Justin Oakley: Aristotle, Virtue Ethics, Bioethics, Friendship & Objectivism | Podcast #1

Professor Justin Oakley is one of Australia's leading experts in bioethics, virtue ethics and Aristotle.

Justin completed his PhD in Philosophy at La Trobe University in Melbourne in 1988. He currently teaches at Monash University and runs the Master of Bioethics program at the Monash Bioethics Centre. Justin joined the Centre in 1990, working under the utilitarian philosopher Peter Singer. Justin then served as Director of the Centre from 1999 to 2012. Since then, he has focused on his academic research.

As an Aristotelian virtue ethicist, Justin has authored several books, including “Virtue Ethics and Professional Roles”, coauthored by Dean Cocking, in which he articulates and defends his account of virtue ethics applied to professional roles.

I’ve had the privilege of studying under and getting to know Justin over the last year by taking the Master of Bioethics course.

In this podcast, Justin and I discussed his early career, Aristotle, virtue ethics, bioethics and some of our points of agreement, and disagreement, in moral philosophy.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction to Justin Oakley

1:14 - Justin's Introduction to Philosophy and Discovering Aristotle

7:00 - Relationships, Utilitarianism and Impartiality

11:30 - Justin's Introduction to Bioethics, Travelling the Soviet Union and Early Career

15:24 - Peter Singer

22:12 - Aristotle's Achievements and Worldview

30:46 - The Nature and Types of Friendship

40:53 - Virtue Ethics, "Phronesis" and How to Act Successfully

51:32 - Aristotle's Methodology for Deriving the Virtues

52:53 - The Virtue of Pride

56:34 - Justin's Disagreements with Aristotle

59:29 - Bioethics, Religion and the Ethics of Healthcare

1:06:42 - Justin's Upcoming Book

1:09:28 - Virtue Ethics vs Objectivist Ethics on Friendship

1:22:20 - Academic Careers

1:26:34 - Gratitude and Conclusion