Recently appointed Head of the Department of Philosophy, Professor Paul Formosa joined Macquarie University in 2009 as a postdoctoral fellow, and is currently focusing his research on the ethical impacts of technology on moral agency.
1. What is your background and what brought you to Macquarie?
I am a philosopher and ethicist and I have been at Macquarie since 2009 when I started a postdoctoral fellowship here. What attracted me to Macquarie was the quality and reputation of its Philosophy Department, which is something that has continued to grow and develop over the years.
2. How did you originally become interested in your area of research, and what keeps you interested in it?
While ethics, in its broad sense, is my area of research, my research focus has shifted over the years. My early work was on moral evil, which included a focus on the worst types of human acts, which morphed into a focus on Immanuel Kant’s moral and political philosophy (via his account of radical evil), which morphed into a more general focus on the moral concepts of dignity, respect, and autonomy, which in turn morphed into a focus on the ethical impacts that technology (mainly video games and Artificial Intelligence) have on our moral agency. Thinking about ethics never gets boring for me!
3. Tell us a bit about your current research and what makes it so important?
Reflecting and investigating what is the ethically best thing to do, both individually and collectively, in response to an ever changing social and technological world is, to me, simply one of the most important things we can do.
4. Is there something you would like staff to know about?
Philosophy at Macquarie is ranked 24th in the world according to the 2022 QS subject rankings. This makes Philosophy the highest ranked subject at Macquarie, which is something we in the Department are very proud of and work hard to maintain.
5. What is something you have recently accomplished?
I have just been appointed as the new Head of Department for Philosophy, and I am very much looking forward to the role.
6. What is the most impressive/useful/advanced piece of equipment you use in your work?
Computers!
7. What do people always ask you when they find out what you do for a living?
Nothing – people often change the subject, since they are not really sure what philosophy is!
8. What is something you’ve read recently that has had an impact on you?
I have been playing around with ChatGPT recently (a chatbot from OpenAI built on top of a Large Language Model), and what it is able to write is both scary and amazing.
9. What is your definition of success?
Meeting your reflectively endorsed goals.
10. A bit about where you live and what you like about it?
I live in Berowra. I like waking up to the sound of birds, not traffic.
11. A personal quality you value in others?
Integrity.
12. A moment you felt proud?
Being promoted recently to Professor.
13. What is on your agenda for 2023?
Working out how to be Head of Department and continue to do lots of research.