BLACKHEATH PHILOSOPHY FORUM
 


SATURDAYS FORTNIGHTLY 4-6 PM AT BLACKHEATH COMMUNITY CENTREL, CNR GARDINER CRESCENT & GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY

 

Program 2013

Our Program starts on Saturday April 6 and continues fortnighly to
Saturday July 27. We are also planning some informal, supplementary
talks on Human Rights. Details will be circulated in our regular
Newsletter and will also be posted on the Home Page of this website. If you
aren't already on the Newsletter list, click HERE to send your email address.

This year we are continuing to invite younger philosophers to
participate as paneIists.
Audience participation is also welcome, as usual.

  

   

THEME 1 - THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL DEMOCRACY

Social democratic parties around the world aspire to greater equality and
higher levels of social provision. What is the outlook for these parties?

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OUR SPONSORS
Thanks to these local firms who sponsor our Forum...and also to BANC which has helped us for many years


SATURDAY, April 6
4pm

 


THE END OF THE LABOR PROJECT

The ALP is the flag-bearer for the social democratic ideal in Australia. According to some, it now confronts an identity crisis - unsure of what it stands for and the future of its link to the union movement. Our speaker will give a distinctly astringent take on this.

Rodney Cavalier was a Minister in the Wran Government. He has written extensively about the ALP and its recent travails.

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SATURDAY, APRIL 20
4pm

  

IS IT ECONOMICALLY VIABLE?

Throughout the developed world, social democratic parties confront economic forces - and a legacy of policy decisions - that are boosting inequality and fiscally undermining programs to address it. Is greater equality still a realistic goal?

John Quiggin is Professor of Economics at the University of Queensland. He is one of Australia's leading economists, and a prolific author and blogger.

 

  
 
  

 

    

 

SATURDAY, MAY 4
4pm

 

NEED FOR A RETHINK

Social democratic parties aim for a more equal society. Yet surprisingly little attention is given to how equality should be construed or effectively promoted. Our speaker will argue the left’s recent preoccupation with an agenda centred on rights and identity group politics has impeded progress toward this goal.

Peter Baldwin was a Minister in the Hawke and Keating governments and currently chairs the Blackheath Philosophy Forum.

  
 
  

THEME 2 - IS PHILOSOPHY DEAD?

Recently, some scientists and philosophers have argued that philosophy is dead - or at least on the way out - given recent
scientific advances. Are they right?

  


SATURDAY, MAY 18
4pm

 

  


TIME TO COOPERATE

Our speaker will argue that one version of philosophy is dead - the kind of conceptual analysis predominant in the English-speaking world. But approaches in which philosophy co-operates with other forms of inquiry to understand the human and natural world are thriving.

Dominic Murphy is Associate Professor and Director of the History and Philosophy of Science Unit at Sydney University.

 
 
      


SATURDAY, JUNE 1
4pm

  

ALIVE AND KICKING

"Philosophy always buries its undertakers" (Etienne Gilson). Does Philosophy still have important contributions to make to the progress of knowledge? Our speaker will answer with an emphatic 'yes' and illustrate with examples from cognitive science.

Richard Menary is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Macquarie University with a special interest in cognition.

  
 
  
 
    


SATURDAY, JUNE 15
4pm

 

YOUNG PHILOSOPHERS PANEL

Three young philosophers who all take a close interest in the relationship between philosophy and science provide a range of perspectives on the claim that philosophy is dead.

Sam Baron recently completed his PhD and is currently a post-doctoral fellow in philosophy, and Toby Solomon and Rupert Parry are both studying philosophy and physics at the University of Sydney.

  
   

THEME 3 - TOPICS IN MORAL PSYCHOLOGY

The field of moral psychology sits at the intersection of ethics, psychology and philosophy of mind. In these three talks we take up a selection of issues in this field.

  


SATURDAY, JUNE 29
4pm

 

  


CHARACTER, CIRCUMSTANCES AND EVIL

How is the nature of evil best understood? Some experiments in social psychology suggest that our circumstances play a greater role in explaining our moral behaviour than we sometimes think. Are we all capable of acts of great evil in certain circumstances?

Justin Oakley is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Monash University, specialising in bioethics and moral philosophy

    
         

SATURDAY, JULY 13
4pm

 

IS FORGIVENESS ELECTIVE?

Victims of wrongdoing are praised for forgiving the perpetrators, even when the perpetrators have not expressed remorse. But it is also widely believed that victims are not morally obliged to forgive. Is forgiveness really elective - or sometimes even morally wrong?

Luke Russell is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Sydney University with particular interests in moral philosophy, philosophy of biology and philosophy of mind.

    
         
SATURDAY, JULY 27
4pm
 

YOUNG PHILOSOPHERS PANEL

A number of topics in moral psychology will be addressed by the panel - including the role of pleasure and desire in moral theory, evolutionary psychology and criminal law ethics.

Ben Bramble is a PhD students in philosophy at Sydney University. Jeevan Hariharan is an Arts/Law student with a particular interest in criminal-law ethics.

    
       

 

 

 

 

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