Dr Steve Matthews - Centre for Ethics (Faculty of Theology and Philosophy)
Fully accredited supervisor - Can supervise as principal supervisor

Steve has worked on a range of projects related to questions of personhood and ethics. His published works relate to the metaphysics of personal identity over time, the philosophy of psychiatry, and applied ethics. Recently he has worked on questions of privacy and anonymity, particularly in the context of applied philosophical questions about the internet. Even more recently he has been focusing on questions of autonomy, agency, and narrative identity where those concepts may test, and be tested by, empirical findings related to those struggling with addictions, particularly in the drug and alcohol field. This latter work is in conjunction with a team of researchers funded through an ARC grant.
Contact
![]() | 0283822871 (Darlinghurst, North Sydney ) |
![]() | Stephen.Matthews@acu.edu.au |
![]() | Staff Directory Profile |
Research Interests
Personal identity ; Applied Ethics ; Psychiatric ethics ; Narrative identity ; Privacy ; Internet ethics ;
Methods Expertise
Conceptual analysis ; Informal logic ;
Research Projects
Selected Publications
2012
Truth, Lies, and the Narrative Self, in American Philosophical Quarterly
Internet ethics, in International encyclopedia of ethics (Wiley Blackwell)
Sailing, flow and fulfilment, in Wiley-Blackwell
2010
A history of philosophy of mind in Australasia, in A companion to philosophy in Australia and New Zealand
Anonymity and the social self, in American Philosophical Quarterly
Personal identity, the causal condition, and the simple view, in Philosophical Papers
2009
Mental time travel, agency and responsibility, in Psychiatry as Cognitive Neuroscience: Philosophical Perspectives. Matthew Broome, Lisa Bortolotti (eds.) Oxford University Press
2008
What;s the buzz? Undercover marketing and the corruption of friendship, in Journal of Applied Philosophy
Identity and information technology, in Moral Philosophy and Information Technology, Jeroen van den Hoven, John Weckert (eds). Cambridge University Press
Normative agency, in Practical Identity and Narrative Agency, Catriona MacKenzie, Kim Atkins (eds). New York: Routledge
Privacy, separation and control, in The Monist
2007
Unreal friends, in Computer Ethics, John Weckert (ed). Aldershot: Ashgate
2006
The moral goal of treatment in cases of dual diagnosis, in Ethical Challenges for intervening in Drug Use: Policy, Research and Treatment Issues, J. Kleinig, S. Einstein (eds). Huntsville, TX: OICJ Press
Online professionals, in Ethics and Information Technology
2004
Failed agency and the insanity defence, in International Journal of Law and Psychiatry
Parfit's "realism" and his reductionism, in Philosophia
2003
Delusion, dissociation, and identity, in Philosophical Explorations
The unity and disunity of agency, in Philosophy, Psychiatry & Psychology
Establishing personal identity in cases of DID, in Philosophy, Psychiatry & Psychology
Blaming Agents and Excusing Persons: the case of DID, in Philosophy, Psychiatry & Psychology
2002
A hybrid theory of environmentalism, in Essays in Philosophy
Reasons, values, and Institutions, in Melbourne Tertiary Press (out of print)
Identity, control and responsibility, in Philosophical psychology
2000
Survival and separation, in Philosophical Studies
1999
Environment, identity and the future, in Australian Journal of Professional and Applied Ethics
Metapsychological relativism: a response to White, in Philosophical Papers
1998
Personal identity, MPD, and moral personhood, in Philosophical psychology