Thinking Philosophy

Life and Death Ethics

Healthcare providers use philosophy to make decisions from hot button issues such as abortion and euthanasia to big picture questions such as healthcare rationing. Associate Professor Bernadette Tobin works with them to guide the decision-making process.

Dilemmas of dementia

An increasing number of people face the difficult question of how to relate to parents and partners suffering from dementia. Dr Steve Matthews looks at how the philsophical understanding of the nature of self can guide carers with everyday dilemmas.

Facing suffering

How we cope with the inevitable anguish of an uncertain and pain-filled life is the key existential question of being human. Dr Jamie Parr draws on the work of Friedrich Nietzsche to offer guidance in the face of suffering.

Finding Human Dignity

Our understanding of our own value and the value of others - not as units as economy but as human beings - is key to the kind of society we build.

The moral cost of inheritance

Inheritance is a core reason for increasing social inequity. Dr Stewart Braun discusses why we should we use estate taxes to limit integenerational wealth transfer and explores whether any form of inheritance morally justifiable.

Ethics beyond emotions

Morality does not require guilt, blame or shame. Dr Tyler Paytas examines a rational ethical system determined to take emotions out of the equation.

When utilitarianism fails

The greatest good for the greatest number is a moral mantra for many but it can lead to exploitation of the few. Dr David Killoren explores a hybrid form of utilitarianism that makes space for the value of individuals and human relationships.

Embracing doubt

Believers, from communists to the Christian right, often demand absolute faith. But it is possible to simultaneously believe and maintain healthy doubt, argues Dr David Newheiser.

Why physics needs philosophy

Stephen Hawking famously claimed that philosophy was dead in the face of advances in physics. But the next advances in science may need metaphysics to enable us to rethink our concept of time or to develop new kinds of mathematics, argues Dr Sam Baron.

Everyone's responsibility

Australia should close its borders to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Banks should offer discounts to first home buyers. Greenpeace should stick to legal protests. If you’ve ever made one of these statements - or something like them – you’ve entered into the thorny philosophical territory about the relationship between individual and group duties.