[SydPhil] UOW Agora Speaker Series — Kathryn Mackay (University of Sydney) — Pleonexia and public/private health systems (April 16)

[Elena Walsh]

Dear all,


The School of Liberal Arts at the University of Wollongong will welcome Dr.
Kathryn Mackay (University of Sydney) to the Agora Speaker Series this on
Thursday, April 16. Details are here
<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/JkOTCGv0oyC0O6DN5sKfjTBan43?domain=sola-events.github.io> (and below). All most
welcome. Please RSVP <https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/JkOTCGv0oyC0O6DN5sKfjTBan43?domain=sola-events.github.io>.


*Kathryn Mackay*

University of Sydney

*‘Pleonexia and Public/Private Health Systems’*

16 April 2026 · 3.30–5pm · 24-201

The University of Wollongong (Keiraville campus)


*Abstract*

‘Pleonexia’ is an ancient Greek term that means taking or wanting to take
more than is one’s due, or avoiding or wanting to avoid contributing what
one justly owes. It is often translated as ‘greed,’ though it is more
complex than an idea of greed like uncontrolled appetites, gluttony, or
avarice. It is also concerned with goods beyond those that are material in
nature, and includes honour, respect, and other non-material goods.
Importantly, pleonexia is connected to justice and not just to appetite. It
demands to know, what are you rightly owed, or what do you rightly owe in
turn? In this paper, I use the idea of pleonexia to interrogate the common
practice in Australia whereby physicians and specialists trained in the
public healthcare system exit the public system immediately upon completing
their training, for an exclusively private healthcare practice. All doctors
are trained in the public system, and learn from doctors who have chosen to
have all or part of their practice in the public side. However, many
doctors choose to exit the public system entirely once their training is
completed, removing their skills from the system and closing off access to
both other trainees and the patients who would benefit from their practice.
I argue that this is a case of pleonexia but not simply in the positive
side of wanting more money or status (though these may be involved). Here,
I will focus on the other side of pleonexia involved in this case, of not
contributing what one justly owes, and leaving the system worse off as a
result.


*Bio*

Kathryn MacKay is a Senior Lecturer and Program Director of the Master of
Bioethics at Sydney Health Ethics. She has a BA in philosophy from the
University of Western Ontario (Canada), an MA in philosophy from McGill
University (Canada), and a PhD in bioethics from the University of
Birmingham (UK). Kathryn's research brings a feminist theoretical lens to
the field of bioethics, and especially public health ethics. Her work
involves examining issues of human flourishing at the intersection of moral
theory, feminist theory, and political philosophy. Kate's main programme of
research is focussed on examining the structures of society that shape
people's lives, the processes of public decision-making about health, and
the manner in which such decisions are expressed to the broader community.
In 2024, Kate was a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford Uehiro
Centre for Practical Ethics. She has recently published a book on
institutional virtue for public health, entitled Public Health Virtue
Ethics: Institutions, Structures, and Political Virtue for the Good Society
(Routledge, 2025).


Best wishes,

The School of Liberal Arts