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Emeritus Professor Fred D'Agostino
Emeritus Professor

Fred D'Agostino

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+61 7 334 67584

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

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

  • disciplinarity

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • social contract theory

  • 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

56 works between 1982 and 2022

21 - 40 of 56 works

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

The promise of democracy: The performative social contract, pluralism, and equality

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

Pluralism, prudence, and political theory: comments on minimal morality by Michael Moehler

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

Objectivity

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

Growth of knowledge: dual institutionalization of disciplines and brokerage

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

Watkins, John William Neville (1924–99)

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.

How can we do political philosophy?

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

The situational logic of disciplinary scholarship

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.

Disciplines, the division of epistemic labor, and agency

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.

How can we collectivise a set of visions about social epistemology?

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

Book review: Science in a democratic society

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

The orders of public reason

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.

Closing the gap in curriculum development leadership: final report

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

Student learning and university teaching

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.

Convening a university program or major: Curriculum leadership or career suicide?

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

Review of Baert, P. (2005). Philosophy of the Social Sciences: Towards Pragmatism, Cambridge: Polity.

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

Two conceptions of reason

2005

Book Chapter

The Sinews of a Free Society: Autonomy, Democracy and Education

D’Agostino, Fred (2005). The Sinews of a Free Society: Autonomy, Democracy and Education. A Passion for Politics: Essays in Honour of Graham Maddox. (pp. 99-109) edited by Tim Battin. Frenchs Forest, NSW, Australia: Pearson Education Australia.

The Sinews of a Free Society: Autonomy, Democracy and Education

2005

Book Chapter

Legitimacy in a Pluralistic Context

D'Agostino, F. B. (2005). Legitimacy in a Pluralistic Context. Legitimation and the State. (pp. 15-29) edited by Graham Young and Graham Maddox. Armidale: Kardooair Press.

Legitimacy in a Pluralistic Context

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.

Rituals of cosmopolitanism

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.

The legacies of John Rawls

Funding

Past funding

  • 2011 - 2012
    Design of Enhanced Studies Summer Intensive Course to Improve Higher-Order Cognitive Skills for Equity Group Students
    UQ Teaching & Learning Strategic Grants
    Open grant
  • 2010 - 2012
    First-year non-credit seminars in a large generalist degree
    UQ Teaching & Learning Strategic Grants
    Open grant
  • 2008 - 2010
    Easing the transition from secondary to tertiary education: dealing with culture shock
    UQ DEEWR Higher Education Equity Support Program Grants
    Open grant
  • 2008 - 2009
    Enhancing recruitment from public schools to generalist degrees
    UQ DEEWR Higher Education Equity Support Program Grants
    Open grant
  • 2007 - 2009
    Developing flagship curriculum and assessment practices in gateway and capstone courses which encourage and test the understanding of disciplinary threshold concepts
    UQ Teaching & Learning Strategic Grants
    Open grant
  • 2007 - 2009
    Our Spaces: enhancing the BA First Year Community website and securing student engagement and ownership
    UQ Teaching & Learning Strategic Grants
    Open grant
  • 2007 - 2009
    Research high school teaching practices in Arts-relevant subjects to ensure appropriate alignment between high school and university-level learning
    UQ Teaching & Learning Strategic Grants
    Open grant
  • 2006 - 2008
    Closing th gap in curriculum development leadership
    Carrick Leadership for Excellence in Learning and Teaching
    Open grant
  • 2006 - 2008
    Using Empirical Materials To Inform Normative Thinking About The Organization Of Groups For The Production Of Knowledge
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2005
    New Paradigms In The Philosophical Theory Of Knowledge, And The Contribution Of Other Disciplines
    University of Queensland Research Development Grants Scheme
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Emeritus Professor Fred D'Agostino is:
Available for supervision

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Supervision history

Current supervision

Completed supervision

Media

Enquiries

Contact Emeritus Professor Fred D'Agostino directly for media enquiries about:

  • Democratic theory
  • Ethics - professional
  • Incommensurability
  • Professional ethics
  • Public reason
  • Social epistemology

Need help?

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communications@uq.edu.au