Overview
Background
political philosophy, methodology of science, the disciplines
Fred D'Agostino was educated at Amherst College (BA, 1968), Princeton University (MA, 1973), and the London School of Economics (PhD, 1978). He was Research Fellow in Philosophy at the Australian National University from 1978 to 1984, and worked at the University of New England from 1984 to 2004, where he was Associate Professor of Philosophy, Associate Dean of Arts, Head of the School of Social Science, and Member of the University Council. He is now Professor Emeritus of Humanities and was President of the Academic Board and Executive Dean of Arts at The University of Queensland. He has edited the Australasian Journal of Philosophy and PPE: Politics, Philosophy and Economics and has published four books--Chomsky's System of Ideas (Clarendon Press, 1986), Free Public Reason (OUP, 1996), Incommensurability and Commensuration (Ashgate, 2003), and Naturalizing Epistemology (Palgrave, 2010). He is co-editor of the Routledge Companion to Political and Social Philosophy. His current research is on disciplinarity and complexity. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.
Availability
- Emeritus Professor Fred D'Agostino is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours) of Arts, Amherst College
- Masters (Coursework), Princeton University
- Doctor of Philosophy, unknown
- Australian Academy of the Humanities, Australian Academy of the Humanities
Research interests
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disciplinarity
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pluralism
Pluralism is the view that it is both unavoidable and desirable that there should be more than one standard against which options are judged. It is significant in relation to democratic polities and in relation to epistemology.
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incommensurability
Incommensurability arises when there are two or more criteria in terms of which to judge options and neither dominance nor settled trade-offs between the criteria. It is vital for cost-benefit analysis, utilitarianism, and in civil litigation.
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social contract theory
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social epistemology
Epistemology seeks norms for enquiry. Social epistemology recognizes that these norms must facilitate certain kinds of interactions and relations among enquirers.
Works
Search Professor Fred D'Agostino’s works on UQ eSpace
Featured
2015
Book Chapter
Social Science, The Idea of
D'Agostino, Fred (2015). Social Science, The Idea of. International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. (pp. 688-694) edited by James D. Wright. Oxford: Elseiver. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.63083-0
Featured
2015
Book Chapter
Hermeneutics, epistemology, and science
D'Agostino, Fred (2015). Hermeneutics, epistemology, and science. The Routledge companion to hermeneutics. (pp. 417-428) edited by Jeff Malpas and Hans-Helmuth Gander. London, United Kingdom: Routledge.
Featured
2013
Journal Article
Verballed? Incommensurability 50 years on
D'Agostino, Fred (2013). Verballed? Incommensurability 50 years on. Synthese, 191 (3), 517-538. doi: 10.1007/s11229-013-0288-y
Featured
2012
Journal Article
Disciplinarity and the growth of knowledge
D'Agostino, Fred (2012). Disciplinarity and the growth of knowledge. Social Epistemology, 26 (3), 331-350. doi: 10.1080/02691728.2012.727192
Featured
2012
Journal Article
An analytics of marginality
D'Agostino, Fred (2012). An analytics of marginality. European Legacy-Toward New Paradigms, 17 (6), 755-768. doi: 10.1080/10848770.2012.715807
Featured
2011
Book Chapter
Rational agency
D'Agostino, Fred (2011). Rational agency. The SAGE handbook of the philosophy of social sciences. (pp. 182-198) edited by Ian C. Jarvie and Jesus Zamora-Bonilla. London, United Kingdom: Sage.
Featured
2010
Book
Naturalizing epistemology: Thomas Kuhn and the 'essential tension'
D'agostino, Fred (2010). Naturalizing epistemology: Thomas Kuhn and the 'essential tension'. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, U.K.; New York, U.S.A.: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1057/9780230251274
Featured
2009
Journal Article
From the organization to the division of cognitive labor
D'Agostino, Fred (2009). From the organization to the division of cognitive labor. Politics, Philosophy and Economics, 8 (1), 101-129. doi: 10.1177/1470594X08098873
Featured
2008
Journal Article
Naturalizing the essential tension
D'Agostino, Fred (2008). Naturalizing the essential tension. Synthese, 162 (2), 275-308. doi: 10.1007/s11229-007-9192-7
Featured
2006
Journal Article
Two conceptions of reason
D'Agostino, Fred (2006). Two conceptions of reason. Economy And Society, 35 (1), 1-21. doi: 10.1080/03085140500465683
Featured
2005
Journal Article
Kuhn's Risk-Spreading Argument and the Organization of Scientific Communities
D'Agostino, Fred (2005). Kuhn's Risk-Spreading Argument and the Organization of Scientific Communities. Episteme: A Journal of Social Epistemology, 1 (3), 201-209. doi: 10.3366/epi.2004.1.3.201
Featured
2004
Journal Article
The doctrine of filial piety: A philosophical analysis of the concealment case
Bi, Lijun and D' Agostino, Fred (2004). The doctrine of filial piety: A philosophical analysis of the concealment case. Journal of Chinese Philosophy, 31 (4), 451-467. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6253.2004.00165.x
Featured
2004
Journal Article
The Legacies of John Rawls
D'Agostino, Fred (2004). The Legacies of John Rawls. Journal of Moral Philosophy, 1 (3), 349-365. doi: 10.1177/174046810400100308
Featured
2004
Book Chapter
Pluralism and Liberalism
D'Agostino, Fred (2004). Pluralism and Liberalism. Handbook of Political Theory. (pp. 239-249) edited by Gerald F. Gaus and Chandran Kukathas. London., Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage Publications.
2024
Book Chapter
New diversity theory
D’Agostino, Fred (2024). New diversity theory. The Routledge companion to social and political philosophy. (pp. 714-725) New York, NY, United States: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003411598-70
2022
Conference Publication
Reply to Muldoon
D'Agnostino, Fred (2022). Reply to Muldoon. Social Contract Theory for a Diverse World, Online, 22 March - 12 April 2022. Eugene, OR United States: Syndicate.
2022
Conference Publication
What Counts as a Gain to Trade?
D'Agnostino, Fred (2022). What Counts as a Gain to Trade?. Social Contract Theory for a Diverse World, Online, 22 March 2022 - 12 April 2022. Eugene, OR United States: Syndicate.
2022
Book Chapter
Complexity
D'Agostino, Fred (2022). Complexity. The Routledge handbook of philosophy, politics, and economics. (pp. 28-42) edited by C. M. Melenovsky. New York, NY, United States: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780367808983-4
2021
Journal Article
Evaluation and innovation: an antagonistic pair?
D’Agostino, Fred and Malpas, Jeffery (2021). Evaluation and innovation: an antagonistic pair?. Social Science Information, 60 (3), 345-349. doi: 10.1177/05390184211018670
2021
Journal Article
Slippery beasts: why academic freedom and media freedom are so difficult to protect
D'Agostino, Fred and Greste, Peter (2021). Slippery beasts: why academic freedom and media freedom are so difficult to protect. Australian Universities' Review, 63 (1), 45-52.
Funding
Supervision
Availability
- Emeritus Professor Fred D'Agostino is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Digital ethics in a big data age: the challenges of privacy and consent
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Andrew Crowden
Completed supervision
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
Public Deliberation and the Intellectual Dark Web: An Immanent Socio-Epistemic Critique
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Katharine Gelber
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2012
Doctor Philosophy
Memory: Ethics and Rhythmanalysis
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Aurelia Armstrong
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2022
Doctor Philosophy
Assessing the response of academic fields to external crises: The case of urban planning research and the environmental crises
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr David Wadley
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2021
Doctor Philosophy
A Sympathetic Critique of Gaus's The Order of Public Reason
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Julian Lamont
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2011
Doctor Philosophy
A Philosophical and Economic Inquiry into Corporate Executive Salaries
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Julian Lamont
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2009
Doctor Philosophy
Arriving at a New Beginning: Redefining Socratic Pedagogy
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Gilbert Burgh
Media
Enquiries
Contact Emeritus Professor Fred D'Agostino directly for media enquiries about:
- Democratic theory
- Ethics - professional
- Incommensurability
- Professional ethics
- Public reason
- Social epistemology
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