We would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Dr. Bhanuraj Kashyap, who won this year’s AAP Media Prize for Rethinking South Asian Philosophy, published by SBS Audio. Before completing his PhD with Macquarie University, Dr. Kashyap completed his MA with Deakin University on “Levinas and Singer: A Dialogue on Reasons, Suffering and Compassion.” His broader research portfolio sits at the intersection of moral and political philosophy, philosophy of technology, and social media technologies.

The AAP Media Prize is awarded annually by the Australasian Association of Philosophy to recognise the best philosophical piece(s) published by a professional philosopher in the popular media across Australasia. Dr. Kashyap’s series has done wonderful work bringing public-facing philosophy to life, and we are glad to congratulate him on this excellent achievement.

In Episode 11 of Deakinstruction, Judge Hilary Charlesworth delivers Deakin University’s biannual Max Charlesworth lecture to commemorate Deakin’s Foundation Dean of Humanities, the late Professor Max Charlesworth. In addition to sharing some reflections on her father, Max, Judge Charlesworth discussed the role of international law today, as well as some of the broad philosophical questions at the heart of international law, including the basis of legal principles, the nature of the international community and compliance with law. These questions are considered through the lens of the work of the International Court of Justice, which has just celebrated its 80th anniversary, and of which Judge Charlesworth is a sitting member.

Deakin University was once again proud to host the Max Charlesworth Lecture. The Max Charlesworth Lecture is a biennial lecture which recognises Professor Max Charlesworth’s contribution to Deakin University as Foundation Dean of the School of Humanities and one of the foremost figures in Australasian philosophy.

This year’s lecture was delivered by Professor Charlesworth’s daughter, Judge Hilary Charlesworth, on The International Court of Justice and Philosophies of International Law.

We would like to thank everyone who helped organise the lecture, everyone who attended, as well as Tim Neal for the wonderful photos of the event.

Judge Hilary Charlesworth has served as a Judge of the International Court of Justice since late 2021. She is the first Australian woman elected to the Court and only the fifth female permanent judge in the Court’s 78-year history. Judge Charlesworth also holds an appointment as Harrison Moore Professor of Law and Melbourne Laureate Professor at Melbourne Law School, and Distinguished Professor at the Australian National University. Her research has included a focus on the international legal-system structure, peace building, human rights law and international humanitarian law, international legal theory, and particularly feminist approaches to international law.

Deakin Philosophy’s own graduate researcher Ashlee Wilson has an article forthcoming in the next issue of Arena Quarterly (Issue. 26, 2026), titled “The Cost of Hesitation“.

Since the fall of Roe v. Wade, abortion bans in the United States have been widely understood as restrictions on access. But they do something more profound than that: they change how medicine is practised. Doctors know what treatment is required. What they do not know is whether the law will punish them for providing it. Intervention must now be justified not only medically, but also legally. The result is hesitation—sometimes measured in hours, sometimes in weeks. In some cases, that hesitation is fatal.

Congratulations to Ashlee, this is a great example of public philosophy!

Deakin Philosophy Honours students Liam Kelly and Arianna Wright did our Program proud last week at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences Honours Symposium.

Liam’s presentation was entitled, “For the Love of the Language-Game: An Inferentialist Response to the Post-Truth Condition”. Arianna’s presentation was entitled,  “Critical Minerals, Critical Consent: The Role of Pluralism in Securing Minority Rights.” 

Both presentations generated lively questions from the floor, which the students expertly answered. Congratulations to Liam and Arianna for passing this important milestone with flying colours!

On Tuesday April 28th 2026, 16 undergraduates, HDRs, staff, and visitors gathered at Deakin’s Burwood campus and online for our first Deakin Minorities in Philosophy event.

Organised by A/Prof Cathy Legg, the event began by discussing what it means to be a ‘minority in philosophy’. How should we identify ‘the minoritized’, and what should be done in response? Attendees explored some ways in which minority status might be context-dependent, and paradoxically embedded in the mainstream of our discipline’s self-conception.

Dr. Helen Ngo then presented a snapshot of her current research, entitled “On diasporic place-worlds and the im/possibilities of home”, followed by a rich Q & A.

We extend a huge thank you to everyone who attended, to Dr. Helen Ngo for her excellent presentation, as well as to the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and to PHIRES (formerly PHI) for their support. We hope to hold some further events this year. If you are interested in keeping updated with the network and its events, or joining the mailing list, please email A/Prof Cathy Legg for further details at c.legg@deakin.edu.au.

Earlier this month A/Prof Patrick Stokes and A/Prof Cathy Legg presented to state high school students at the Centre for Higher Education Studies (CHES) in South Yarra on the topic of fallacies and conspiracy theories.

CHES is a government funded centre for secondary school students which aims “to inspire the full intellectual, social, and emotional development of high-ability senior secondary students through a suite of programs that stretch, challenge, and enhance their learning.” You can find out more about them here.

Last week the School of Humanities and Social Sciences presented prizes to our high-achieving undergraduate students for the previous year.

Congratulations to Lucas Pfeiffer on winning the Charlesworth Philosophy Prize, and to Rory Ansori for winning the Politics, Philosophy, and Economics prize!

Deakin’s Dr Cathy Legg, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, recently sat down with David Rutledge from ABC Radio National’s The Philosopher’s Zone for a fascinating and wide-ranging discussion of the post-truth condition, epistemology in the modern context, getting people to care about the truth, and how the tradition of American Pragmatism can help us get past the ‘post-truth moment.’

You can listen to the program here, on the ABC Listen App, or wherever you get your podcasts.