Dr Dejan Simkovic

Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, National MA Philosophy Coordinator

Email: dejan.simkovic@nd.edu.au
Phone: 02 8204 4236

• Biography

  Teaching Experience

  2024 – present, the University of Notre Dame Sydney

  • Senior Lecturer (History of Philosophy: Modern Philosophy; Metaethics; Epistemology; Critical Thinking)

  2016 – present, the University of Notre Dame Sydney

  • Lecturer (History of Philosophy: Modern Philosophy (early modern philosophy to 19th century); Metaethics; Logos–Philosophy and Ethics)

  2013 – 2015, the University of Notre Dame Sydney

  • Associate Lecturer (History of Philosophy: Modern Philosophy (early modern philosophy to 19th century); Logos – Philosophy and Ethics)

  2009 –  2013, the University of Notre Dame Sydney

  • Philosophy and Ethics Tutor

  2009 – 2011, University of Sydney

  • Philosophy Tutor (PHIL1011 - ‘Reality, Beauty, and Ethics’; PHIL2617 - ‘Practical Ethics’)

  2006 – 2008, University of Belgrade

  • Assistant Professor (equivalent to Associate Lecturer: Introduction to Ethics; Metaethics; Practical Ethics; History of Philosophy: from Kant to Nietzsche; Normative Ethics)

  Education
  2015, Ph.D., University of Sydney

  • Thesis title: ‘Hume’s Account of Moral Distinctions (the role of reason and sentiment in moral evaluation)’

  2008, Magisterium (equivalent to MPhil; GPA: 100/100) in Moral Philosophy, the University of Belgrade

  • Thesis title: 'David Hume and the 'is-ought' question'

  2002, Graduate Philosopher (equivalent to BPhil/Masters in Philosophy; GPA: 90/100), the University of Belgrade

  • Thesis title: 'The difference between Kant's and Fichte's understanding of self-consciousness'

  Current Projects

  • Scientific research project: “Humans and Society in Times of Crisis”, financed by the Faculty of Philosophy – University of Belgrade

• Teaching areas

  • History of Philosophy: Modern Philosophy
  • Epistemology
  • Moral Philosophy
  • Metaethics
  • Applied Ethics
  • Critical Thinking

• Research expertise and supervision

  • Modern Philosophy (especially David Hume; moral rationalism; modern accounts of the nature of moral evaluation and moral epistemology)
  • Moral Philosophy (especially 17th, 18th and 19th century moral theory, including Kant)
  • Metaethics (especially the nature of moral judgment, moral epistemology and ontology, moral psychology, and moral phenomenology)

• Book chapters

  • Chapters 6 ('Knowledge') and 18 ('Ethics, moral phenomenology and moral experience'), in Angus Brook (Ed.) An Introduction to Philosophy and Theology within Catholic Liberal Education, McGraw-Hill Education, 2015.

• Journal articles and proceedings

  • Šimković, D. (2021) Hume’s Use of “Moral Distinctions” in Treatise 3.1.1. Hume Studies, 44(2), 2018, 209-247.
  • Šimković, D., Coventry A., and Kail P.J.E. (Eds.). (2021). Hume's Legacy. Special Issue of the Belgrade Philosophical Annual, Issue 34.
  • Review of Chapters 56 (‘Hume: Passion and Reason’) and 58 (‘Hume: The Moral Sense’) of Terence Irwin’s The Development of Ethics, The Philosophical Forum, Vol. XLII, No. 3, Fall 2011

• Conference papers

  2023, ‘Explanation and Understanding in Philosophy and Science’ Conference, "Philosophy and Science" conference series, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

  • Member of the Scientific Committee

  2023, Department of Philosophy, Institute of Philosophy, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

  • Master Class: ‘Hume’s Natural History of Religion’

  2018, Center for the Study of Scottish Philosophy Spring Conference, “The Scottish Tradition: Explaining its Rise, Understanding its Legacy”, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton NJ, USA.

  2017, Conference Theme: ‘Deviant Thinking: Early Modern Philosophy and the Enlightenment’, The Australasian Seminar in Early Modern in Philosophy (ASEMP), hosted by SIHN's Enlightenment Thinking Project, University of Sydney, Australia

  • Paper Title: ‘Is (mono)theism an option for epistemically virtuous Humean agents?’

  2016, 43rd International Hume Society Conference, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

  • Paper Title: ‘Hume’s Approach to Wollaston’

  2015, Philosophy Seminar, School of Humanities and Languages, UNSW, Australia

  • Paper Title: ‘Hume’s Account of Moral Distinctions’

  2015, ‘Hume and Naturalism’ workshop, Grey College, Durham University, UK

  • Paper Title: 'Hume on the Origin of the Moral Merit of Actions: the Principle of Humanity'

  2015, The 42st Annual Hume Society Conference, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

  • Commentator

  2014, The 41st Annual Hume Society Conference, Portland, Oregon USA;

  • Paper Title: ‘Hume's account of moral distinctions’

  2012, 'Judgment and Justification' conference, University of Tampere, Finland;

  • Paper Title: ‘A non-orthodox Humean account of moral judgment’

  2012, Australasian Philosophy Conference, University of Wollongong, Australia;

  • Paper Title: ‘Clarke and Hume on moral phenomenology: an unlikely alliance against skepticism (or What should metaethicians learn from Clarke and Hume)’

  2012, 'Humean Readings' conference, La Sapienza University of Rome, Italy;

  • Paper Title: ‘Hume on 'moral evaluation', 'reason alone' and sentiment - long neglected distinctions’

  2011, The 38th International Hume Society Conference "Hume after 300 years", The Old College, University of Edinburgh;

  • Paper Title: ‘Criticism of Moral Relations in Treatise 3.1.1’

  2010, "The Rise of Empiricism" Conference, University of Sydney, Australia

  • Paper Title: ‘Hume against moral rationalism’

  2009, The Australian Postgraduate Philosophy Conference, Macquarie University, Australia

  • ‘Role of the Concept of ‘Relation’ in Hume’s ‘is-ought’ Paragraph’

• Professional Affiliations

  • The Hume Society (member; referee for Hume Studies)
  • Australasian Association of Philosophy (member)
  • The British Society for the History of Philosophy (member)
  • The Southern Journal of Philosophy (referee)
  • Topoi (referee; special issue)

• Awards

  • The Hume Society's Young Hume Scholar Award (2014)
  • Research Incentive Scheme, the University of Notre Dame Sydney (2014)
  • Travel Bursary for the ‘Interdisciplinarity in Medieval and Early Modern Research’ Conference and the ANZAMEMS Advanced Postgraduate Training Seminar – Awarded by the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand (2013)
  • The University of Notre Dame Australia Vice Chancellor's Award for promoting excellence in teaching, learning and supervision (2013)
  • Postgraduate Research Support Scheme, the University of Sydney (2012)
  • Australian Postgraduate Award (2009-2012)
  • The Hume Society's Young Hume Scholar Award (2011)