Macquarie University Ethics and Agency Research Centre

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Macquarie University Ethics and Agency Research Centre

CAVE provides a platform for interaction and collaboration between researchers in philosophy, psychology, cognitive science, law, medicine, applied ethics.

CAVE's aims are:

1. To foster interdisciplinary theoretical research on human agency and the self, moral cognition, the foundations of moral and legal norms, and moral and legal responsibility, and
2. To address practical issues at the intersection of ethics, law and medicine (bioethics, clinical ethics, and biolaw) and at the intersection of ethics, cognitive science and law (neuroethics and neurolaw). Our activities include a conference and workshop program, a distinguished visitors program, support for selected research projects, postgraduate supervision, a postdoctoral program, and a schedule of seminars and reading groups.

03/12/2024

The Macquarie University Ethics and Agency Research Centre is organising a public panel on "Social Privilege" on Thursday, December 12, 6-7:15 pm at Macquarie University City Campus (level 24/123 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000).

To register, please go to: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/public-panel-on-social-privilege-tickets-1061790466869?aff=oddtdtcreator

Abstract

Social privilege profoundly shapes how we live, affecting who can fully participate in social spaces such as work, public spaces, educational institutions and online forums. Individuals who don’t have the privilege to move freely through these spaces, whether due—for example—to their race, gender, sexual orientation, class, or ability, must perform additional work to navigate them. This amounts to an added cognitive labour that some people perform on a near-daily basis, whether that involves finding an accessible route through an ageing public transit system or modifying their mannerisms and behaviours to minimize the risks of harassment. Our panel will bring insights from cognitive science, conceptual engineering, and bioethics to shed new light on the idea of ‘privileged cognition’ and how we might better intervene to reduce the harms of social stratification based on social privilege.

Panellists:

Javier Gomez-Lavin, “Involuntary powers: A cognitive construal of privilege”

Paul-Mikhail Catapang Podosky, “Privileged cognition and the method of conceptual engineering”

Jackie Leach Scully, “A bioethical perspective on privilege”

Chair: Mark Alfano

Interested members of the public from Sydney and surrounding areas are warmly invited to learn and to share their perspectives.

Please also note that this panel will be followed by a catered reception. All are welcome to join.

Public Panel on Social Privilege and Social Justice

18/07/2024

In the CAVE: An Ethics Podcast - Season 5, Episode 1 Out Now

The seventh and final episode of this season The law and religious privilege, with Mareike Riedel is out now.

Abstract

Australia prides itself on being a secular, multi-cultural state. Section 116 of the Australian Constitution declares that:

The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.

In theory, the law protects all religions equally. But in a new book, Mareike Reidel argues that, despite the state’s supposed religious neutrality and the separation of state and church, the law fails to deliver equality for all religions. She traces the origins of this “Christian normativity” to the historical relationship between Christianity and Judaism, and the long-held ambivalence about the place and belonging of Jews and Judaism in Western societies. This work raises questions of identity, difference, and the law, and explores how religious difference is racialized.

Join host Distinguished Professor Wendy Rogers and guest Dr Mareike Riedel as they discuss the relationship between law, secularism, religion, and racialisation through the lens of the legal encounter with Jewish identity.

This podcast features Mareike’s forthcoming book, 'Law and Jewish Difference: Ambivalent Encounters', published with Cambridge University Press. (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/law-and-jewish-difference/D8A29D2D741715B8EB4E5D77B77644D3)

Have a listen on your favourite podcasting app via the following links:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-law-and-religious-privilege-with-mareike-riedel/id1610027117?i=1000662446795

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5rwVFgP4fGQQIETUO5oTcq

In the CAVE: An Ethics Podcast · Episode

12/07/2024

In the Cave: An Ethics Podcast - Season 5, Episode 6 Epistemic Appropriation and the history of being “woke”, with Paul-Mikhail Catapang Podosky is out now.

Abstract

The concept of "self-care" has become ubiquitous in recent years - we're urged to take bubble baths, book spa days, and indulge in retail therapy to cope with the stresses of modern life. But what often gets lost in this wellness rhetoric is that self-care has much deeper roots, originating in the Black feminist tradition as a form of resistance and survival in the face of systemic racism. As Audre Lorde famously wrote, "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare." This is a prime example of "epistemic appropriation" - when a concept created by a marginalized group to name their oppression, such as “woke” or “self-care”, gets taken up by dominant groups in a way that obscures and undermines its original meaning and political force. Is this sort of epistemic appropriation a form of injustice?

Join host Professor Paul Formosa and guest Paul-Mikhail Catapang Podosky as they discuss epistemic and cultural appropriation and the history of the concept of “woke”.

This podcast focuses on Paul’s 2023 paper, “Rethinking Epistemic Appropriation”, in Episteme, 20(1), 142–162. https://doi.org/10.1017/epi.2021.8

Have a listen on your favourite podcasting app via the following links:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/epistemic-appropriation-and-the-history-of-being/id1610027117?i=1000661700576

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4bwBmaBhqCEKP4y9YcYUEe

Listen to this episode from In the CAVE: An Ethics Podcast on Spotify. The concept of "self-care" has become ubiquitous in recent years - we're urged to take bubble baths, book spa days, and indulge in retail therapy to cope with the stresses of modern life. But what often gets lost in this wellness...

10/07/2024

EAC Members Dr. Regina Fabry and Associate Professor Mark Alfano on deathbots and the potential impact of human-deathbot interactions on the grief process. See here:

AI immortality: how deathbots are changing the way we grieve Researcher Dr Regina Fabry and Associate Professor Mark Alfano Publication View journal article Writer Susan Skelly Date 25 June 2024 Faculty Faculty of Arts Topic Our Stories Share A new paper by Dr Regina Fabry and Associate Professor Ma...

05/07/2024

In the Cave: An Ethics Podcast - Season 5, Episode 5 Film-Philosophy, Cinematic Ethics and the Transformative Experience of Film, with Robert Sinnerbrink is out now.

Abstract

Given the ubiquity of streaming services as well as the enduring popularity of cinemas, we are probably watching more films now than at any other time in human history. Films entertain, distract, fill an otherwise empty hour or two, facilitate social interactions, split audiences, provoke controversy and more. However, most of us would probably not add “doing philosophy” to that list. But this is just what film-philosophers claim, that cinema can engage in philosophy in a manner comparable to, although differing from, philosophy itself. Not only that, but films can be transformative, by reframing what we understand about the world, reconfiguring previously held beliefs or views or providing a rich understanding of different perspectives and experiences.

Join host Distinguished Professor Wendy Rogers and guest Professor Robert Sinnerbrink as they investigate the potentially transformative nature of film.

This podcast features Robert’s recently published chapter: “Cinematic ethics: On film as transformative experience”, in J. Hanich, & M. P. Rossouw (Eds.), What film is good for: on the values of spectatorship (pp. 209-220). University of California Press.

Have a listen on your favourite podcasting app via the following links:

Apple:https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/empathy-moral-understandings-and-psychopaths-with/id1610027117?i=1000660221787

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0IspbbEIsoZ0tpXG0PEYQz

In the CAVE: An Ethics Podcast · Episode

26/06/2024

In the Cave: An Ethics Podcast - Season 5, Episode 4 Empathy, Moral Understandings and Psychopaths with Heidi Maibom is out now.

Abstract

Psychopathy holds a certain fascination for crime writers and philosophers alike. Characters such as Harris’ Hannibal Lector, Highsmith’s Tom Ripley and Steinbeck’s Cathy Trask fascinate and repel readers with their indifference to the pain and distress of others. Philosophers’ interest in psychopaths revolves around the question of whether or not they are morally responsible for the harms they cause. Investigating this issue requires sophisticated accounts of the emotions and other responses that underpin moral responsibility, as well as taking account of relevant insights from neuropsychology.

Join host Distinguished Professor Wendy Rogers and Professor Heidi Maibom as they discuss whether or not we should hold psychopaths responsible for harming others.

This podcast discusses one of Heidi’s papers, “Empathy and Moral Understanding in Psychopaths” in J. Doris & M. Vargas (Eds.) Oxford Handbook of Moral Psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press (2022, pp. 838-62).

Have a listen on your favourite podcasting app via the following links:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/empathy-moral-understandings-and-psychopaths-with/id1610027117?i=1000660221787

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5ovrcrqHutnVlLHrAkE8yr

Episode · In the CAVE: An Ethics Podcast · Psychopathy holds a certain fascination for crime writers and philosophers alike. Characters such as Harris’ Hannibal Lector, Highsmith’s Tom Ripley and Steinbeck’s Cathy Trask fascinate and repel readers with their indifference to the pain and dist...

20/06/2024

In the CAVE: An Ethics Podcast - Season 5, Episode 3 "Responsible AI and the Future of Education" with Virginia Dignum is out now.

Abstract

Imagine that you're a student struggling with writer's block on an essay assignment. What if you could turn to an AI tutor for help - one that could not only offer suggestions for improving your prose, but could even generate entire paragraphs or complete drafts based on a few simple prompts? With the rapid advancement of AI and large language models such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity AI, this scenario has already become a reality for many students. AI-powered writing tools are already being used in classrooms, and AI and LLMs have the potential to revolutionize education. But as the possibilities expand, so too do the questions and concerns. What happens to critical thinking and original expression when students can outsource more and more of the writing and thinking process to algorithms? And what role should education play in preparing students for a world increasingly shaped by AI?

Join host Professor Paul Formosa and guest Professor Virginia Dignum as they discuss Responsible AI and the future of education.

This podcast focuses on Virginia’s paper “The role and challenges of education for responsible AI”, London Review of Education, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.14324/LRE.19.1.01

Have a listen on your favourite podcasting app via the following links:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ai-special-series-pt-3-responsible-ai-and-the/id1610027117?i=1000659438197

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Fu0ivmZ4nafnWVvSvOhtY

Listen to this episode from In the CAVE: An Ethics Podcast on Spotify. Imagine that you're a student struggling with writer's block on an essay assignment. What if you could turn to an AI tutor for help - one that could not only offer suggestions for improving your prose, but could even generate ent...

12/06/2024

The second episode “Generative AI and Copyright – Where to from here? With Rita Matulionyte” is out now!

Generative AI technologies, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and text-to-image tools such as Stable Diffusion, have exploded in popularity. These tools can produce everything from philosophy essays, poems, and computer code to high-realism images, with a few simple prompts. For example, you could prompt a Gen AI tool to create a self-portrait of Picasso with a bandaged ear in the style of Van Gogh, and you will get back roughly what you asked for. However, while clearly powerful, these technologies also raise important questions around copyright law. These AI systems are trained on vast datasets containing millions of creative works - but in most cases, the authors of those works weren't asked for permission or compensated. There are concerns that Generative AI could infringe copyrights on a massive scale, while also competing with, and potentially displacing, the human creators it trains on. In response, AI companies often argue that overly restrictive copyright settings could impede important technological progress. So how should policy and law evolve to deal with Generative AI?

Join host Professor Paul Formosa and guest Associate Professor Rita Matulionyte as they discuss Generative AI and the future of copyright.

This podcast focuses on Rita’s paper “Generative AI and Copyright: Exception, Compensation or Both?”, Intellectual Property Forum, 134, pp 33-40. Download a preprint here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4652314

Have a listen on your favourite podcasting app via the following links:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ai-special-series-pt-2-generative-ai-and-copyright/id1610027117?i=1000658686784

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5k66FLH2wMXc6oLEUhb6ow

In the CAVE: An Ethics Podcast · Episode

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http://mq.edu.au/cave

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