Russell Blackford

Biography

I am a philosopher, legal scholar, literary critic - and a widely published author and editor - based at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales.

My qualifications include first class honours degrees in Arts (University of Newcastle) and Law (University of Melbourne) and separate PhDs in English Literature (University of Newcastle) and Philosophy (Monash University).

My most recent books are:

* 50 Voices of Disbelief: Why We Are Atheists (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009; co-edited with Udo Schuklenk).

* Freedom of Religion and the Secular State (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012).

* 50 Great Myths About Atheism (Wiley-Blackwell, 2013; co-authored with Udo Schuklenk).

* Humanity Enhanced: Genetic Choice and the Challenge for Liberal Democracies (MIT Press, 2014).

* Intelligence Unbound: The Future of Uploaded and Machine Minds (Wiley-Blackwell, 2014; co-edited with Damien Broderick).

* The Mystery of Moral Authority (Palgrave Pivot, 2016).

* Philosophy's Future: The Problem of Philosophical Progress (Wiley-Blackwell, 2017; co-edited with Damien Broderick).

* Science Fiction and the Moral Imagination: Visions, Minds, Ethics (Springer, 2017).

* The Tyranny of Opinion: Conformity and the Future of Liberalism (Bloomsbury Academic, 2019).

* At the Dawn of a Great Transition: The Question of Radical Enhancement (Schwabe Verlag, 2021).

I am a prolific, widely published essayist and commentator with interests including legal, political, and moral philosophy; philosophical bioethics; aspects of philosophy of religion and philosophy of science; and debates involving visions of the human future.

I am a Fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and a regular columnist with the journal Free Inquiry. In 2014, I was inducted as a Laureate of the International Academy of Humanism. In 2017, I was the winner of the AAP [Australasian Association of Philosophy] Media Prize for my contributions to public philosophy.

I'm an experienced public speaker and presenter, and I love to talk about ideas. In September 2011, I was third speaker for the opposition in an IQ2 debate in Sydney on the subject "Atheists are wrong". This was broadcast on national free-to-air television in Australia. I have made many radio appearances and have spoken at numerous academic conferences, seminars, etc., and at many conventions and festivals of one or another kind.

I have also had some success as a science fiction and fantasy author, including my fantasy story "The Sword of God" (which won both a Ditmar Award and Aurealis Award in 1997) and an original trilogy of novels (Terminator 2: The New John Connor Chronicles) written for the Terminator franchise. I have won the William Atheling, Jr., Award for Criticism and Review (in the fantasy and science fiction field) on three occasions, including for my co-authored book Strange Constellations: A History of Australian Science Fiction (Greenwood Press, 1999; co-authored with Van Ikin and Sean McMullen).

I also have a page at Academia.edu, where I have uploaded some of my published work. You can check out my personal website - www.russellblackford.com - or my staff profile at the University of Newcastle.