The evolution and economics of sacred value. This project aims to use a multi-disciplinary approach to investigate sacred value, a type of extreme moral commitment held by an individual or group. Conflict and violence often revolve around perceived threats to sacred value, and there is a struggle to predict the interaction between material incentives and sacred commitments using orthodox methods of economic analysis. Using techniques from evolutionary anthropology and economics, this project exp ....The evolution and economics of sacred value. This project aims to use a multi-disciplinary approach to investigate sacred value, a type of extreme moral commitment held by an individual or group. Conflict and violence often revolve around perceived threats to sacred value, and there is a struggle to predict the interaction between material incentives and sacred commitments using orthodox methods of economic analysis. Using techniques from evolutionary anthropology and economics, this project expects to identify the mechanisms that underlie sacred value, and generate novel ways of representing sacred values. By providing a more nuanced set of tools for representing sacred values in areas of conflict, this research will strengthen democratic culture and advance understanding of international conflict.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
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100511
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$398,521.00
Summary
Human and Artificial Agents: A Unified Account of Agency. This project aims to develop philosophical and scientifically informed criteria for deciding whether artificial agents can be responsible for their behaviour. The project’s significance lies in the fact that artificial agents are becoming increasingly prevalent in contemporary society but raise moral problems, which the project aims to address. Expected outcomes include influencing how artificially intelligent agents (especially moral one ....Human and Artificial Agents: A Unified Account of Agency. This project aims to develop philosophical and scientifically informed criteria for deciding whether artificial agents can be responsible for their behaviour. The project’s significance lies in the fact that artificial agents are becoming increasingly prevalent in contemporary society but raise moral problems, which the project aims to address. Expected outcomes include influencing how artificially intelligent agents (especially moral ones) are built, and addressing questions about who is legally liable or responsible for the harms that may be caused by such systems. The anticipated benefit is a comprehensive account of agency that can guide development of artificial agents and inform our dealings with such agents in society and in the law.Read moreRead less
Selfless Minds: A cross-cultural theory with relevance for mindfulness . This project aims to provide a comprehensive philosophical and cognitive model of the sense of self. The project combines Abhidharma-Buddhist philosophy and cognitive sciences to propose a new model of subjectivity and agency, without postulating the existence of subjects or agents. The expected outcome is a new understanding of the mind as the locus of agency and moral responsibility. In addition, this projects opens up ne ....Selfless Minds: A cross-cultural theory with relevance for mindfulness . This project aims to provide a comprehensive philosophical and cognitive model of the sense of self. The project combines Abhidharma-Buddhist philosophy and cognitive sciences to propose a new model of subjectivity and agency, without postulating the existence of subjects or agents. The expected outcome is a new understanding of the mind as the locus of agency and moral responsibility. In addition, this projects opens up new opportunities for enhanced cross-cultural capacity and cross-institutional collaboration. The anticipated benefit is cross-cultural research training and providing a new theoretical foundation for the widespread practice of mindfulness meditation.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170101254
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$363,645.00
Summary
Wandering minds in sleep and wakefulness: Attention, consciousness, self. This project aims to develop a theory of mind wandering. A large portion of our conscious lives is spent mind wandering: attention periodically drifts away from current tasks, often without our noticing. This challenges the assumption that healthy adults are normally aware of and able to control their thought processes. This project will use cognitive neuroscience, sleep and dream research and philosophy of mind to develop ....Wandering minds in sleep and wakefulness: Attention, consciousness, self. This project aims to develop a theory of mind wandering. A large portion of our conscious lives is spent mind wandering: attention periodically drifts away from current tasks, often without our noticing. This challenges the assumption that healthy adults are normally aware of and able to control their thought processes. This project will use cognitive neuroscience, sleep and dream research and philosophy of mind to develop a theory of mind wandering across the sleep-wake cycle and an interdisciplinary methodology for its investigation. The anticipated outcome is understanding of spontaneous thought and its relationship to attention, consciousness and the self. This potentially throws new light on important issues relating to mental health and sleep disorders.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 integration of perception and thought. This project aims to use a new neural marker to discover and conceptualise how the brain integrates perception with thought. Combining approaches from cognitive neuroscience and the philosophy of cognitive science, the project intends to show how cognitive performance in healthy individuals depends on the degree of integration of top-down and bottom-up signals in the brain. The expected outcome is new empirical and philosophical understanding of the con ....The integration of perception and thought. This project aims to use a new neural marker to discover and conceptualise how the brain integrates perception with thought. Combining approaches from cognitive neuroscience and the philosophy of cognitive science, the project intends to show how cognitive performance in healthy individuals depends on the degree of integration of top-down and bottom-up signals in the brain. The expected outcome is new empirical and philosophical understanding of the conditions for optimal integration of perception and thought, as well as enhanced interdisciplinary capacity and cross-institutional collaboration. The anticipated benefit is an accessible neuroimaging tool for cognitive assessment.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