Justin Oakley

Last updated

Justin Oakley
Born1960
Era Contemporary philosophy
Region Western Philosophy
School Analytic
Main interests
Notable ideas
True Friendship Professional Ethics
Influences

Justin Oakley is a bioethicist and moral philosopher. He has been part of the revival of the ethical doctrine known as virtue ethics, an Aristotelian doctrine which has received renewed interest in the past few decades.

Contents

Oakley is particularly well known for his work on professional ethics and also the so-called 'problem' of friendship. The problem of friendship looks at how a strict application of impartialist ethical doctrines, such as utilitarianism and Kantianism, conflicts with our notions of friendship or 'true friendship'. In 1995, he published, with Dean Cocking, the now widely cited article "Indirect Consequentialism, Friendship, and the Problem of Alienation" in the journal Ethics. [1]

Education

Oakley was educated at Sydney Road Community School, Brunswick, and studied his Bachelor of Arts at Swinburne University of Technology, graduating in 1981. He completed his PhD in Philosophy at La Trobe University in 1988. [2] He teaches in the Master of Bioethics program run by Monash University Centre for Human Bioethics.

Work and awards

Oakley joined the Centre for Human Bioethics at Monash University (established by colleague Peter Singer) in 1990 and served as its Director for 13 years, from 1999 to 2012. [3] In February 2012, he became Deputy Director [3] to spend more time on his research.

In 2004, he was awarded the Eureka Prize for Research in Ethics. [4]

Personal life

Oakley supports the Australian Rules Football team the Geelong football club. Oakley's father is the writer Barry Oakley.

Publications

Books authored or edited:

Related Research Articles

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Helga Kuhse is an Australian utilitarian philosopher and bioethicist. From the 1970s, she was one of the first philosophers to address the ethical implications of the developments in biotechnology and biomedicine. With Peter Singer, she founded the Centre for Human Bioethics at Monash University in 1980, one of the first research centres in the world devoted entirely to bioethics. She served as Director of the Centre until June 1999. Her ideas on the end of life, the right to die, and assisted death, have prompted controversy worldwide.

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References

  1. Cocking, Dean; Oakley, Justin (1995). "Indirect Consequentialism, Friendship, and the Problem of Alienation". Ethics. Ethics, JSTOR. 106 (1): 86–111. doi:10.1086/293779. JSTOR   2382006. S2CID   144527560.
  2. "Associate Professor Justin Oakley » Biography". Monash University, Arts. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  3. 1 2 "New Centre Director". Monash University, Arts. 25 September 2012.
  4. "Eureka Prizes - 2004 Research Ethics". Australia Museum. 2004. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2008.