School of Philosophy

In the second half of "Two Dogmas", Quine argued that there could be empirical grounds to revise logic---at least in principle. Since then, the most (though still not very) popular proposal for what those empirical grounds might actually be has involved quantum mechanics. 

It is a familiar fact about social life that, by doing things like entering into contracts, getting married, consenting, and the like, we can change the profile of our legal permissions, rights, and prohibitions. Our ability to do so, in turn, stems from the legal powers the law confers upon us. A growing number of ethicists have suggested that we possess not only legal powers, but also moral ones: namely powers to alter what moral rights, permissions, and prohibitions we have.

The concept of health resides in a space bounded by two other concepts. On one side, there is the terrain contested by the concepts of health and disease. While there is controversy regarding where and how to draw the boundary between health and disease, very few theorists deny that such a boundary exists. On the other side of health, as it were, is the concept of well-being. 

The Analytical philosophy of wellbeing standardly distinguishes what is intrinsically wellbeing – what is ‘good for’ somebody or of prudential value to them – from what is instrumental to wellbeing, that is, facilitates one to obtain prudential value.

Robert Goodin from the ANU School of Philosophy has been awarded the 2022 Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science.

First awarded to leading democratic theorist Robert Dahl of Yale University in 1995, the Johan Skytte Prize has been described as the political science equivalent of the Nobel Prize. The prize valued at 500,000 Swedish Kronor (AU$71,292) is presented by the Johan Skytte Foundation, whose heritage dates back some 400 years, in recognition of "the scholar who in the view of the Foundation has made the most valuable contribution to political science."

There is something special about prizes and awards that recognise and foster civic-mindedness. They are a nod to what it means to be part of a community: To help, receive help, and work alongside people to better other individuals and society as a whole.

Coming from an academic background in law and economics, Chad became deeply interested in questions surrounding risky decision-making. Now as we enter an era of automation, where decision-making belongs to technology and algorithms on a scale like never before, Chad is part of the vital role philosophy plays in guiding tomorrow’s technological change.