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Research in the Department of Philosophy

Our work falls into three broad areas. Below you will find some description of our current interests and projects.

MIND, METAPHYSICS AND MEANING

Albert Atkin works on the philosophy of language, epistemology, and the philosophy of C.S. Peirce. Jennifer Duke-Yonge's main interests concern metaphilosophical issues about the relationship between natural language and logic, especially issues concerning truth, paradox, and the semantic universality of natural languages. Peter Menzies has wide-ranging interests in metaphysics, philosophy of science, and philosophy of mind and language. His main interests concern the metaphysics of causation (including mental causation), counterfactual conditionals, response-dependence, and modality. Nicholas Smith works on anti-representationalist approaches to mind and meaning.

SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY AND CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY

Jean-Philippe Deranty works mainly in French and German Philosophy, with a particular focus on social and political philosophy. His current research interests include the philosophy of law, critiques of political liberalism, theories of modernity, theories of intersubjectivity, and continental aesthetics. Robert Sinnerbrink has wide-ranging interests in 19th and 20th Century European philosophy, contemporary French and German philosophy, critical theory and poststructuralism, philosophy and cinema, and the history of aesthetics. Nicholas Smith is well known for his work on Charles Taylor. He is currently researching a number of issues in critical social theory, including the relationship between work and recognition, the bases of social hope, and religion and modernity. In addition, Nick was also the Founding Director of the Macquarie University Centre for Research on Social Inclusion (based in the Division of Society, Media, Culture, and Philosophy), of which he and several Macquarie philosophers are members.

ETHICS AND ETHICAL THEORY

Mianna Lotz has research interests in applied ethics as well as social philosophy, with a particular interest in the ethical and social implications of biotechnological developments in the sphere of human reproduction. She also works on childrens' and parents' interests, rights and obligations, and on questions concerning the moral status and claims of contingent future persons. Catriona Mackenzie works in moral psychology, moral philosophy, feminist philosophy and applied ethics. Her current research interests include theories of autonomy, agency and practical deliberation, theories of moral responsibility, conceptions of selfhood and identity, and philosophy of the emotions. She is also interested in a range of issues in bioethics, including reproductive ethics, end of life decisions, and conceptions of autonomy, choice and embodiment in bioethics. Cynthia Townley works on topics within ethics, applied ethics and epistemology including trust, tolerance and intellectual property. Albert Atkin works on topics in race and ethnicity.

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