
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, Institution to be confirmed
- 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
2021
Book Chapter
A fragile existence: a transdisciplinary food systems research program cut short
Bellotti, Bill and D’Agostino, Fred (2021). A fragile existence: a transdisciplinary food systems research program cut short. Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary failures: lessons learned from cautionary tales. (pp. 62-77) edited by Dena Fam and Michael O'Rourke. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780367207045-5
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
2020
Journal Article
The promise of democracy: The performative social contract, pluralism, and equality
D’Agostino, Fred (2020). The promise of democracy: The performative social contract, pluralism, and equality. Open Journal of Political Science, 10 (02), 302-318. doi: 10.4236/ojps.2020.102019
2020
Journal Article
Pluralism, prudence, and political theory: comments on minimal morality by Michael Moehler
D’Agostino, Fred (2020). Pluralism, prudence, and political theory: comments on minimal morality by Michael Moehler. Analytic Philosophy, 61 (1), 37-45. doi: 10.1111/phib.12181
2019
Journal Article
Growth of knowledge: dual institutionalization of disciplines and brokerage
D'Agostino, Fred (2019). Growth of knowledge: dual institutionalization of disciplines and brokerage. Synthese, 198 (5), 4167-4190. doi: 10.1007/s11229-019-02335-1
2019
Book Chapter
Watkins, John William Neville (1924–99)
D'Agostino, Fred (2019). Watkins, John William Neville (1924–99). Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Philosophers. edited by John R. Shook. London, United Kingdom: Thoemmes Continuum. doi: 10.5040/9781350052437-0452
2019
Book Chapter
Objectivity
D'Agostino, Fred (2019). Objectivity. Oxford bibliographies. (pp. 1-64) edited by Duncan Pritchard. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/OBO/9780195396577-0221
2018
Journal Article
How can we do political philosophy?
D'Agostino, Fred (2018). How can we do political philosophy?. Cosmos + Taxis, 5 (2), 29-37.
2018
Book Chapter
The situational logic of disciplinary scholarship
D’Agostino, Fred (2018). The situational logic of disciplinary scholarship. The impact of critical rationalism: expanding the Popperian legacy through the works of Ian C. Jarvie. (pp. 45-57) edited by Raphael Sassower and Nathaniel Laor. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing/Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-90826-7_5
2016
Book Chapter
Disciplines, the division of epistemic labor, and agency
D'Agostino, Fred (2016). Disciplines, the division of epistemic labor, and agency. Social epistemology and epistemic agency: decentralizing epistemic agency. (pp. 91-108) edited by Patrick J. Reider. London, United Kingdom: Rowman & Littlefield.
2015
Book Chapter
How can we collectivise a set of visions about social epistemology?
D'Agostino, Fred (2015). How can we collectivise a set of visions about social epistemology?. The future of social epistemology: a collective vision. (pp. 3-10) edited by James H. Collier. London: Rowman and Littlefield.
2013
Journal Article
Book review: Science in a democratic society
D'Agostino, Fred (2013). Book review: Science in a democratic society. Analysis, 73 (3), 593-594. doi: 10.1093/analys/ant033
2013
Journal Article
The orders of public reason
D'Agostino, Fred (2013). The orders of public reason. Analytic Philosophy, 54 (1), 129-155. doi: 10.1111/phib.12009
2009
Book
Closing the gap in curriculum development leadership: final report
D'Agostino, Fred and O'Brien, Mia (2009). Closing the gap in curriculum development leadership: final report. Strawberry Hills, NSW, Australia: Australian Learning and Teaching Council.
2008
Journal Article
Student learning and university teaching
D'Agostino, Fred (2008). Student learning and university teaching. Higher Education Research and Development, 27 (3), 297-298. doi: 10.1080/07294360802183838
2007
Conference Publication
Convening a university program or major: Curriculum leadership or career suicide?
D'Agostino Fred and O'Brien Mia (2007). Convening a university program or major: Curriculum leadership or career suicide?. Higher education research and development society of Australasia (HERDSA) inc annual conference, Adelaide, South Australia, 8-11 July 2007. HERDSA Website: HERDSA.
2007
Journal Article
Review of Baert, P. (2005). Philosophy of the Social Sciences: Towards Pragmatism, Cambridge: Polity.
D'Agostino, Fred (2007). Review of Baert, P. (2005). Philosophy of the Social Sciences: Towards Pragmatism, Cambridge: Polity.. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 37 (4), 541-543. doi: 10.1177/0048393107307667
2006
Journal Article
Two conceptions of reason
D'Agostino, Fred (2006). Two conceptions of reason. Economy and Society, 35 (1), 1-21. doi: 10.1002/sim.2474
2005
Conference Publication
Rituals of cosmopolitanism
D'Agostino, F. B. (2005). Rituals of cosmopolitanism. Sites of Cosmopolitanism Conference, Brisbane, Australia, 6-8 July 2005. Brisbane, Australia: Griffith University Centre for Public Culture & Ideas.
2005
Book Chapter
The legacies of John Rawls
D'Agostino, Fred (2005). The legacies of John Rawls. The legacy of John Rawls. (pp. 195-212) edited by Thom Brooks and Fabian Freyenhagen. New York, NY, United States: Continuum.
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 Kath 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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