Australasian Philosophy: Reflecting on the Past 100 years will launch the AAP's Centenary year celebrations. It is a single stream in person event with sessions over two days that showcase distinctive themes in Australasian philosophy over the last 100 years. 

The event takes place alongside and as part of the CHASS Humanities Forum

This event is free. Places are limited. To attend please register HERE

Registrations close Wednesday 23 November 8.00pm AEDT.

Join the AAP HERE

PROGRAM

Thursday December 1

Session 1: Feminist philosophy and Australasian philosophy – impact and contributions 

This session will showcase the past and present contributions of Australasian feminist philosophers in three main areas: feminist engagements with the history of philosophy; feminist political philosophy and applied ethics; and feminist work on embodiment and sexual difference. The session begins with a keynote lecture by Emeritus Professor Catriona Mackenzie (Macquarie University) entitled “Feminist philosophy in Australasia: 1980-2010”, followed by presentations by Professor Susan Dodds, Professor Jacqueline Broad, and Dr Louise Richardson-Self on their current research on these topics. It will finish with a panel discussion featuring all four speakers.

Convenor: Katrina Hutchison (Macquarie University)

10.00-11.00: ‘Feminist Philosophy in Australasia: 1980-2010’, Catriona Mackenzie, Macquarie University

11.00-12.30: Panel discussion with Jacqui Broad (Monash University), Susan Dodds (La Trobe University) and Louise Richardson-Self (University of Tasmania)

Session 2: Revisiting the analytic/continental divide in the 21C (session co-hosted with the ASCP)

The emergence of the so-called 'divide' between analytic and Continental philosophy has been a prominent feature of many accounts of 20C philosophy. There has also been stimulating and lively debate over the very idea and contemporary relevance of these contested terms, including recent critical discussion of how we might understand such categories within the context of Australasian philosophy. Are these terms bound by historical limitations or cultural biases? Do they pick out identifiable traditions or mark distinctive methodologies? Are there meaningful distinctions to be made between analytic and Continental traditions, schools, or approaches within contemporary philosophy? This panel addresses these questions from an Australasian perspective, exploring the philosophical, ethical, and political stakes of the 'divide' within a 21^st century philosophical context.

Convenor/Chair: Rob Sinnerbrink (Macquarie University)

2.00-3.30: ‘Analytical’/‘Continental’: Beyond the Divide?’ Genevieve Lloyd, University of New South Wales

My concern in this talk is primarily with the past — with the period celebrated in the centenary of the Australasian Association of Philosophy — and, more specifically, with one portion of that past. I want to talk about the emergence of the vexed dichotomy between ‘Continental’ and ‘Analytical’, which became central to Australian philosophy in the second half of the twentieth century. Insight into what happened then is, I think, crucial to understanding Australian philosophy in this present moment of its history.

3.30-5.00: Panel discussion with Fiona Jenkins (Australian National University), Jack Reynolds (Deakin University) and Matheson Russell (University of Auckland)

Friday December 2

Session 3: Australasian Journal of Philosophy: Lessons from the past and prospects for the future

The Australasian Journal of Philosophy celebrates its 100th volume in 2022. Through changing philosophical fashions, the diversification and internationalization of its contributors and readers, and the continuing challenges of the academic publishing business, the AJP has carved out an reputation as one of the best generalist journals in the field. In this session, past and present editors of the AJP reflect on the history of the journal and its success, and consider the prospects for the next 100 years of the AJP, and of philosophy journals in general. The discussion will take as its starting point former editor Stewart Candlish's recent account of the history of the Journal, which may be useful preparation for prospective attendees: Stewart Candlish (2022) ‘The First Hundred Years of (The) Australasian Journal of Philosophy’, Australasian Journal of Philosophy 100: 3-24, DOI: 10.1080/00048402.2020.1871385.

Convenor: Antony Eagle (University of Adelaide)

10.00-11.00: Antony Eagle (University of Adelaide)

11.00-12.30: Panel discussion with past editors of the AJP – Stewart Candlish (University of Western Australia), Fred D'Agostino (University of Queensland), Stephen Hetherington (University of New South Wales) and Robert Young (La Trobe University)

Session 4: Philosophy and Psychology: parallels, divisions, and the Australasian contribution

Predominantly through to the 1970s, philosophy of mind in Australasia was confined to discussions of materialist or physicalist theories. This was partly due to the influence of Australian Realism and partly due to a global influence of scientific conceptions of the mind. Starting in the 1980s, however, Frank Jackson, using a now famous thought experiment about “Monochrome Mary,” freed us from such narrow conceptions of physicalism. There are features of our perceptual experiences that are not deducible from purely physical information about our bodies and the world, and how the two are related. Through Jackson’s work, as well as the work of others, an entire generation has come to appreciate the possibility of diverse projects that can be undertaken in philosophy and psychology, such as cognitive science, artificial intelligence, philosophy of psychiatry, phenomenology, and experimental philosophy. Panellists will not only summarise their contribution to these areas but also they will discuss amongst themselves, and with the audience, what obstacles have been overcome, what challenges lie ahead, and what opportunities there are in bridging the divide between philosophy and psychology.

Convenor: Joe Ulatowski, University of Waikato

2.00-2.30: ‘An opinionated overview of the debate over Australian Materialism’ Frank Jackson, Australian National University

2.30-4.30: Panel Discussion - Catherine Legg (Deakin University), Talia Morag (University of Wollongong), Joseph Ulatowski (University of Waikato) and Jennifer Windt (Monash University)