Russell
Blackford – curriculum vitae
Phone: +61 3 9699 1493
Email: russellblackford@bigpond.com
Academic background and professional
qualifications
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BA (Hons 1) -
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Dip.Ed. -
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Ph.D in English literature -
·
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MBioeth -
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Ph.D in philosophy –
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Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of
Career
Tutor,
Department of English,
Various positions in labour relations and professional legal practice
(1983-2001).
Currently:
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Freelance writer.
·
Sessional teacher,
·
Fellow, Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies.
Areas of specialisation
Philosophical bioethics; legal and political philosophy; philosophy of religion.
Areas of competence
Moral philosophy generally; philosophy of science, particularly philosophy
of biology; metaphysics; representation of philosophy and science in
literature, art, and popular culture.
Selected
academic publications
·
"Moral
pluralism versus the total view: Why Singer is wrong about radical life
extension." Journal of Medical
Ethics (forthcoming).
·
50 Voices of Disbelief: Why We Are Atheists. Co-ed. with Udo Schuklenk.
·
"Trite
Truths About Technology: A Reply to Ted Peters." The
Gobal Spiral 9, 9 (February 2009). Available at URL http://www.metanexus.net/magazine/tabid/68/id/10681/Default.aspx
·
"Embracing The Unkown Future: In Defence of New Technology." Human
Futures: Art In An Age of Uncertainty, ed. Andy
Miah.
·
"Rendezvous
with Utopia: Two Versions of the Future in the Rama Novels." Colloquy 14 (2007): 21-29.
·
"Slippery
Slopes to Slippery Slopes: Therapeutic Cloning and the Criminal Law." American Journal of Bioethics 7, 2
(February 2007): 63-64.
·
"Differing
Vulnerabilities: The Moral Significance of Lockean Personhood." American Journal of Bioethics
(AJOB-Neuroscience) (January 2007):
7, (1) (January 2007): 70-71.
·
"Sinning
against Nature: The Theory of Background Conditions." Journal of Medical Ethics 32 (2006): 629-34.
·
"Dr.
Frankenstein meets Lord Devlin: Genetic Engineering and the Principle of
Intangible Harm." The Monist 89
(2006): 526-47.
·
"Stem cell
research on other worlds, or why embryos do not have a right to life." Journal of Medical Ethics 32 (2006):
177-80.
·
"Greg Egan." A Companion to
Science Fiction. Ed. David Seed.
·
"Human Cloning and 'Posthuman'
Society." Monash Bioethics Review
24 (2005): 10-26.
·
"Should We
Fear Death? Epicurean and Modern Arguments." Ed. Immortality Institute. The Scientific Conquest of Death: Essays on
Infinite Lifespans.
·
"Try the Blue Pill: What's Wrong with Life in a
Simulation?" Jacking In to the Matrix
Franchise: Cultural Reception and Interpretation. Ed. Matthew Kapell and
William Doty.
·
"Mutants,
Cyborgs, AI & Androids." Meanjin 63, 1 (2004): 14-21.
·
"Stranger
Than You Think: Arthur C. Clarke's Profiles
of the Future." Prefiguring Cyberculture: An Intellectual
History. Ed. Darren Tofts, Annemarie Jonson, and Alessio Cavellaro.
·
"Thinking
about Cloning: A Reply to Judith Thomson." Journal of Law and Medicine 9 (2001): 238-50.
·
"Judicial
Power, Political
Academic journals
Editor-in-chief
of The Journal of Evolution and Technology
Referee
for the following peer-reviewed journals:
·
Bioethics.
·
Colloquy.
·
Journal of Medical Ethics.
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Monash Bioethics Review.
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NeuroEthics.
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Open Ethics Journal.
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Science Fiction Studies.
·
Utopian Studies.
Work in progress
Work
associated with my recently-approved doctoral dissertation on emerging
technologies and human enhancement. The dissertation is entitled Human Enhancement: The Challenge to Liberal
Tolerance. It argues that an unnecessarily restrictive approach has been
taken to the regulation of such technologies as pre-implantation genetic
diagnosis, human cloning, and genetic engineering.
50 Voices of Disbelief, co-edited with Udo
Schuklenk, contains new essays by high-profile atheists (philosophers, creative
writers, and others). This was published by Wiley-Blackwell in October 2009.
The same publisher has expressed interest in a proposed book on freedom of
religion.
Research generally revolves around questions relating to the future of humanity, including the regulation of new
technologies and the future prospects for law, political organisation, culture
and literature, science, and religious belief.
Personal
Russell
Blackford was born in
In addition to his interests in philosophy and philosophical bioethics, Russell is a professionally published writer, and a well-known critic, in the field of science fiction and fantasy. His other interests include travel and cinema. For more information, see his personal web site: http://www.russellblackford.com.