Dr. Patrick McGivern, Associate Professor and Discipline Leader for Philosophy
My research includes projects in Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Cognition and Philosophy of Medicine. In Philosophy of Science, I focus primarily on problems of explanation and modelling in science, and on related questions about emergence, reduction, and other inter-theoretic relations. These problems arise in physics, chemistry, neuroscience, cognitive science, biology, ecology and many other areas of science. I am particularly interested in the role that scale plays in these problems, and on the frequent need for ‘multi-scale’ models and explanations, involving combinations of perspectives from different spatial and temporal scales.
UOW Scholars profile McGivern Lab page patrick_mcgivern@uow.edu.au
Dr. Bryan Mukandi, Lecturer and Career Development Fellow
Before studying philosophy, I studied and practiced medicine in a resource poor, African context. My preoccupation with the mechanics of health and harm has transformed into a research and teaching focus on: Social and Political Philosophy; Aesthetics; Pan-African Studies and Critical Indigenous Studies. My ultimate concern is with establishing the conditions necessary for the emergence of healthy communities and individuals.
UOW Scholars profile Personal website bryan_mukandi@uow.edu.au
Dr. David Neil, Senior Lecturer
My research and teaching is primarily in the area of ethics. My interests are in ethical theory and applied ethics, particularly bioethics and the ethics of technology.
UOW Scholars profile david_neil@uow.edu.au
Dr. Marilyn Stendera, Lecturer and Career Development Fellow
My research focuses mainly on the philosophy of cognition and the phenomenological tradition, and on intersections between them. I’m particularly interested in time – the kinds of temporal structures that enable and feature in cognition; how our experience of time differs from that of other cognisers; how to conceptualise lived temporality; and how our relationship to time is shaped by, and shapes, the power structures that we inhabit. I also like thinking about biology, pedagogy, gender, death, cinema, horror, and metaphilosophical questions about intra- and interdisciplinary dialogues.
UOW Scholars profile marilyn_stendera@uow.edu.au
Dr. Simone Thornton, Lecturer
My research interests and publications intersect the areas of social and political philosophy, environmental philosophy, educational philosophy, disruptive philosophies, place-responsive pedagogies, and philosophy in schools, with a focus on the development of ecologically rational forms of education. My books include: Teaching Democracy in an Age of Uncertainty: Place-responsive learning (2022) (with Gilbert Burgh), and Philosophical Inquiry with Children: The development of an inquiring society in Australia (2019) (co-editor).
UOW Scholars profile simone_thornton@uow.edu.au
HDR & Honours Students
Naomi Beecroft, PhD student
My work applies embodied, enactive, and extended frameworks of cognition to implicit bias, arguing that both philosophy and psychology’s conventional understanding(s) of implicit bias are both theoretically and politically misguided. I consider materialist feminisms to be a natural political partner to e-cognition, and argue that together they can give us a new, better conception of bias that avoids the usual trappings of liberal, individualist, and empirically sketchy accounts.
Cohen Brown, PhD Student
My broad areas of teaching and research are ethics and applied philosophy. Specifically, I’m interested in questions within neuroethics, moral psychology, aggression studies, and cognitive enhancement. I’m also a current member of the Australasian Association of Philosophy Postgraduate Committee, and have co-organized events and conferences as Event Manager of UOW Philosophy Forum.
Byron Frencham, Hons Student
My main area of study is addiction. I’m interested in the problems with disease models of addiction, and how this model may lead to sub optimal outcomes for people seeking treatment for addiction problems. I and am currently researching an alternative that may lead to a better understanding of addiction, and treatment outcomes for those people. I also have an interest in the ethics behind the distribution of medical and social resources to people with addiction problems.
Jimmy Lewis-Martin, PhD Student
I am working on the ontology of group agents by extending the enactive theory of agency to groups in order to develop explanatory tools for addressing practical social and political problems. I argue that the enactive theory of agency more accurately defines agency than the other theories on offer. Because of this, it better explains the behaviours of group agents, which in turn allows us to better explain and potentially address the actions of groups. My other interests are the philosophy of medicine and political philosophy.
Danielle O’Neill, PhD Student
I majored in psychology and philosophy in my undergraduate studies. This background inspired my interest in the philosophy of medicine, which is now my research area. Specifically, I’m exploring the relationship between diagnosis and chronic illnesses. My research has been motivated by the disconnect between reported patient experience (of chronic illnesses) and our accounts of diagnosis.
Peter David O’Connor, PhD Student
Thesis Title: The Simple Brain Theory