CAPPE

  • CSU
  • University of Melbourne

CURRENT RESEARCH

Emerging and Converging Technologies Program:

    This program deals with risks and responsibilities relating to research into technologies that combine with or add to existing technologies, including ethical issues in bio/nanotechnology, computing and IT. More

Poverty Program:

    This program focuses on building an ethically and empirically based account of what development is, what standards it ought to use, and the like. Issues addressed include the measurement of poverty and global minimal labour standards. More

Health Program:

    This program will conduct research in relation to a range of interconnected ethical issues in the public health domain. More

Ecology Program:

    This program focuses on a number of central ethical issues arising in the economic sphere, including corporate responsibility and economic corruption More

Economy Program:

    This program focuses on a number of central ethical issues arising in the economic sphere, including corporate responsibility and economic corruption More

Security Program:

    This program focuses on the ethical dimensions of a range of current domestic and international security problems, including ethical issues pertaining to terrorism, crime, and humanitarian intervention. More

WHAT'S NEW

What's new in CAPPE publications?
View Publications, Click here

MULTIMEDIA CENTRE

Multimedia Centre

ONLINE

PhD Candidate Adam Henschke Australia Talks on Privacy.

Public Ethics Radio

New Program:Joy Gordon on Iraq Sanctions

 


CAPPE Canberra Seminar

CAPPE Canberra Seminars will start for 2012 in February. Watch this space!

More

 

Conferences

 

Workshop: Designing Just Institutions for Global Climate Governance (June 30 - 1 July). Click here for details

Past News



Events

 


PAST EVENTS IN CANBERRA

 

2011

 
Conferences and Workshops

 

Designing Just Institutions for Global Climate Governance

30 June to 1 July 2011
The Australian National University

The Cancún Agreements reached at the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference may have restored some confidence in the potential of multilateral climate negotiations, but fundamental questions remain about how an effective and fair global architecture can be established to address climate change over the longer term. Major ethical concerns include: how to bridge divergent views among developed and developing countries of what constitutes a fair or just distribution of climate-related responsibilities and entitlements; and the fairness or otherwise of various options for the form of a future governance architecture (whether based around a ‘top-down’ multilateral treaty or a more ‘bottom-up’ approach relying on unilateral or more loosely coordinated actions). The workshop aims to promote dialogue among researchers and practitioners engaging with climate ethics and policy in order to identify equitable and workable approaches for designing institutions for global climate governance.


Click Here for more information

 

Impact: Global Poverty Academics Stand Against Poverty UK Launch Meeting

May 23, 2011
University of Birmingham

This meeting marks the launch of the ASAP network in the UK. It will be co-hosted by Thomas Pogge, who has been at the centre of ASAP development efforts in the United States and elsewhere. Confirmed participants include such leading scholars of global justice, ethics, and development economics as Simon Caney, Kalypso Nicolaidis, Sonia Bhalotra, Suzanne Uniacke, Christien Van Den Anker, Thom Brooks, Elizabeth Ashford, Paul Jackson, Heather Widdows, Tom Sorell, and others.
Click Here for more information

 

Measuring Poverty and Gender Disparity Conference

Hedley Bull Centre 1 (Bldg #130) ANU
0900-1300, March 21, 2011

The ANU is currently involved in a three-year, multi-country, interdisciplinary effort, financed by the Australian Research Council and project partners, to design and test measures of poverty and gender disparity that will improve on existing indices. In March, academics, staff from partner organisations and field researchers will be in Canberra to share findings from the first fieldwork phase of the project, which seeks to elicit the views of poor men and women on poverty and its gendered dimensions.
The Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, the new Gender Institute and the Development Policy Centre at the Crawford School of Economics and Government will co-host a half-day forum to enable the wider academic, policy and NGO community to hear from and talk with the research team about how gender shapes poverty, with particular reference to field contexts in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and why this matters for development policy. Time for questions is built into every session. An informal lunch will provide an opportunity for further discussion with field researchers and project team members.

Full program available Here. Please RSVP by 16 March to Scott.Wisor@anu.edu.au for more information

 

2010

 
Conferences and Workshops

 

Fifth Annual New Horizons in Political Philosophy Conference

December 9-10, 2010
ANU, Canberra, Australia

New Horizons is an annual postgraduate conference intended to bring together postgraduate students from across Australasia to present and discuss new ideas in political theory and philosophy. Over the past 5 years, the conference has attracted students from Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland. We hope to continue and expand on this geographic diversity while attracting postgraduate students from fields such as philosophy, political science, international relations, law, etc. to create a community of young scholars working in areas relevant to political theory and philosophy.

Keynote Speakers: Professor Tom Campbell, Director of Charles Sturt University Division of CAPPE and CAPPE Convenor. He specializes in the areas of Philosophy of Law, Justice, Rights, Business and Professional Ethics and Adam Smith.
Click Here for more information

Conference presented by the:Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, ANU and CSU

 

Violence, War & Terrorism: Ethical, Legal & Political Perspectives PROTECTING CIVILIANS DURING VIOLENT CONFLICT

25 – 26 August 2010
Finkel Theatre, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Garran Rd, The Australian National
University, Canberra

Speakers include (international & Australian) academics, serving military staff and representatives from NGOs.
Click Here for more information

Or contact: coast@law.anu.edu.au
T: +61 (0)2 6125 1096 or 6125 3487
F: +61 (0)2 6125 0103
Conference presented by the: Australian Centre for Military Law, ANU; Humanities & Social Sciences, UNSW at ADFA; Centre for Applied Philosophy & Public Ethics, ANU

 

Ethics, Jus Post Bellum, and International Law Workshop (23 – 24 August)

CAPPE Canberra Workshop: Ethics, Jus Post Bellum, and International Law. Held in Room 1.04 Coombs Extension, ANU Campus. More

 
Loyalty in Criminal Justice Workshop (4th February)

CAPPE ANU Workshop:Loyalty in Criminal Justice. Held in the Arts Meeting Room, Haydon Allen Building. More

 

Promoting Dual Use Ethics(28th-29th January)

'Inaugural Event of the Newly Designated WHO Collaborating Centre for Bioethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Australian National University'.

28-29 January 2010. Common Room, University House at The Australian National University. Co-organized by Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE), the National Centre for Biosecurity, and University of Exeter as part of a Wellcome Trust Biomedical Ethics Enhancement project on “Building a Sustainable Capacity in Dual Use Bioethics”.

Click here for the Program.

Click here for more about the collaboration.

 
Public Lectures
ANU Public Lecture (4th August)

The return of Dr Strangelove: Prof Clive Hamilton Held Finkel Lecture Theatre, at the John Curtin School of Medical. More

 

Book Launch (29th March)

Monday 29th of March 12:30-2:00pm

The ANU Climate change Institute & the Centre for Applied Philosophy & Public Ethics Present within the ANU Public Lecture Series 2010 the Book Launch 'Requiem for a Species – Why we resist the truth about climate change' authored by Clive Hamilton.

More

 

2009

 
CAPPE 10 Anniversary

On Wednesday 16th December 2009 the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics celebrated its 10th anniversary. The celebration took place at University House, in The Australian National University

Before the official opening of the event the graduate students presented their posters in the Hall Foyer. The posters showed in a condensed but imaginative way the different research topics that students are undertaking.

Poster Alejandra        Poster Laura       Poster Pablo     Poster JonathanH

Poster Ned        Poster Luara       Poster Luara      Poster Luara          

 

The opening of the event started with Professor Tom Campbell, Director of CAPPE CSU, offering a warm welcome to all attendees and introducing the guest speakers of the first session Public Ethics.

Professor Margaret Sheil, FRACI C Chem, CEO Australian Research Council was the first one to talk in this session, stressing how well CAPPE has been doing throughout its 10 years and the great outcomes CAPPE has achieved regarding the quality of the research it undertakes. The second speaker was the Hon. Michael Kirby who talked about a charter of rights for Australia. During the Q&A session, Kirby approached the public (literally leaving the podium) in order to discuss with the audience their views on such an interesting topic. Finally Professor The Hon Kim Beazley AC, who is about to take the position as ambassador to the US, talked about the importance of ethics in politics.

The second session Institutionalising Ethics was chaired by Mr. Andrew Alexandra (CAPPE, University of Melbourne), who introduced the two speakers of this session. The first speaker was Professor Seumas Miller (CSU and ANU) who talked on Integrity Systems. The second speaker was Dr. Rob Floyd, from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, who talked about the ethical dilemmas that science and security bring to the fore , acknowledging the consultancy work done by CAPPE on this matter for the Department of Prime Minister.

The third session was on the Health Impact Fund and was chaired by Tony Cody (CAPPE, University of Melbourne). The first speaker was Professor Thomas Pogge (CAPPE, ANU) who talked about ethics and incentives regarding the health impact fund. The second speaker was Professor Judith Whitworth (AC, The John Curtin School of Medical Research, ANU) who talked about the potential the health impact fund could have for public health.

The event closed with a dinner for all CAPPE members and special guests. Jeanette Kennett, a former Principal Research Fellow of CAPPE, who talked about the role of women in CAPPE; the second speech of the night, was carried out by the Deputy Vice-chancellor Ross Chambers, who is also a member of the Board of the Special Research Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics and talked about the beginning of CAPPE

The day was a celebration for the first ten years of CAPPE, a celebration for the different features that make CAPPE not only the largest concentration of applied philosophers in the world but a unique centre in professional and applied ethics. As Seumas Miller the Foundation Director of CAPPE says—“it is pleasing to see over time that CAPPE has built important research relationships with business industry and government both in Australia and overseas”. Or as Jonathan Herington a PhD student working on infectious disease emergencies and security also highlights –“CAPPE brings the best in academic philosophy and ethics and brings that to the public sphere”.

Click on thumbnails below for a larger image

Books display Books display Book display Book display Book display

More Pics

Congratulations CAPPE!!

 
Conferences and Workshops

 

Patriotism: For and Against (8th December)

To be held on Tuesday, 8 December 2009, 9:00 to 12:30, in the Arts Meeting Room, Haydon-Allen Building, Australian National University, Canberra.

It is not open to the general public; those interested in attending should contact Igor Primoratz at iprim@unimelb.edu.au. The papers to be discussed will be distributed in advance by e-mail.

Click here for more information.

 

Converging Technologies: Some Pressing Ethical Issues (22nd July)

To be held in the Arts Meeting Room on the Ground Level in the Haydon-Allen Building, ANU. 

Click here to see the program.

Click here for the abstracts.

Click here for Greg Tegart's presentation.

Click here for Alfred Nordmann's presentation.

Click here for Michael Selgelid's presentation.

Click here for Hans J. Griesser's presentation.

Click here for Chennupati Jagadish's presentation.

Click here for Astrid E. Schwarz's presentation.

 

Australian Association of Professional and Applied Ethics National Conference 2009 - Professions in the Community (9th - 11th June)

The 16th annual AAPAE conference, held at Best Western Centretown, Goulburn, NSW, will commence on Tuesday the 9th of June and will finish on Thursday the 11th of June. 

The due date for submission (of both refereed and non-refereed papers) is the 15th of May. Non-refereed papers require only the submission of an abstract rather than a completed paper.

Accepted refereed track papers will be placed on the conference CD. Non-refereed track papers can be revised post-conference and submitted for the peer-reviewed Conference Proceedings (to be published in the Australian Journal of Professional and Applied Ethics).

Click here for the conference homepage.

 

Conference: Smith in Glasgow '09 (31st March - 2nd April 2009)

This conference celebrates the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith's influential book The Theory of Moral Sentiments and will centre around four themes: (1) Scotland and the enlightenment (2) Culture, literature and the arts (3) Philosophy and (4) The social sciences.

Prof. Tom Campbell will be speaking on Smith and Moral Philosophy.

Click here for the conference homepage.

Click here for a copy of the program.

 

Conference: Future of Financial Regulation (30th - 31st of March)

This confernence is hosted by the University of Glasgow Law School and concerns the regulatory implications of the credit crisis.

Christian Barry, Prof. Seumas Miller, Prof. Justin O'Brien and Prof. Thomas Pogge will all be taking part in this conference.

Click here for the conference homepage.

Click here for a copy of the program.

 

Workshop: Rescuing Human Rights (20th - 21st of March)

This Workshop is hosted by the School of Law, King's College London and the Charles Sturt University branch of CAPPE.

Prof. Tom Campbell will be speaking on Summation and Publication Plans.

Click here for a copy of the program.

 


2008

 
The freedom paradox. Towards a post-secular ethics - Professor Clive Hamilton

5 August 2008, Co-op Bookshop, Union Court, Australian National University.

Launched by Justice Michael Kirby. Click to download an flyer

Click on thumbnails below for a larger image

Guests Guests Guests Professor Tom Campbell Professor Tom Campbell Justice Michael Kirby & Professor Clive Hamilton Justice Michael Kirby Justice Michael Kirby Professor Clive Hamilton Professor Clive Hamilton

More about The freedom paradox. Towards a post-secular ethics

 
Criminal Justice Ethics Workshop: Criminalization

On Thursday 3 July 2008, CAPPE Canberra sponsored a half-day workshop that centred around Professor Douglas Husak's recently published Overcriminalization: The Limits of the Criminal Law (OUP, 2008), and coincided with his visit to CAPPE. Husak (Philosophy, Rutgers University) argues that justifiable criminalization requires the satisfaction of a set of several internal and external constraints, viz.

Internal
    (1) nontrivial harm or evil;
    (2) wrongfulness;
    (3) desert;
    (4) burden of proof

External
    (5) substantial governmental interest;
    (6) directly advances the government's objective;
    (7) no more extensive than necessary;

Three paper assessing different aspects of Husak's work were presented:
Dr. Robert Young (La Trobe University): "Douglas Husak and the malum prohibitum Offence of Money Laundering
Professor Heidi M. Hurd (University of Illinois Law School): "Paternalism on pain of Punishment"
Professor Michael S. Moore (University of Illinois Law School): "A Tale of Two Theories"

Douglas Husak responded to each of the papers prior to a fruitful general discussion among the 25-30 participants. The papers will be revised and, along with additional papers by Victor Tadro (Warwick) and A.P. Simester (Singapore/Cambridge), will be published in a symposium, along with a formal response by Husak in Criminal Justice Ethics in 2009. Subsequent to his CAPPE Canberra visit, Husak visited CAPPE Melbourne.

Click on thumbnails below for a larger image

Criminalization1

(left to right) Professor John Kleinig (CAPPE), Professor Douglas Husak (Rutgers), Professor Michael S. Moore (Illinois), Professor Tom Campbell (Director - CAPPE), Dr. Robert Young (La Trobe), Professor Heidi M. Hurd (Illinois)

Criminalization2

Saskia Hufnagel (PhD student, Law, ANU), Professor Tom Campbell (Director - CAPPE)

Criminalization3


Professor Douglas Husak (Rutgers)

Criminalization4

(left to right) Professor John Kleinig (CAPPE), Professor Douglas Husak (Rutgers), Professor Michael S. Moore (Illinois), Professor Tom Campbell (Director - CAPPE), Dr. Robert Young (La Trobe), Professor Heidi M. Hurd (Illinois)

 

Morality and Political Violence

Organized by Professor C.A.J. Tony Cody

Innovations Building, The Australian National University, 5 May 2008

Launched by Professor Hugh White - Head of Strategic & Defence Studies, The Australian National University. More about the launch

Hugh White, 'Realism & the Value of Peace', Lecture given at the launch of Tony Coady's Morality and Political Violence, 5 May 2008

Tony Coady discusses 'Morality and Political Violence' - The Philosopher's Zone 24 April 2008 (MP3 - Right Click 'Save Target As')

More about 'Morality and Political Violence' by Tony Coady

 

ET GOVICT2008 - A Conference on the Ethical Governance of ICT and the Role of Professional Bodies

University House, Australian National University, 1-2 May 2008. This conference has been supported by The Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, The Australian Computer Society, ARC Governance Research Network, The Australian National University, Charles Sturt University and UNESCO. Program Speakers

 


2007

 
Private Equity, Securitisation and Corporate Governance Roundtable

Freehills Moot Court, College of Law, ANU, Wednesday, 12th of  December. Download Flyer Download MP3

 

Negotiating the Sacred IV: Toleration, Education and the Curriculum

1-2 September 2007, Research School for the Humanities, Australian National University. This conference has been supported by the ANU Research School for the Humanities, the Freilich Foundation, GovNet (an Australian Research Council Research Network) and CAPPE (an ARC funded Special Research Centre). More

 

The Governance of Science and Technology

A Joint GovNet/CAPPE/UNESCO Conference, 9-10th August 2007 at the Australian National University.
The Governance of Science & Technology

 

The Dynamics of Capital Market Governance: Evaluating the Conflicting and Conflating Roles of Compliance, Regulation, Ethics and Accountability

An ESRC/GovNet Sponsored Workshop, Australian National University
14-15 March 2007. More Audio Dowload

 


PAST EVENTS IN MELBOURNE

 

2008

 
Seminars

In collaboration with University of Melbourne Philosophy Department and the Castan Centre at Monash University,

4 September 2008, 4:15 pm in the Moot Court Room, South West Corner of the Old (Law) Quad, University of Melbourne, Professor Marilyn Friedman (CAPPE/Washington, St Louis): Understanding as a Requirement for Blaming

4 September 2008, 6pm at the Castan Centre, 472 Bourke Street, Professor Larry May (CAPPE/Washington, St Louis): Habeas Corpus, Procedural Rights and Fundamental Law


 

2007

 
Ethical Questions for NGOs Involved In International Relief and Development

A GovNet/CAPPE sponsored Workshop 18-20 July 2007, University of Melbourne.
NGOs Workshop Announcement

 


 

PAST EVENTS IN SYDNEY

 

2009

Addiction, Identity & Responsibility: Perspectives from Neuroscience, Social Science, Philosophy and Law (20th October 2009)

To be held at the Macquarie Graduate School of Management
Macquarie University
Amphitheatre Room 103
99 Talavera Road, North Ryde, Sydney

This is a free and open event, however registrations will be strictly limited to 50. To guarantee a seat please RSVP to Dr Craig Fry by 18 September 2009.

Click here for the symposium poster.


 

2008

 

National Centre for Biosecurity: Signing Ceremony

On 2 September 2008, the National Centre for Biosecurity (NCB) officially became a joint-enterprise between the Australian National University (ANU) and The University of Sydney. This important event was inaugurated by the signing of an agreement between the two universities by Professor Ian Chubb, Vice Chancellor of ANU, and Dr Michael Spence, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney.

CAPPE's Dr. Michael Selgelid is a founding member of the NCB and will serve as Deputy Director of the ANU node of the Centre; Professor Seumas Miller is on the NCB advisory board.

The signing ceremony will be followed by the launch of a book, Ethical and Philosophical Consideration of the Dual-Use Dilemma in the Biological Sciences authored by Miller and Selgelid. Professor Miller will be available at the ceremony to provide some comments on the book and to sign copies. He will be introduced by Professor Merlin Crossley, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Sydney.

Date: Tuesday, 2 September 2008
Time: 3 - 5pm
Venue: Sutherland Room, Holme Building, University of Sydney (Main Campus)

Click to download an invitation

Some information on the National Centre for Biosecurity and this new collaboration is below:

The new NCB’s chief aim is to facilitate greater academic and policy engagement with biosecurity challenges facing Australia and its region. Biosecurity, as the NCB defines it, is concerned with infectious disease threats to human and animal health, encompassing:

  • biological weapons threats
  • naturally-occurring disease outbreak disasters
  • safety and security of laboratory research on pathogenic micro-organisms
  • the relationship between infectious disease patterns, public health capacity, state functioning and violent conflict.

NCB deals with biosecurity problems of great importance to Australia and our regional neighbours. East Asia is a flashpoint for disease emergencies and Australia plays a critical role as a repository of technical knowledge and expertise. The NCB enhances this capacity by dealing specifically with biosecurity issues of importance to the region (e.g. Avian influenza, SARS).

The NCB will focus on the research and policy questions of relevance to business and government. An important aspect of our mission is engaging with policymakers and the wider community, including business leaders, in helping them to understand emerging infectious disease threats and other biosecurity concerns.

The NCB is unique within the region. No other program which deals with the security implications of infectious disease in such an interdisciplinary fashion exists within the region. The NCB is the first of its kind, and seeks to explore regional issues that European and US-based biosecurity research has so far ignored.

The NCB includes a wide range of expertise across a diverse set of faculties from both universities. Faculty members with strong research programs provide input from the disciplines of business, veterinary science, law, epidemiology, ethics, public health, international politics, and microbiology. The program is truly interdisciplinary in its mission and in its approach to solving biosecurity challenges.

The collaborative nature of the NCB allows it to bring to bear the broadest and deepest pool of expertise to regional biosecurity problems. Both the Australian National University and the University of Sydney have complementary strengths in areas such as veterinary health, epidemiology, microbiology, international politics and ethics; combined expertise which is essential to solving complex biosecurity problems.

For additional information, see: www.biosecurity.edu.au


 

2007

When the Music Stops: Private Equity, Securitisation and the Future of Capital Markets

University of Sydney Law School, Friday, 14th of  December. More

 

Moral Cognition and Meta-Ethics Conference

31st August - 2nd September 2007 in Sydney, Australia. More