Michael McGann
Doctoral StudentEditor, Léargas Journal of Graduate Philosophy ( www.leargas.org )
Email: michael.mcgann@arts.monash.edu.au
Thesis Topic
"Just Diversity and the Diversity of Justice"
Supervisors
Karen Green and Rob Sparrow.
Areas of Interest
Political Philosophy, German Idealism (especially Hegel), and Philosophy of the Subject.
Current Research
Presently, I am working on the problem of reconciling issues of multicultural justice with liberal political theory. I am examining the nature of the concept of justice, its relationship to background theories and beliefs (particularly in the work of Rawls), and the role that inter-personal horizons play in the construction and application of principles of justice. Is it possible to develop a universal approach to justice that respects hermeneutic aspects of political thought? Are ideas such as "an overlapping consensus' and "the public use of reason' still useful in political theory or are they mere vestiges of a worn-out Kantianism?
As a supplement to an understanding and resolution of the central questions of my doctoral thesis I am conducting research into the hermeneutic turn in Rawls's recent political philosophy and issues concerning interpretation and the ground of social criticism.
Qualifications
- M.A. in Philosophy, University College Dublin, Ireland (2004)
- B.A. in Philosophy and Politics, University College Dublin (2000-2003).
Graduate Honours and Awards
- International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (Australia), 2005-2008
- Monash Graduate Scholarship, 2005-2008
- Open Postgraduate Scholarship (University College Dublin), 2003-2004
- Gold Medal, M.A. in Philosophy (University College Dublin), 2004.
Presentations
- 'Multiculturalism and the Politics of Recognition'. Australasian Philosophy Postgraduate Conference 2005. University of Melbourne.
- 'Hegel, Nancy, and the death of the Subject: thinking the political between the subject'. 2004 Spring Postgraduate Colloquia. University College Dublin.
M.A. Thesis
Publications
- 'Philosophy and Being in History'. PaGes, Postgraduate Research Journal, University College Dublin. (forthcoming in Vol. 9).