Associate Professor Nicholas Southwood
PhD, BA (Hons)
Associate Professor/Reader (Level D)
College of Arts and Social Sciences
Areas of expertise
- Political Theory And Political Philosophy 160609
- Ethical Theory 220305
Biography
Nicholas Southwood is an Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow in the School of Philosophy at the Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University. He is also Director of the Centre for Moral, Social and Political Theory and Co-Editor of The Journal of Political Philosophy. His work is primarily in moral and political philosophy but also engages with related issues in epistemology, philosophy of law and philosophy of social science. He is author of two monographs, Contractualism and the Foundations of Morality (OUP, 2010) and Explaining Norms (OUP, 2013) and many articles in journals including Ethics, Mind, Noûs, Philosophical Studies and Philosophy & Public Affairs. His current research investigates the nature and proper role of feasibility in politics.
Researcher's projects
- 2017-2021: ARC Future Fellowship. FT160100409: Feasibility in politics: Taking account of groups and institutions. Dr N Southwood. $733,992
- 2014-2018: ARC Discovery Project. DP140102468: The demands of reason. Dr N Southwood; Prof P Pettit; Dr V McGeer; Prof J Broome. $166,000
- 2012-2016: ARC Discovery Project. DP120101507: Political normativity and the feasibility requirement. Dr N Southwood; Prof G Brennan; Prof D Estlund. $408,587
Current student projects
Current PhD Students Supervised ("*" designates Chair)
- Hugh Barrett* (in progress)
- Jesse Hambly* (in progress)
- Josef Holden (in progress)
- Ten-herng Lai* (in progress)
- Susan Pennings (in progress)
- James Willoughby (in progress)
Past student projects
Past PhD Students Supervised ("*" designates Chair)
- Daniel Friedrich (2008)
- Holly Lawford-Smith (2010)
- Jonathan Herington (2012)
- Jan Burgers (2013)
- Stephanie Collins* (2014)
- Adam Gastineau (2015)
- Matthew Hammerton (2016)
- Lucie White (2017)
- Ryan Cox (2017)
- Jessica Isserow (2017)
- Lachlan Umbers* (2018)
- Adam Bugeja* (2018)
Publications
- Southwood, N. Forthcoming, Contractualism for us as we are, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research.
- Southwood, N. Forthcoming. Contractualism and radical pluralism, Journal of Moral Philosophy.
- Southwood, N 2018, 'The feasibility issue', Philosophy Compass, vol. 13, no. 8, pp. 13pp.
- Southwood, N 2018, Constructivism and the normativity of practical reason, The Many Moral Rationalisms, ed. K Jones and F. Schroeter. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Southwood, N. 2018. Laws as conventional norms in Dimensions of Normativity, ed. D. Plunkett, S. Shapiro and K. Toh, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Southwood N 2018, Constructivism about reasons. The Oxford Handbook of Reasons and Normativity, ed. D. Star. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Barry, C & Southwood, N 2017, The Limits of the Australian Solution - Global Brief, pp. 1pp-6pp.
- Brennan, G, Eriksson, L, Goodin, R and N Southwood, 2016 Explaining Norms, Oxford: Oxford University Press (paperback).
- Southwood, N & Wiens, D 2016, '"Actual" does not imply "feasible"', Philosophical Studies, 173, 3037-3060.
- Southwood, N 2016, '"The Thing To Do" Implies "Can"', Nous, 50, 61-72.
- Southwood, N 2016, 'Does "Ought" Imply "Feasible"', Philosophy and Public Affairs, 44, 7-45.
- Southwood, N 2016, 'The motivation question', Philosophical Studies, 173, 3413-3430.
- Southwood, N and P Gilbert 2016, 'Ability and Volitional Incapacity', Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy, 10.
- Southwood, N 2015, 'Democracy as a Modally Demanding Value', Nous, 47, 504-21.
- Southwood, N 2015, 'Republican justice', Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, 18, 669-678.
- Southwood, N 2015, 'The Relevance of Human Nature', Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy, 9, 1-8.
- Southwood, N 2013, ''Moral Contractualism' in Oxford Bibliographies in Philosophy', in Luanna H Meyer (ed.), Oxford Bibliographies Online, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 1-14pp.
- Brennan, G, L Eriksson, G Brennan and N Southwood. 2013. Explaining Norms. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Southwood, N, 2013, Contractualism and the Foundations of Morality, Oxford: Oxford University Press (paperback).
- Southwood, N 2011, 'The Moral/Conventional Distinction', Mind: a quarterly review of philosophy, vol. 120, no. 479, pp. 761-802.
- Barry C and Southwood N 2011, 'What is Special About Human Rights?', Ethics and International Affairs, vol. 25, pp. 1-15.
- Southwood N and Eriksson L 2011, 'Norms and Conventions', Philosophical Explorations, vol. 14, pp. 195-217.
- Friedrich D and Southwood N 2011, 'Promises and Trust', Promises and Agreement: Philosophical Essays, ed. H. Sheinman. Oxford University Press, pp. 275-92.
- Southwood, N 2010, Contractualism and the Foundations of Morality, Oxford, Oxford University Press
- Baurmann, M, Brennan, H, Goodin, R and Southwood, N eds, 2010, Norms and Values, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, Germany.
- Southwood N 2010, 'The Authority of Social Norms', New Waves in Meta-Ethics, ed. M. Brady, Palgrave MacMillan, Basingstoke, pp. 234-48.
- Southwood N, 2010, 'Norms, Laws, and Social Authority', Norms and Values, ed. M. Baurmann, G. Brennan, R.E. Goodin, & N. Southwood. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, Germany, pp. 75-91.
- Chuard, P & Southwood, N 2009, 'Epistemic Norms without Voluntary Control', Nous, vol. 43, no. 4, pp. 599-632.
- Southwood N and Friedrich D 2009, 'Promises Beyond Assurance', Philosophical Studies, vol. 144, pp. 261-80.
- Southwood, N 2009, 'Moral Contractualism', Philosophy Compass, vol 4, pp. 926-37.
- Verbeek B and Southwood N eds, 2009, Practical Reasoning and Normativity, special issue of Philosophical Explorations, vol. 12, 2009.
- Southwood, N 2008, 'A Deliberative Model of Contractualism', Politics, Philosophy and Economics, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 183-208.
- Southwood, N 2008, 'Vindicating the Normativity of Rationality', Ethics: an International journal of social, political and legal philosophy, vol. 119, no. 1, pp. 9-30.
Projects and Grants
Grants information is drawn from ARIES. To add or update Projects or Grants information please contact your College Research Office.
- Feasibility in Politics: Taking Account of Groups and Institutions (Primary Investigator)
- The Demands of Reason (Primary Investigator)
- Political Normativity and the Feasibility Requirement (Primary Investigator)
