From hps.admin at sydney.edu.au Mon Mar 2 10:22:46 2026 From: hps.admin at sydney.edu.au (HPS Admin) Date: Sun, 1 Mar 2026 23:22:46 +0000 Subject: [SydPhil] REMINDER: HPS Research Seminar, Monday 2nd March 2026 at 5.30pm In-Reply-To: References: <4k8fb.cjcgfy.44z6tvnb@e2ma.net> Message-ID: School of History and Philosophy of Science RESEARCH SEMINAR [The University of Sydney] [https://d31hzlhk6di2h5.cloudfront.net/20260223/16/66/f0/75/412d1c1f66a3c48a2cc1b8a7_1276x852.jpg] Planetary Health beyond Spaceship Earth? Warwick Anderson (University of Sydney) Dates: Monday, 2/3/2026 Start Time: 5:30pm Venue: Carslaw Building (F07), Level 2, Room 275 How to register: Free, no registration required Website: https://hps-events.sydney.edu.au/ Abstract: For more than ten years, concern about the impacts on human health of degradation of the earth?s life-support systems has been expressed in terms of ?planetary health?. The current and future effects of climate change on health and well-being thus come under the rubric of planetary health. We realise now that the health of all species depends on ecosystem health, now scaled up to encompass the planet. But what ideas shaped this understanding of our dependence on the planet as a semi-closed feedback system? Many of the concepts of planetary health - including ?life-support systems?, ?safe operating systems,? and even ?planetary boundaries? ? derive from 1960s systems theories and cybernetics, as developed in the NASA space program. Planetary health is still largely confined by our sense of living on spaceship earth. How might we come to imagine planetary health otherwise, beyond the limits of a closed system? Bio: Warwick Anderson is Janet Dora Hine Professor of Politics, Governance and Ethics in the Discipline of Anthropology and the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney. He was formerly an ARC Laureate Fellow in the History Department at Sydney. A co-conspirator in postcolonial studies of science, he has written extensively on science, race, and colonialism; medicine and white masculinity; kuru, cannibalism, and sorcerer scientists; and autoimmunity and tolerance of self. His current research is focused on disease ecology and planetary health. In 2023, he was awarded the John Desmond Bernal Prize of the Society for Social Studies of Science, in recognition of lifetime achievement in science and technology studies. In 2025, he received the Arthur J. Viseltear Prize for lifetime achievement in public health history from the American Public Health Association. [https://images.e2ma.net/0/images/templates/spacer.gif] [The University of Sydney] Keep in touch [Facebook] [Twitter] [Instagram] [LinkedIn] [YouTube] Copyright ? 2026 The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia Phone +61 2 9351 2222 ABN 15 211 513 464 CRICOS Number: 00026A Please add hps.admin at sydney.edu.au to your address book or senders safe list to make sure you continue to see our emails in the future. Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove? Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails. View this email online. Disclaimer | Privacy statement | University of Sydney From kathryn.mackay at sydney.edu.au Mon Mar 2 14:02:01 2026 From: kathryn.mackay at sydney.edu.au (Kathryn MacKay) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2026 03:02:01 +0000 Subject: [SydPhil] Sydney Health Ethics Conversation - 12 March - Liezl van Zyl: Dying Virtuously Message-ID: <9831FB75-7482-4A40-ADC2-BDCF26CB9D6C@sydney.edu.au> Liezl van Zyl | 12 March Sydney Health Ethics Conversation Series Dying virtuously: Burdensomeness as motive for medically assisted suicide Hi everyone, Please join us for the next SHE Conversation series with Associate Professor Liezl van Zyl. Speaker Associate Professor Liezl van Zyl Associate Professor in Philosophy at the University of Waikato Liezl van Zyl is an Associate Professor in Philosophy at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, where she works primarily in virtue ethics, moral psychology, and applied ethics. She is the author of Virtue Ethics: A Contemporary Introduction (2019) and has published on topics such as surrogate motherhood, abortion, and medically assisted dying. Moderator and Response: Dr Kathryn Mackay Abstract Dying virtuously: Burdensomeness as motive for medically assisted suicide In previous work, I argued that assisted suicide can constitute an act of courage if it is aimed at a worthwhile end?a good death for the one who dies (Van Zyl, "Choosing death: Virtue ethics and suicide," 2026). In this paper, I examine whether a good death can also be understood in other-regarding terms, as aimed, at least in part, at the good of others. A paradigmatic example is that of Captain Oates, who, after becoming too ill to continue the South Pole expedition, walked into a blizzard so that his companions could continue unburdened by a duty of care or feelings of guilt. In a medical context, a comparable case may be when a patient requests medically assisted suicide in order to relieve others of the burdens of care and the distress of witnessing a prolonged dying process. I ask whether, and under what conditions, a request grounded in concerns about burdensomeness can be understood as an expression of courage and generosity, and consider how medical professionals should respond to such requests. When 12 March 2026 12:00?1:00 PM Where A27, Dean?s Boardroom/Conference Room Level 2 (Main Entrance from Fisher Road, immediate left after you enter). Joining online? Register here: Zoom registration link If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Dr. Supriya Subramani: supriya.subramani at sydney.edu.au?. From catherine.wesselinoff at nd.edu.au Mon Mar 2 16:25:09 2026 From: catherine.wesselinoff at nd.edu.au (Catherine Wesselinoff) Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2026 05:25:09 +0000 Subject: [SydPhil] CHOP Seminar Series - Dominik Perler March 5 Message-ID: Dear All, The Centre for the History of Philosophy (CHOP) at the University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) warmly invites you to our first Research Seminar of 2026. SPEAKER: Professor Dominik Perler (Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin) TITLE: One Substance and Many Attributes: Spinoza and the Scholastic Background ABSTRACT: Spinoza famously claims that there is one single substance that has infinitely many attributes. How is this fundamental claim to be understood? The paper discusses this question by relating Spinoza?s theory of substance to scholastic theories. It first presents Scotus?s theory according to which attributes are essential parts of the substance: they make the substance what it is and therefore constitute it. The paper then intends to show that Spinoza defends the same constitution claim. However, Spinoza goes beyond the scholastic tradition by claiming that the attributes are powers that are always fully actualized. The paper spells out this claim, arguing that Spinoza conceives of the single substance as a ?super power.? Dominik Perler is Professor of Philosophy at Humboldt-Universit?t, Berlin. He taught at Oxford and Basel before moving to Berlin in 2003. He has had visiting appointments at several universities, among them UCLA, Princeton University, Tel Aviv University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Universit? libre de Bruxelles, the ?cole Normale Sup?rieure, and the ?cole Pratique des Hautes ?tudes in Paris. His research focuses on medieval and early modern philosophy, mostly in the areas of philosophy of mind, epistemology, and metaphysics. He is currently co-director of the research center ?Human Abilities.? His recent books include Feelings Transformed. Philosophical Theories of the Emotions, 1270-1670 (author, OUP 2018), Causation and Cognition in Early Modern Philosophy (co-editor, Routledge 2020), Eine Person sein: Philosophische Debatten im Sp?tmittelalter (author, Klostermann 2020), Powers and Abilities in Early Modern Philosophy (co-editor, Routledge 2024). DATE: Thursday March 5 2026 TIME: 1:00 pm-2:30 pm (Sydney time) IN-PERSON LOCATION: Moorgate Room The University of Notre Dame (Sydney) 10 Grafton St, Chippendale, NSW ONLINE: Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/47958474870915?p=tSYYEmP9c5oVxQSa32 Meeting ID: 479 584 748 709 15 Passcode: FV37wL7c Registration is not required. Dr Catherine Wesselinoff Lecturer | School of Philosophy and Theology Lead, Strategic Programs and Partnerships | Institute for Ethics and Society (IES) The University of Notre Dame Australia. Book a meeting with me Recent Publications: "Beauty's Comeback", Debates in Aesthetics, Vol 19. No. 2, 2025, pp 35-45. "Apophatic Beauty in the Hippias Major and the Symposium", The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 82, Issue 1, 2024, pp 36-44. The Revival of Beauty: Aesthetics, Experience, and Philosophy, Routledge, 2023. Disclaimer The information contained in this communication from the sender is confidential. It is intended solely for use by the recipient and others authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking action in relation of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. This email has been scanned for viruses and malware, and may have been automatically archived by Mimecast Ltd, an innovator in Software as a Service (SaaS) for business. Providing a safer and more useful place for your human generated data. Specializing in; Security, archiving and compliance. To find out more visit the Mimecast website. From timothy.smartt at nd.edu.au Tue Mar 3 15:46:08 2026 From: timothy.smartt at nd.edu.au (Timothy Smartt) Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2026 04:46:08 +0000 Subject: [SydPhil] Masterclass with Meghan Sullivan at Notre Dame Australia Message-ID: The Institute for Ethics & Society at The University of Notre Dame Australia is pleased to host a two-day Masterclass in Moral Philosophy led by Professor Meghan Sullivan (University of Notre Dame USA) on Monday 9 and Wednesday 11 March, 10:00am-12:30pm each day (Sydney time). The masterclass will focus on excerpts from Professor Sullivan?s in-progress book manuscript, ?The Good Samaritan and Love for the Stranger.? The masterclass will be held in person on UNDA?s Sydney campus, but remote participation is also available. All welcome, but registration is essential. Pre-readings will be provided to participants prior to the event. Abstract: The masterclass will focus on readings from Professor Sullivan?s forthcoming monograph ?The Good Samaritan and Love for the Stranger? (Oxford University Press). Prof Sullivan will discuss draft manuscripts of the first three chapters on the role of love in ethical life. The project draws from contemporary moral theory and social psychology, but is rooted in and inspired by the teaching of the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Most chapters are framed around a key figure in the parable and the moral questions that figure raises. Chapter 1 considers the Road to Jericho and the challenge that situationism poses to the love ethic. In Chapter 2, we will look at the figure of the Good Samaritan in ethical theory, in particular debates about the role of supererogation in moral life. Chapter 3 considers the priest and the problem of moral demandingness. An introductory chapter sets the stage for the project. The book lays out a new approach to love?s role in ethics, as well as a methodology for engaging religious sources in developing contemporary moral theory. To register, please contact: Tim Smartt (timothy.smartt at nd.edu.au) Dr Tim Smartt Senior Research Fellow Institute for Ethics & Society University of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney Disclaimer The information contained in this communication from the sender is confidential. It is intended solely for use by the recipient and others authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking action in relation of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. This email has been scanned for viruses and malware, and may have been automatically archived by Mimecast Ltd, an innovator in Software as a Service (SaaS) for business. Providing a safer and more useful place for your human generated data. Specializing in; Security, archiving and compliance. To find out more visit the Mimecast website.