chinese philosophy owes its identity as a continuation of Confucianism, to the exclusion of the fundamentally ‘foreign’ influence of Buddhism. It is anticipated that this project will substantially advance the knowledge base of Chinese philosophy both in Australia and internatio ....The Awakening of Faith and New Confucian Philosophy. This project aims to provide a new understanding of how New Confucian philosophy was constructed in modern China. It proposes to debunk the prevailing myth that modern Chinese philosophy owes its identity as a continuation of Confucianism, to the exclusion of the fundamentally ‘foreign’ influence of Buddhism. It is anticipated that this project will substantially advance the knowledge base of Chinese philosophy both in Australia and internationally, and will also contribute to a more informed understanding of the philosophical and religious traditions our neighbours use to define national and cultural identity.Read moreRead less