Crowe on 'Is an Existentialist Ethics Possible?'

Professor Jonathan Crowe of the University of Southern Queensland School of Law and Justice has published a paper titled 'Is an Existentialist Ethics Possible?'  The paper appears in The Ultimate Guide to Existentialism (Philosophy Now, 2024).  Here is the publisher's description of the book:

"A collection of the best past articles from Philosophy Now on existentialism, the ever-relevant philosophical movement of Kierkegaard, Sartre, Camus, and Simone de Beauvoir. The Ultimate Guide to Existentialism is divided into five chapters: Foundations; Freedom; Culture; Ethics; and Time, Death & The Absurd. A valuable and entertaining introduction to the key concepts and the main thinkers. Full colour, 116 pages."

Mortensen and McKibben on 'Family Provision Across Borders'

Professor Reid Mortensen and Dr Sarah McKibben have published a new article titled 'Family Provision Across Borders'.  The article appears in Volume 46(1) of the Sydney Law Review.  Here is the abstract:

"It takes little for family provision claims to cross borders, whether state or national. The property may be located in different places — other states or countries; the personal representatives, claimants or beneficiaries under the will may be from different places; or the deceased may have had a strong personal connection with another place. Any one of those cross-border considerations raises questions of a court’s jurisdiction to deal with a family provision application, or of the law that will apply to it. In this article, we give an account of the principles of private international law — which in this area also apply in interstate matters — that affect family provision claims in Australia. In doing so, we explore recurrent complications with these cross-border family provision claims, including those arising under the cross-vesting scheme and in the federal jurisdiction. While we consider that the current equitable principles of choice of law remain best placed to address how provision should be made from different forms of property, reforms must be made to the equitable principles of jurisdiction if complications raised by the cross-vesting scheme and the possible exercise of federal jurisdiction in family provision claims are to be overcome."

Crowe on 'Natural Law With and Without God'

Professor Jonathan Crowe of the University of Southern Queensland School of Law and Justice has published a new article titled 'Natural Law With and Without God'.  The article appears in Volume 4 of the Australian Journal of Law and Religion.  Here is the abstract:

"There is a common perception of natural law theory as characteristically (if not necessarily) theistic. This is sometimes presented as a drawback by secular critics of natural law thinking. Natural law authors themselves differ on the role of theism within their theories. Some have argued that natural law theory presupposes theism, while others have sought to give their views a secular basis. This article explores the relationship between natural law theory and theism. I begin by defining the characteristic features of the natural law outlook. I show that these core aspects of natural law thought can be rendered consistent with both theistic and non-theistic worldviews. However, these worldviews may yield different responses to some fundamental questions about natural law, such as where natural law comes from; how (and to what extent) humans can know about natural law; why humans should follow natural law; and whether natural law changes. I explore the consequences for natural law theories of theistic and non-theistic answers to these questions. I then offer some reasons for thinking that a version of theism incorporating what I term ‘qualified teleological perfectionism’ provides the most coherent foundation for the natural law outlook."