Bulletin

Issue: August/September 2006

News

Philosopher wins Eureka Prize

La Trobe University philosopher, Associate Professor Janna Thompson, has received a prestigious Eureka Prize - one of Australia’s leading awards for science and science communication.

Dr Thompson’s win was for her book Taking Responsibility for the Past (Polity Press) and other publications on this subject.

She received the $10,000 Australian Catholic University Eureka Prize for Research in Ethics for explaining why members of societies have responsibilities for the deeds of their predecessors and what they ought to do in reparation for historical injustices.

The result is a theory that deals with central issues in political ethics which has implications for policy making in Australia.

Dr Thompson teaches environmental ethics, feminism, political philosophy, and her major research deals with intergenerational justice and global justice. She has spent the last three years as head of an ARC Special Research Centre dealing with applied philosophy and public ethics based at the University of Melbourne.

Dr Thompson says her work in applied ethics arises from a conviction that it is important for philosophers to critically assess the values of their society and to participate in debates about important public issues.

Some of these issues are: what historical obligations do we inherit from our family, community or nation? Are we responsible for the sins of our