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2026 ALAN SAUNDERS LECTURE
THE RETURN OF THE MORAL STATE:
Politics and the Good Life
ALEXANDRE LEFEBVRE
24 September, Sydney (in person) 6pm - 7.30pm AEST
Across the world, politics is returning to an old and dangerous question: should the state help decide what makes a life worth living? Liberal democracies have long tried to hold back from that question, leaving individuals, families, and communities to pursue their own visions of the good life. But from Hungary and the United States to China, India, and Israel, powerful movements and regimes are again using law, education, welfare, culture, and public power to promote particular ideals of family, order, harmony, pride, sacrifice, and belonging.
In this lecture, Alexandre Lefebvre argues that liberalism’s rivals cannot be understood only through corruption, resentment, or authoritarianism. They are also offering moral visions — often attractive, sometimes noble, and frequently dangerous once backed by the state. The challenge for liberals is to answer these rival “good life states” without becoming one themselves.
Recipient of the 2025 AAP Media Prize, Alexandre Lefebvre is Professor of Politics and Philosophy at The University of Sydney.
THE PHILOSOPHER'S ZONE On air since 2005, The Philosopher’s Zone is an ABC Radio National program that explores philosophical ideas and issues, featuring interviews with philosophers and thinkers about ethics, logic, politics, art, science, and everyday life. | |
2025 ALAN SAUNDERS LECTURE
ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNO-UTOPIAS:
building nature better
KATE LYNCH & CHRISTOPHER LEAN
What if conservation aimed beyond the restoration of our planet, towards an improved nature?
Rather than fixing a broken environment, we could build a better one.
Broadcast 23 October 2025 by ABC Radio National's Philosopher's Zone Program. 2025’s lecture took the form of a Panel Discussion with host David Rutledge.
Watch: Video - ABC Radio National - Facebook Stream
Listen: Audio - The Philosopher's Zone
Human activity has created multiple environmental crises that threaten life on Earth. Science and policy are working to repair this damage as part of global conservation efforts, but some argue we should go further. What if conservation aimed beyond the restoration of our planet, towards an improved nature? Rather than fixing a broken environment, we could build a better one. An environment that better serves the needs of humans and even improves animal welfare.
Emerging technologies are moving us closer to this possibility. They could allow us to redesign ecosystems, revive proxies for lost species, and even invent new ecological functions. If perfected, these tools could enable us to intentionally create “better” environments. But what kind of world would that be?
This talk explores that question through the lens of science fiction, from G. R. R. Martin to Isaac Asimov, and philosophy. We believe that imagining techno-utopias (and dystopias) can expose just how complex it is to value nature, and that this complexity must guide how we set our goals for its future.
www.katelynch.net • christopherhlean.weebly.com
2025 Kate Lynch & Christopher Lean
2024 Krushil Watene
2022 Bryan Mukandi
2021 Stephen Gardiner
2019 Alison Wylie
2018 Serene Khader
2017 Nancy Sherman
2016 Susan Wolf
2015 Cordelia Fine
2014 Philip Pettit
2013 Simon Blackburn
Alan Saunders 1954 - 2012
Alan Saunders was a prince among broadcasters. Of all the journalists I've ever met, he had the deepest love of, and also understanding of, philosophy, and his passion for ideas made doing a program with him a highlight of one's year -- even long distance by phone, and even more in person in the studio. What he brought to public discussion was priceless'.
- Martha Nussbaum, University of Chicago
In recognition of his enduring work, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, in association with the Australasian Association of Philosophy presents an annual Alan Saunders Memorial Lecture. The lecture aims to spread the joy of philosophy and make it accessible to the wider public.