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Centre for Asia Pacific Social Transformation Studies (CAPSTRANS)

Australasian Philosophy

Convenor: Richard Menary
Research Seminar Convenor: David Neil
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The Australasian Philosophy group investigates problems in ethics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science with an emphasis on problems and perspectives relevant to the Australasian region. Our focus is on applied questions in these areas and the relationship between developments in philosophical thought and transformations in society, culture, and science more generally.

In philosophy of mind and philosophy of science, Australasian philosophers have an international reputation for defending materialist views of the mind and realist views of science. These views emphasize the continuity between philosophical and empirical questions about the world and the ways in which philosophy and science can be mutually illuminating. Research in these areas is relevant for understanding the relationship between individuals and their environment, especially the role that the environment plays in cognition, as well as the nature of explanation both in the natural and in the social sciences.

There continues to be a strong research focus at Wollongong on applied ethical issues. Consequently, in terms of ethics and politics the AP node focuses on issues of regional importance in applied ethics and political theory – particularly in the areas of bioethics, environmental ethics, international aid and law.

Members of the AP group pursue projects in a variety of areas, including:

• bioethics
• indigenous rights
• environmental ethics
• the ethics of international aid
• political violence
• free speech and sedition
• the epistemology of expertise
• mind and cognition
• scientific realism