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411Four Lenses for Designing Morally Engaging GamesProceedings of 1st International Joint Conference of DiGRA and FDG. 2016.Historically the focus of moral decision-making in games has been narrow, mostly confined to challenges of moral judgement (deciding right and wrong). In this paper, we look to moral psychology to get a broader view of the skills involved in ethical behaviour and how they may be employed in games. Following the Four Component Model of Rest and colleagues, we identify four “lenses” – perspectives for considering moral gameplay in terms of focus, sensitivity, judgement and action – and describe th…Read more
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669Playing Around With Morality: Introducing the Special Issue on “Morality Play”Games and Culture 14 (4). 2019.This special issue of Games and Culture focuses on the intersection between video games and ethics. This introduction briefly sets out the key research questions in the research field and identifies trends in the articles included in this special issue
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1518Moral LawIn Michael Gibbons (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Political Thought, . pp. 2438-2455. 2015.What is the moral law and what role does it and should it play in political theory and political practice? In this entry we will try to answer these important questions by first examining what the moral law is, before investigating the different ways in which the relationship between morality and politics can be conceptualized
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863Morality Play: A Model for Developing Games of Moral ExpertiseGames and Culture 14 (4): 410-429. 2019.According to cognitive psychologists, moral decision-making is a dual-process phenomenon involving two types of cognitive processes: explicit reasoning and implicit intuition. Moral development involves training and integrating both types of cognitive processes through a mix of instruction, practice, and reflection. Serious games are an ideal platform for this kind of moral training, as they provide safe spaces for exploring difficult moral problems and practicing the skills necessary to resolve…Read more
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547Kant on Education and evil—Perfecting human beings with an innate propensity to radical evilEducational Philosophy and Theory 51 (13): 1304-1307. 2018.Kant begins his Lectures on Pedagogy by stating, “[t]he human being is the only creature that must be educated” (Kant, 2007, 9:441), and he argues that it is through education that we can transform our initial “animal nature into human nature” (ibid. 2007, 9:441). Kant understands education as involving an ordered process of care, discipline, instruction and formation through enculturating, civilizing and moralizing (Formosa 2011). Further, Kant envisages that we should pursue as a species the “…Read more
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2492Moral responsibility for banal evilJournal of Social Philosophy 37 (4). 2006.It has often been argued that Hannah Arendt ‘let off’ Eichmann through her concept of the banality of evil. In this paper I argue, through revisiting and modifying the concept of the banality of evil, that we can reject such criticism. That is, by judging that a perpetrator, like Eichmann, commits evil banally in no way undermines the grounds for holding them to be responsible for their actions, but it does help us to understand why such perpetrators act as they do and to teach us how we might p…Read more
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331Politics and Teleology in Kant (edited book)University of Wales Press. 2014.The fourteen essays in this volume, by leading scholars in the field, explore the relationship between teleology and politics in Kant’s corpus. Among the topics discussed are Kant’s normative political theory and legal philosophy; his cosmopolitanism and views on international relations; his theory of history; his theory of natural teleology; and the broader relationship between morality, history, nature, and politics. _Politics and Teleology in Kant_ will be of interest to a wide audience, incl…Read more
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561Evil, virtue, and education in KantEducational Philosophy and Theory 51 (13): 1325-1334. 2019.For Kant, we cannot understand how to approach moral education without confronting the radical evil of humanity. But if we start out, as Kant thinks we do, from a morally corrupt state, how...
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305Review of 'Evil and Moral Psychology, written by Peter Brian Barry' (review)Journal of Moral Philosophy 13 (4): 495-497. 2016.Review of 'Evil and Moral Psychology, written by Peter Brian Barry'
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2380Papers, Please and the systemic approach to engaging ethical expertise in videogamesEthics and Information Technology 18 (3): 211-225. 2016.Papers, Please, by Lucas Pope (2013), explores the story of a customs inspector in the fictional political regime of Arstotzka. In this paper we explore the stories, systems and moral themes of Papers, Please in order to illustrate the systemic approach to designing videogames for moral engagement. Next, drawing on the Four Component model of ethical expertise from moral psychology, we contrast this systemic approach with the more common scripted approach. We conclude by demonstrating the differ…Read more
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1155The Ends of politics : Kant on sovereignty, civil disobedience and cosmopolitanismIn Paul Formosa, Tatiana Patrone & Avery Goldman (eds.), Politics and Teleology in Kant, University of Wales Press. pp. 37-58. 2014.A focus on the presence of unjustified coercion is one of the central normative concerns of Kant’s entire practical philosophy, from the ethical to the cosmopolitical. This focus is intimately interconnected with Kant’s account of sovereignty, since only the sovereign can justifiably coerce others unconditionally. For Kant, the sovereign is she who has the rightful authority to legislate laws and who is subject only to the laws that she gives herself. In the moral realm (or kingdom) of ends, eac…Read more
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1080Kantian Ethics, Dignity and PerfectionCambridge University Press. 2017.In this volume Paul Formosa sets out a novel approach to Kantian ethics as an ethics of dignity by focusing on the Formula of Humanity as a normative principle distinct from the Formula of Universal Law. By situating the Kantian conception of dignity within the wider literature on dignity, he develops an important distinction between status dignity, which all rational agents have, and achievement dignity, which all rational agents should aspire to. He then explores constructivist and realist vie…Read more
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866Introduction: The Connection between Politics and Teleology in KantIn Paul Formosa, Avery Goldman & Tatiana Patrone (eds.), Politics and Teleology in Kant, University of Wales Press. pp. 1-18. 2014.Kant develops his political philosophy in the context of a teleological conception of both nature and human history. For Kant, political thought must be undertaken in the context of a progressive historical view of humanity’s place in nature. For this reason Kant would strongly agree with John Rawls’s claim that one of the key roles that political philosophy plays in a society’s political culture is that of ‘probing the limits of practicable political possibility. In this role, we view political…Read more
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2120Is Kant a Moral Constructivist or a Moral Realist?European Journal of Philosophy 21 (2): 170-196. 2011.The dominant interpretation of Kant as a moral constructivist has recently come under sustained philosophical attack by those defending a moral realist reading of Kant. In light of this, should we read Kant as endorsing moral constructivism or moral realism? In answering this question we encounter disagreement in regard to two key independence claims. First, the independence of the value of persons from the moral law (an independence that is rejected) and second, the independence of the content …Read more
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300Thinking, Willing, and JudgingCrossroads 4 (1): 53-64. 2009.In this paper I examine Max Deutscher’s recent accounts of thinking, willing and judging, derived from his reading of Hannah Arendt’s 'The Life of the Mind', as set out in his book 'Judgment After Arendt'. Against Deutscher I argue that thinking does not presuppose thoughtfulness, that being willing is compatible with willing reluctantly, and that actor and spectator judgments are distinct types of judgments.
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2571The role of vulnerability in Kantian ethicsIn Catriona Mackenzie, Wendy Rogers & Susan Dodds (eds.), Vulnerability: New Essays in Ethics and Feminist Philosophy, Oxford University Press. pp. 88-109. 2014.Does the fact that humans are vulnerable, needy and dependent beings play an important role in Kantian ethics? It is sometimes claimed that it cannot and does not. I argue that it can and does. I distinguish between broad (all persons are vulnerable) and narrow (only some persons are vulnerable) senses of vulnerability, and explain the role of vulnerability in both senses in Kantian ethics. The basis of this argument is to show that the core normative focus of Kantian ethics is on the dignity th…Read more
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764Kant on the Highest Moral-Physical Good: The Social Aspect of Kant's Moral PhilosophyKantian Review 15 (1): 1-36. 2010.Kant identifies the “highest moral-physical good” as that combination of “good living” and “true humanity” which best harmonises in a “good meal in good company”. Why does Kant privilege the dinner party in this way? By examining Kant’s accounts of enlightenment, cosmopolitanism, love and respect, and gratitude and friendship, the answer to this question becomes clear. Kant’s moral ideal is that of an enlightened and just cosmopolitan human being who feels and acts with respect and love for all …Read more
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3010From Discipline to Autonomy: Kant's Theory of Moral DevelopmentIn Klas Roth & Chris W. Surprenant (eds.), Kant and Education: Interpretations and Commentary, Routledge. pp. 163--176. 2011.In this paper I argue that Kant develops, in a number of texts, a detailed three stage theory of moral development which resembles the contemporary accounts of moral development defended by Lawrence Kohlberg and John Rawls. The first stage in this process is that of physical education and disciplining, followed by cultivating and civilising, with a third and final stage of moralising. The outcome of this process of moral development is a fully autonomous person. However, Kant’s account of moral …Read more
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216Review: Anderson-Gold & Muchnik (eds), Kant's Anatomy of Evil (review)Kantian Review 16 (2): 150-56. 2011.Book review of Anderson-Gold & Muchnik (eds), Kant's Anatomy of Evil
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321Patriotism: Philosophical and political perspectivesAustralasian Journal of Philosophy 87 (1). 2009.A review of Patriotism: Philosophical and Political Perspectives
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2387Is radical evil banal? Is banal evil radical?Philosophy and Social Criticism 33 (6): 717-735. 2007.There has been much recent debate concerning how Hannah Arendt's concepts of radical evil and the banality of evil `fit together', if at all. I argue that the first of these concepts deals with a certain type of evil, in particular the evil that occurred in the Nazi death camps. The second deals with a certain type of perpetrator of evil, in particular the banal `nobody', Eichmann. As such, bar a localized incompatibility in regard to Arendt's early account of the motivation of perpetrators of r…Read more
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1769A Conception of EvilJournal of Value Inquiry 42 (2): 217-239. 2008.There are a number of different senses of the term “evil.” We examine in this paper the term “evil” when it is used to say things such as: “what Hitler did was not merely wrong, it was evil”, and “Hitler was not merely a bad person, he was an evil person”. Failing to keep a promise or telling a white lie may be morally wrong, but unlike genocide or sadistic torture, it is not evil in this sense. In this paper we analyze the specific moral difference between “evil” and “mere wrongdoing”. In so do…Read more
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607Understanding Evil ActsHuman Studies 30 (2): 57-77. 2007.Evil acts strike us, by their very nature, as not only horrifying and reprehensible, but also as deeply puzzling. No doubt for reasons like this, evil has often been seen as mysterious, demonic and beyond our human powers of understanding. The question I examine in this paper is whether or not we can (or would want to) overcome this puzzlement in the face of evil acts. I shall argue that we ought want to (in all cases) and can (in at least most cases) come to understand why people perpetrate evi…Read more
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1572Kant on the Limits of Human EvilJournal of Philosophical Research 34 189-214. 2009.Kant has often been accused of being far too “optimistic” when it comes to the extremes of evil that humans can perpetrate upon one another. In particular, Kant’s supposed claim that humans cannot choose evil qua evil has struck many people as simply false. Another problem for Kant, or perhaps the same problem in another guise, is his supposed claim that all evil is done for the sake of self-love. While self-love might be a plausible way to explain some instances of evil, it seems to be an impla…Read more
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4127Dignity and Respect: How to Apply Kant's Formula of HumanityPhilosophical Forum 45 (1): 49-68. 2014.Kant’s Formula of Humanity (FH) is considered by many, Kant included, to be the most intuitively appealing formulation of the categorical imperative. FH tells us that to treat persons with dignity and respect we must always treat them as ends in themselves and never as mere means. One set of issues raised by FH revolves around how FH is to be justified or grounded and how it relates to the other formulations of the categorical imperative. This set of issues, though important, is not our focus he…Read more
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3786Thinking, Conscience and Acting in the Face of Mass EvilIn Andrew Schaap, Danielle Celermajer & Vrasidas Karalis (eds.), Power, Judgement and Political Evil: In Conversation with Hannah Arendt, Ashgate. pp. 89-104. 2010.If there is one lesson that Hannah Arendt drew from her encounter with Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem it was that the moral and political dangers of thoughtlessness had been grossly underestimated. But while thoughtlessness clearly “has its perils”, (LMT 177) as the example of Eichmann illustrates, thoughtfulness has its own problems, as the example of Heidegger illustrates. In the course of her 1964 interview with Günter Gaus, Arendt recalls her distaste for “intellectual business” that arose from…Read more
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208Saying the unsayable: Wittgenstein's early ethical thoughtSorites 19 74-87. 2007.In this paper I present an account of Wittgenstein’s ethics that follows from a so-called ‘metaphysical’ reading of the Tractatus. I argue Wittgenstein forwards two distinct theses. Negatively he claims that there can be no ethical propositions. Positively he claims that the ethical good, or good in-itself, is the rewarding happy life. The happy life involves living in perfect contented harmony with the world, however it is, because how the world is, is a manifestation of God’s will. Given the n…Read more
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1095Kant's Conception of Personal AutonomyJournal of Social Philosophy 44 (3): 193-212. 2013.A strong distinction is often made between personal autonomy and moral autonomy. Personal autonomy involves governing yourself in the pursuit of your own conception of the good. Moral autonomy involves legislating the moral law for yourself. Viewed in this way personal autonomy seems at best marginal and at worst a positive hindrance to moral autonomy, since personal autonomy can conflict with moral autonomy. Given that Kantian approaches to morality are closely aligned with moral autonomy, does…Read more
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3088“All Politics Must Bend Its Knee Before Right”: Kant on the Relation of Morals to PoliticsSocial Theory and Practice 34 (2): 157-181. 2008.Kant argues that morals should not only constrain politics, but that morals and politics properly understood cannot conflict. Such an uncompromising stance on the relation of morals to politics has been branded unrealistic and even politically irresponsible. While justice can afford to be blind, politics must keep its eyes wide open. In response to this charge I argue that Kant’s position on the relation of morals to politics is both morally uncompromising and yet politically flexible, both prin…Read more
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545Kant on the Moral Ontology of Constructivism and RealismIn Stefano Bacin, Alfredo Ferrarin, Claudio La Rocca & Margit Ruffing (eds.), Kant und die Philosophie in weltbürgerlicher Absicht. Akten des XI. Internationalen Kant-Kongresses, De Gruyter. pp. 185-196. 2013.There has been much recent debate on the question of whether Kant is to be best understood as a moral realist or a moral constructivist. In an attempt to resolve this debate I examine whether moral constructivism is a form of moral idealism, briefly contrast realism and idealism, and draw on work in social ontology to look at the different accounts of moral ontology implicit in realist and constructivist accounts. As a result of this investigation I conclude that Kant is a moral constructivist.
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Areas of Specialization
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Kantian Ethics |
Computer Ethics |
Ethics of Artificial Intelligence |
Value Theory |
Moral Evil |
Video Games |