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CURRICULUM VITAE

Last updated 3 December 2024

CONTACTS

Work phone: +64 7 838 4466 x 8570
Email 1: danweijers@gmail.com
Email 2: dan.weijers@waikato.ac.nz
Website 1: www.danweijers.com
Website 2: https://www.waikato.ac.nz/staff-profiles/people/dweijers
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7685-5935

RESEARCH AREAS

Areas of specialty

  • Normative ethics (especially hedonism and wellbeing)

  • Applied ethics (prediction markets and the ethics of new and emerging technologies, especially friendship and artificial intelligence )

  • Interdisciplinary happiness/wellbeing research (especially wellbeing and public policy, philosophy of happiness science, and conceptions of happiness)

  • Experimental philosophy (especially experimental ethics)


Areas of competence

  • Philosophy of science

  • Political philosophy

  • Moral psychology

  • Positive psychology

  • Philosophy of law

  • Public policy

  • Climate justice

  • Business ethics

  • Marketing

EDUCATION

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa 2023-

  • Te Ara Reo Māori - Level 2 in progress 2024

  • Te Ara Reo Māori - Level 1 in 2023

University of Waikato 2019-2023

  • Postgraduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching and Learning 2019-2023 (part-time)

Victoria University of Wellington 1999-2002; 2005-2012

  • PhD in Philosophy in 2012 (awarded with no changes required)

  • Master of Arts in Philosophy in 2008 (distinction)

  • Bachelor of Arts with (first class) Honours in Philosophy in 2006

  • Graduate Diploma in Philosophy in 2005 (A+ average)

  • Bachelor of Commerce and Administration with Honours in Marketing in 2002

FULL-TIME ACADEMIC JOBS

  • Senior Lecturer in the Philosophy Programme, University of Waikato (February 2019-)

  • Lecturer (equivalent of Assistant Professor with tenure) in the Philosophy Programme, University of Waikato (June 2016-January 2019)

  • Assistant Professor of Philosophy, California State University, Sacramento (August 2014-May 2016)

  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Victoria University of Wellington (July 2012-July 2014)

PUBLICATIONS

Books

  1. Ulatowski, J., Weijers, D., & Sytsma, J. (eds.) (forthcoming). Experimental Philosophy and Corpus Analysis. Bloomsbury.

  2. Agar, N., Whatley, S., & Weijers, D. (2024). How to Think about Progress: A Skeptic's Guide to Technological Progress. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-68938-3

 

Articles

  1. Munn, N., & Weijers, D. (forthcoming-2025). Human-AI friendship is possible and can be good. Oxford Intersections: AI in Society.

  2. Joshanloo, M., & Weijers, D. (2024). Ideal personhood through the ages: Tracing the genealogy of the modern concepts of wellbeing. Frontiers in Psychology, 15: 1494506. https://www.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1494506

  3. McManus, J., Medvedev, O. N., van Zyl, L., & Weijers, D. (2024). Measuring virtue: An Aristotelian perspective on advancing positive psychology. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41042-024-00167-0 

  4. McManus, J., Medvedev, O. N., Zyl, L. V., & Weijers, D. (2024). Development and validation of the Aristotelian virtue of conscientiousness scale using Rasch methodology. Current Psychology, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-05887-9

  5. Munn, N., & Weijers, D. (2023). The real ethical problem with metaverses. Frontiers in Human Dynamics, 5, 1226848. https://doi.org/10.3389/fhumd.2023.1226848

  6. Weijers, Dan & Agar, Nicholas (2023). Why we're seduced by climate tech and what it means for our happiness, Frontiers in Climate, 5: 1193581. https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2023.1193581

  7. Jarden, Rebecca J., Joshanloo, Mohsen, Weijers, Dan, Sandham, Margaret, Jarden, Aaron J. (2022). Predictors of Life Satisfaction in New Zealand: Analysis of a National Dataset. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(9), 5612; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095612

    • Republished as Jarden, Rebecca J., Joshanloo, Mohsen, Weijers, Dan, Sandham, Margaret, Jarden, Aaron J. (2022). Predictors of Life Satisfaction in New Zealand: Analysis of a National Dataset. In Life Satisfaction and Psychological and Physical Well-Being, V. K. Kumar & Jasmin Tahmaseb-McConatha (eds.). MDPI, pp. 131-147. Official version​.

  8. Munn, Nick & Weijers, Dan (2022). Corporate responsibility for the termination of digital friends, AI & Society, online first. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-021-01276-z

  9. Weijers, Dan (2021) Don't Miss the Well-Being Train: A Radical Proposal for Revolution in Positive Psychology. Frontiers in Psychology. 12:794065. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.794065

  10. Joshanloo, Mohsen, Weijers, Dan, & Bond, Michael (2021). Cultural Religiosity Moderates the Relationship Between Perceived Societal Injustice and Satisfaction with One’s Life. Personality and Individual Differences, 179, 110891. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110891. Publisher's site.

  11. Joshanloo, Mohsen, Weijers, Dan (2019) A two-dimensional conceptual framework for understanding mental well-being. PLoS ONE, 14(3): e0214045. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0214045

  12. Weijers, Dan & Morrison, Philip, S. (2018). Wellbeing and Public Policy: Can New Zealand be a Leading Light for the Wellbeing Approach?, Policy Quarterly, 14(4): 3-12. The free official version.

  13. Weijers, Dan & Keyser, Vadim (2016). The Varieties and Dynamics of Moral Repugnance: Prediction Markets and Betting on Matters of Life and Death, The Humanities and Technology Review, 35: 91-129. The free official version.

  14. Joshanloo, Mohsen & Weijers, Dan (2016). Religiosity Moderates the Relationship between Income Inequality and Life Satisfaction across the Globe, Social Indicators Research, 128(2): 731-750. The official version

  15. Joshanloo, Mohsen & Weijers, Dan (2016). Religiosity Reduces the Negative Influence of Injustice on Subjective Well-being: A Study in 121 Nations, Applied Research in Quality of Life, 11(2): 601-612. The official version

  16. Joshanloo, Mohsen & Weijers, Dan, Jiang, Ding-Yu, et al. (2015). Fragility of Happiness Beliefs Across 15 National Groups. Journal of Happiness Studies, 16(5): 1185-1210. The official version

  17. Weijers, Dan and Richardson, Jennifer (2014). Is the Repugnance about Betting on Terrorist Attacks Misguided? Ethics and Information Technology. The official version

  18. Joshanloo, Mohsen & Weijers, Dan (2014). Does Thinking about the Meaning of Life Make you Satisfied with Life in a Religious and Globalised World? A 75-Nation Study, Journal of Psychology in Africa (special section on 'Meaning and Relational Well-being'), 24(1): 115-128. The official version

    • Temporarily (2015) republished in an open access collection of the top 3 most downloaded articles published in each Routledge Behavioral Sciences journal in 2014.

  19. Weijers, Dan and Richardson, Jennifer (2014). A Moral Analysis of Effective Prediction Markets on Terrorism. International Journal of Technoethics, special issue: "Military Technoethics Beyond", 5(1): 28-43. Official Version

    • Republished as Weijers, Dan & Richardson, Jennifer (2014). A Moral Analysis of Effective Prediction Markets on Terrorism. In Human Rights and Ethics: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (4 volumes). Editor-in-Chief: Mehdi Khosrow-Pour. Information Resources Management Association (USA), Vol. 4, pp. 1720-1736. Official version.

  20. Joshanloo, Mohsen & Weijers, Dan (2014). Aversion to happiness across cultures: A review of where and why people are averse to happiness, Journal of Happiness Studies, 15(3): 717-735. The official version

  21. Weijers, Dan (2014). Optimistic Naturalism: Scientific Advancement and the Meaning of Life, Sophia, 53: 1-18. The official version

  22. Weijers, Dan (2014). Nozick's Experience Machine is Dead, Long Live the Experience Machine!, Philosophical Psychology, 27(4): 513-535. The official version

  23. Weijers, Dan & Jarden, Aaron (2013). The Science of Happiness for Policymakers: An Overview, Journal of Social Research and Policy, 4(2). The free official version

    • Republished (In Spanish) as Weijers, Dan & Jarden, Aaron (2016). The Science of Happiness for Policymakers: An Overview, in David Gómez-Álvarez and Víctor Ortiz Ortega (eds.), Policies and Subjective Wellbeing: Happiness in the Public Agenda. Banco de Desarrollo de America Latina and Ariel. Introduction and front stuff.

  24. Weijers, Dan & Schouten, Vanessa (2013). An assessment of recent responses to the experience machine objection to hedonism, Journal of Value Inquiry, 47(4), 461-482. The official version

  25. Weijers, Dan (2013). Intuitive Biases in Judgements about Thought Experiments: The Experience Machine Revisited, Philosophical Writings, 41(1): 17-31. The free official version

  26. Weijers, Dan (2012). We Can Test the Experience Machine, Ethical Perspectives, 19(2), pp. 261-268.

  27. Turton, Dan (2009). The Real Dirt on Happiness Studies: A Reply to 'The Unhappy thing about Happiness Economics', Real-world Economics Review, 49: 83-89. The free official version

​

Book Chapters

  1. Weijers, D. (forthcoming-2025). Wellbeing Policy in New Zealand: From Wellbeing Framework to Government-Wide Approach. In Marie Briguglio, Natalia V. Czap, & Kate Laffan (eds.), Wellbeing and Policy: Evidence for Action. Routledge.

  2. Weijers, Dan & Munn, Nick (2024). Technology and Consumer Well-Being. In F. Sonmez (ed.), Fostering Consumer Well-Being: Theory, Evidence, and Policy. Springer, pp. 169-193. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-59144-0_10

  3. Weijers, D. (2024). Self-decolonisation in Aotearoa: Pushing through programmatic Pākehā paralysis. In Tracy Bowell, Nicole Pepperell, Anthony Richardson, Maria-Teresa Corino (eds.), Revitalising Higher Education: Insights from Te Puna Aurei LearnFest 2022. Cardiff: Cardiff University Press, pp. 9-17. https://cardiffuniversitypress.org/site/chapters/e/10.18573/conf2.b/

  4. Munn, Nick and Weijers, Dan (2023). Friendship, love, and sex with droids in Solo: "How would that work?" "It works". In Eberl, J.T. & Decker, K. S. (eds.), Star Wars and Philosophy Strikes back: This is the Way. Wiley Blackwell: Hoboken, New Jersey, USA, pp. 143-151.  Official version. Last author version.

  5. Weijers, Dan and Munn, Nick (2022), ’Human-AI Friendship: Rejecting the ‘appropriate sentimentality’ criterion’, in Vincent C. Müller (ed.), Philosophy and theory of artificial intelligence 2021 (SAPERE 63; Berlin: Springer), 209-223. Last author version

  6. Weijers, Dan (2021). Wellbeing and the four qualities of life. In A. C. Michalos (ed.), The Pope of Happiness: A Festschrift for Ruut Veenhoven. (pp. 277-290). Springer. Publisher's site. Last author version.

  7. Weijers, Dan (2021). "Chapter 15. “Just wrong,” “disgusting,” “grotesque”: How to Deal with Public Rejection of New Potentially Life-saving Technologies", in Steff, R., Soare, S., & Burton, J. (eds.), Emerging Technologies and International Security: Machines, the State and War. Routledge, pp. 254-272. Publisher's site. Last author version.

  8. Weijers, Dan (2020). Teaching well-being/quality of life from a philosophical perspective, in Graciela Tonon (ed.), Teaching Quality of Life in Different Domains. Springer, pp. 15-42. Publisher's site. My chapter.

  9. Buscicchi, Lorenzo & Weijers, Dan (2019). The paradox of happiness: the more you chase it the more elusive it becomes, in John Watson (ed.), The Conversation Yearbook 2019: 50 standout articles from Australia’s top thinkers. Melbourne University Press, pp. 140-143. Publisher's site. Republishing of Buscicchi, Lorenzo & Weijers, Dan (2019). The Paradox of Happiness: The more you chase it the more elusive it becomes, The Conversation, 27 May. Link.

  10. Joshanloo, Mohsen & Weijers, Dan (2019). Islamic Perspectives on Wellbeing, in Louise Lambert & Nausheen Pasha-Zaidi (eds.), Positive Psychology in the GCC Nations (and beyond): An Introduction to Research, Policy, and Practice. Springer, pp. 237-256.

  11. Weijers, Dan (2018). Prediction Markets, in Robert W. Kolb (ed.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Business Ethics and Society: 2nd edition. Sage, pp. 2716-2718.

  12. Weijers, Dan & DiSilvestro, Russell (2017). The morality of experience machines for palliative and end of life care, in Mark Silcox (ed.), Experience Machines: The Philosophy of Virtual Worlds. Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 183-201. Publisher's site.

  13. Weijers, Dan & Jarden, Aaron (2017). Wellbeing Policy, in Mike Slade, Lindsay Oades & Aaron Jarden (eds.), Wellbeing, Recovery and Mental Health. Cambridge University Press, pp. 24-34. (This chapter reproduces some of the material from Weijers, Dan & Jarden, Aaron. The Science of Happiness for Policymakers: An Overview). Publisher's site.

  14. Weijers, Dan & Jarden, Aaron (2017). The International Journal of Wellbeing: An Open Access Success Story, in Rajiv Jhangiani & Robert Biswas-Diener (eds.), Open: The Philosophy and Practices that are Revolutionizing Education and Science. Ubiquity Press, pp. 181-194. Free official version of whole book.

  15. Michalos, Alex & Weijers, Dan (2017). Western Historical Traditions of Well-Being, in Richard Estes and Joseph Sirgy (eds.), The Pursuit of Well-Being: The Untold Global History, Springer, pp. 31-57. Publisher's site

  16. Weijers, Dan (2016). Prediction Markets as an Alternative to One More Spy, in Jai Galliott & Warren Reed (eds.), Ethics and the Future of Spying: Technology, Intelligence Collection and National Security, Routledge, pp. 80-92. Publisher's site.

  17. Weijers, Dan (2011). The Experience Machine Objection to Hedonism, in Just the Arguments, Edited by Michael Bruce & Steven Barbone, Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 229-231. Link

  18. Weijers, Dan (2011). Reality Doesn't Really Matter, in Inception and Philosophy, Edited by D. Kyle Johnson, Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 92-107. Link

  19. Weijers, Dan, Eng, David & Das, Ramon (2010). Sharing the Responsibility of Dealing with Climate Change: Interpreting the Principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities, in Public Policy: Why Ethics Matters, Edited by Jonathan Boston, Andrew Bradstock & David Eng, ANU E Press, pp. 141-158. Link

 

Refereed Conference Proceedings

  1. Munn, N., & Weijers, D. (2023). Can we be friends with AI? What risks would arise from the proliferation of such friendships? In International Conference on Computer Ethics (Vol. 1, No. 1). https://soremo.library.iit.edu/index.php/CEPE2023/article/view/254/258

  2. Munn, Nick & Weijers, Dan (2021). Good friendships improve our lives. But can virtual friendships be good? In Kommers, P. & Macedo, M. (eds.), Proceedings of the ICT, society, and human beings 2021 conference, pp. 238-241. Link

  3. Weijers, Dan & Turton, H. Joseph (2021). "Environmentally smart contracts for artists using non-fungible tokens," 2021 IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS), 2021, pp. 1-4, https://doi.org/10.1109/ISTAS52410.2021.9629203

  4. Weijers, Dan & Munn, Nick (2021). Technology as cause of and solution to the empathy problem. In Nyíri, K. (ed.), The Sherry Turkle Miracle. Hungarian Academy of Sciences, pp. 20-21. Available from: http://www.hunfi.hu/nyiri/STM/Booklet.pdf

 

Other Peer-Reviewed Academic Publications

  1. Weijers, Dan (2013). Prediction Markets, Observatory for Responsible Research and Innovation in ICT. (This article won a £500 prize from the Observatory for Responsible Research and Innovation in ICT). Link

  2. van der Meer, Larah & Weijers, Dan (2013). Educational psychology research on children with developmental disabilities using expensive ICT devices, Observatory for Responsible Research and Innovation in ICT. (This article won a £500 prize from the Observatory for Responsible Research and Innovation in ICT). Link

  3. Weijers, Dan (2011). Hedonism, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Available from: http://www.iep.utm.edu/hedonism/

 

Policy White Papers

  1. Weijers, Dan & Mukherjee, Udayan (2016). Living Standards, Wellbeing, and Public Policy, The New Zealand Treasury. Available from: http://www.treasury.govt.nz/government/longterm/fiscalposition/2016/ltfs-16-bg-lswpp.pdf

  2. Weijers, Dan (2012). National Accounts that Make Governments More Efficient by Making Them More Accountable. Available from the official Bhutanese government's website for the UN meeting on 'Happiness and Wellbeing: Defining a New Economic Paradigm'. Link

 

Short Articles and Blog Posts

  1. Weijers, Dan & Munn, Nick (2024). AI companions can relieve loneliness – but here are 4 red flags to watch for in your chatbot ‘friend’. The Conversation. 9 May 2024. Link

  2. Jarden, Rebecca, J., Jarden, Aaron, & Weijers, Dan (2022). Life satisfaction in New Zealand. Scholarly Community Encyclodpedia. Link. (Based on our: Predictors of Life Satisfaction in New Zealand: Analysis of a National Dataset. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(9), 5612).

  3. Weijers, Dan, Munn, Nick, Buscicchi, Lorenzo (2021). Happy Endings: Does size or shape matter most? Daily Philosophy, 23 June 2021. Link​

  4. Munn, Nick, Buscicchi, Lorenzo, Weijers, Dan (2021). Selling Happiness, One Chump at a Time. Daily Philosophy, 16 June 2021. Link

  5. Munn, Nick, Buscicchi, Lorenzo, Weijers, Dan (2021). The Utility Monster is... other people! Daily Philosophy, 9 June 2021. Link

  6. Buscicchi, Lorenzo, Weijers, Dan, Munn, Nick (2021). Enlightened Self-interest: Friends with Benefits. Daily Philosophy, 2 June 2021. Link

  7. Buscicchi, Lorenzo, Weijers, Dan, Munn, Nick (2021). Psychological Hedonism: You Know You Want It. Daily Philosophy, 26 May 2021. Link

  8. Weijers, Dan, Munn, Nick, Buscicchi, Lorenzo (2021). Simulating pleasure: If it feels good, does it matter whether it’s real? Daily Philosophy, 19 May 2021. Link

  9. Weijers, Dan, Munn, Nick, & Buscicchi, Lorenzo (2021). Is pleasure good? Daily Philosophy, 12 May 2021. Link

  10. Weijers, Dan & Jarden, Aaron (2021). The International Journal of Wellbeing: Ten years on and the next ten years. International Journal of Wellbeing, 11(1), 1-7. Link

  11. Ulatowski, Joe, Weijers, Dan, & Sytsma, Justin (2020). Corpus Methods in Philosophy, The Brains Blog, 15 December 2020. Link

  12. Weijers, Dan & Munn, Nick (2019). Almonds don’t lactate, but that’s no reason to start calling almond milk juice, The Conversation, 7 August. Link

  13. Buscicchi, Lorenzo & Weijers, Dan (2019). The Paradox of Happiness: The more you chase it the more elusive it becomes, The Conversation, 27 May. Link

  14. Weijers, Dan (2016). Privileging our future hedonic states, The Dance of Reason, 26 September. Link

  15. Weijers, Dan (2015). When the science of happiness meets public policy, can freedom increase?, The Dance of Reason, 28 September. Link

  16. Weijers, Dan (2015). Will we be faithful to our philosophical methodology or our moral values? The experience machine thought experiment in an increasingly virtual world, The Dance of Reason, 2 August. Link

  17. Weijers, Dan (2015). To Push or Not to Push? Should that be the Question?, The Dance of Reason, 15 February. Link

  18. Weijers, Dan (2015). Happy Valentine's Day Baby!, The Dance of Reason, 14 February. Link

  19. Weijers, Dan (2014). The Happiness of Philosophers, The Dance of Reason, 19 October. Link

  20. Weijers, Dan (2014). Does Philosophy Make Us Happy? The Dance of Reason, 12 October. Link

  21. Weijers, Dan (2014). Science, technology, and the meaning of life, The Dance of Reason, 26 February. Link

  22. Weijers, Dan (2011). National Accounts of Well-Being: What Should We Put in the Census?, Social Europe Journal, 15 February 2011. Link

  23. Weijers, Dan & Jarden, Aaron (2011). Wipe that Smile Off Your Face, The Philosopher's Magazine, 52: 53-58. Link

  24. Weijers, Dan, Jarden, Aaron, & Powdthavee, Nattavudh (2011). Promoting Research on Wellbeing, International Journal of Wellbeing, 1(1): 1-3. Link

  25. Weijers, Dan (2010). A Warning to Policy-Makers: What Exactly is Well-Being Anyway?, Social Europe Journal, 10 September 2010. Link

 

Reviews

  1. Weijers, D., Jarden, A., Angner, E., Burns, G., Chadwick, E., Jose, P., Joshanloo, M., Tarragona, M., & Thin, N. (2013). A Review of The Oxford Handbook of Happiness, International Journal of Wellbeing, 3(2), 213-228. Link

  2. Morrison, Philip & Weijers, Dan (2012). Wellbeing and Public Policy Conference: A Report on the June 2012 Conference in Wellington, New Zealand. Available from the Wellbeing and Public Policy website. Link

  3. Morrison, Philip & Weijers, Dan (2012). Wellbeing in Wellington: A report on the June 2012 Wellbeing and Public Policy Conference, Policy Quarterly, 8(4), 51-55.

  4. Weijers, Dan (2010). Bok, Derek, The Politics of Happiness: What Government Can Learn from the New Research on Well-Being, New Zealand Association of Positive Psychology Newsletter. Link

  5. Weijers, Dan (2010). Bok, Derek, The Politics of Happiness: What Government Can Learn from the New Research on Well-Being, Metapsychology Online. Link

  6. Turton, Dan (2010). Hanson, Rick, Buddha's Brain: The Practical neuroscience of Happiness, Love & Wisdom, Metapsychology Online. Link

  7. Turton, Dan (2009). Kraut, Richard. What is Good and Why: The Ethics of Well-Being, Metapsychology Online. Link

  8. Turton, Dan (2009). Kringelbach, Morten, The Pleasure Center: Trust Your Animal Instincts, Metapsychology Online. Link

  9. Turton, Dan (2008). Frey, Bruno, Happiness: A Revolution in Economics, Metapsychology Online. Link

  10. Turton, Dan (2007). Feldman, Fred, Pleasure and the Good Life: Concerning the Nature, Varieties and Plausibility of Hedonism, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 85(2): 338-340. Link

SEMINARS, CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS, & OTHER TALKS

Keynote Lectures & Special Appearances

  1. Nutritious Food and Water: The best goods for wellbeing?, Guest of Honour address at the International Conference on “Water, Food and Nutrition Security for Health and Wellbeing”, University of Delhi, (and online), 14 Dec 2021.

  2. The experience machine and my postgraduate experience, Keynote address, FASSGRAD, University of Waikato, 8 November 2018.

  3. What is good for you? The philosophy of well-being, Faculty panel event with special guest Dan Weijers, California State University Sacramento, 12 April 2017.

  4. What we value: An experimental investigation of the good life, Keynote address, University of California, Davis Undergraduate Philosophy Conference, 23 April 2016.

 

Seminar & Conference Presentations

  1. Weijers, Dan (2024). Learning outcomes in the age of generative AI. Law, Politics, and Philosophy Mini Teaching Conference on Student use of Generative AI in Assessment, University of Waikato (5 September 2024).

  2. Weijers, Dan (2024). Dealing with AI cheating. Law, Politics, and Philosophy Mini Teaching Conference on Student use of Generative AI in Assessment, University of Waikato (5 September 2024).

  3. Weijers, Dan (2024). False pleasures are intrinsically prudentially valuable and can save lives: The reliable but illusory caring of chatbot friends can be better than the unreliable but heartfelt caring of human friends. Workshop on Applied Philosophy of Wellbeing, Australian National University, 22 August 2024.

  4. Weijers, Dan (2024). Happiness, Happiness and Resilience Series, University of Waikato, 27 March 2024.

  5. Munn, Nick & Weijers, Dan (2024). Thieves of Joy, Australasian Experimental Philosophy Workshop, Blue Mountains, Australia, 10 January 2024.

  6. Weijers, Dan & Stevens, Kate (2023). Pedagogies of kindness: Can five words make a difference? New Zealand Association of Philosophers’ Annual Conference 2023, Conference held at Waikato University, Tauranga, New Zealand, 6 December 2023.

  7. Weijers, Dan & Stevens, Kate (2023). Pedagogies of kindness for student completion, retention, and wellbeing, LearnFest 2023 Conference, hosted by Waikato University and Cardiff University, online, 27 November 2023.

  8. Weijers, Dan (2023). Measuring Wellbeing for Public Policy in a Bi-Cultural Nation: Update from Aotearoa New Zealand, Measuring Wellbeing in a Multicultural World: An Interdisciplinary Workshop, Conference held at Australian National University, Canberra, Australia and online, 11 August 2023.

  9. Weijers, Dan & Munn, Nick (2023). Friendship with AI & the link to AI consciousness, AI Consciousness Research Group Seminar, online, 28 July 2023.

  10. Munn, Nick & Weijers, Dan (2023). Can we be friends with AI? What risks would arise from the proliferation of such friendships?, CEPE 2023 (International Conference on Computer Ethics: Philosophical Enquiry 2023) Virtual Conference. Watch the video

  11. Weijers, Dan & Munn, Nick (2022). The real ethical problem with artificially intelligent friends, New Zealand Association of Philosophers Conference, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.

  12. Weijers, Dan (2022). Experimental philosophy and intellectual humility, Australasian Experimental Philosophy Retreat, Tongariro, New Zealand.

  13. Weijers, Dan. (2022). Programmatic pākeha paralysis, LearnFest, Online and University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.

  14. Weijers, Dan. (2022). Integrating kaupapa Māori in a pākeha philosophy programme, Kīngitanga Day, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.

  15. Weijers, Dan (2022). Putting quizzes in lecture videos is easy - and students love it!, CeTTL Online Assessment Strategies Series, Online/University of Waikato.

  16. Weijers, Dan & Turton, H. Joseph, (2021). Environmentally Smart Contracts for Artists Using Non-Fungible Tokens, 2021 IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS), online, 31 October 2021.

  17. Weijers, Dan (2021). Living Standards, Wellbeing, and Public Policy, LACEA-LAMES annual meeting, Bogotá, Colombia (and online), 21 Oct 2021.

  18. Munn, Nick & Weijers, Dan (2021). Friendship will never be the same again, Changing Values, Changing Technologies, TU Delft and online, 12 October 2021.

  19. Munn, Nick & Weijers, Dan (2021). Love and sex with droids: “How would that work?” “It works.” Philosophy Programme Seminar Series, University of Waikato, 30 September 2021.

  20. Weijers, Dan & Munn, Nick (2021). Human-AI friendship: Rejecting the ‘appropriate sentimentality’ criterion, PT-AI 2021: 4th Conference on “Philosophy and Theory of Artificial Intelligence”, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, 28 Sep 2021.

  21. Munn, Nick & Weijers, Dan (2021). Good friendships improve our lives. But can virtual friendships be good? 14th International Conference on ICT, Society and Human Beings 2021, online, 22 July 2021.

  22. Lorenzo Buscicchi & Dan Weijers (2021). What is pleasure? From feeling to attitude and back, 2021 Australasian Association of Philosophy Conference, online, 7 July 2021.

  23. Nick Munn & Dan Weijers (2021). Friendships with AI: Technological imaginary or real possibility? The Society for Philosophy and Technology Conference: SPT 2021 - Technological Imaginaries, online, 30 June 2021.

  24. Technology as cause of and solution to the empathy problem (with Nick Munn), The Sherry Turkle Miracle, Committee for Communication and Media Theory, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, online, 27 May 2021.

  25. Philosophy as a vehicle for significant learning experiences (with Nick Munn), New Zealand Association of Philosophers 2020 Conference, University of Canterbury, 8 December 2020.

  26. Tales (or Confessions) of FutureLearn providers 101 with Clive Pope and Nicola Daly at LearnFest20: Te Puna Aurei, University of Waikato, 11 November 2020.

  27. Are philosophers happy?, New Zealand Association of Philosophers 2019 Conference, University of Auckland, 10 December 2019.

  28. What's driving Parfit's surgery cases?, AXΦIV: 4th Annual Australasian Experimental Philosophy Conference, University of Waikato, 7 December 2019.

  29. The Future of Wellbeing at Tertiary Institutions, New Zealand Tertiary Recreation Conference 2019, University of Waikato, 29 November 2019.

  30. Significant Learning Experiences in Every Lecture: "This is the Only Class that Makes us Think for Ourselves", LearnFest19, University of Waikato, 6 November 2019.

  31. Debunking the Deceived Businessman: A Belated Response to Das, Philosophy Programme Seminar Series, Victoria University of Wellington, 12 September 2019.

  32. Wellbeing and public policy in New Zealand, Positive Systems and Positive Policy: Wellbeing Science and Positive Psychology at Scale, 6th World Congress of Positive Psychology, Melbourne, 20 July 2019

  33. There's no place like home: Is our preference for familiar surroundings a bias?, The North American Society for Social Philosophy 36th International Social Philosophy Conference: Home: Sanctuary, shelter, and justice, University of San Francisco, 12 July 2019

  34. How AI might help us die with dignity and fairness? (with Russell DiSilvestro and Nicholas Williams), 10th Workshop in Decisions, Games, and Logic: “Ethics, Statistics, and Fair AI”, Caltech, 12 Jun 2019

  35. Online self-promotion, Raising your profile research workshop, University of Waikato, 15 February 2019

  36. Is wellbeing and public policy on the same flight path as positive psychology? 4th Biennial NZ Association of Positive Psychology Conference, University of Waikato, 24 November 2018

  37. Student disengagement: Why they say they don’t come, LearnFest, University of Waikato, 14 November 2018

  38. The freebie problem: A pervasive flaw in how we work out what has value, Philosophy Seminar Series, University of Auckland, 17 October 2018

  39. Experience machine experiments: Testing the importance of relationships and individual differences, 3rd Australasian Experimental Philosophy Conference, Victoria University of Wellington, 13 October 2018

  40. “Just wrong,” “disgusting,” “grotesque,” “offensive”: How to deal with public rejection of new potentially life-saving technologies, The Waikato Dialogue: The Implications of Emerging Disruptive Technologies for International Security, University of Waikato, 20 September 2018

  41. The Politics and Public Policies I Hope for, 3rd International conference on Wellbeing and Public Policy, Wellington, 5 September 2018

  42. Nozick's experience machine thought experiment has many problems, but the freebie problem ain't one of ‘em, Staff Seminar at University of Canterbury, 21 August 2018

  43. A puzzle about privileging our future hedonic states. In Whole Lives, Time, and Selfhood. Conference held at Deakin University, Australia, 20 February 2018

  44. Has the deceived businessman been deceiving philosophers?, New Zealand Association of Philosophers 2017 Conference, University of Otago, 5 December 2017.

  45. Getting students to engage with readings, Learnfest 2017, University of Waikato, 17 November 2017. Video.

  46. Deconstructive Replication: How to Tell if a Thought Experiment-Population Pairing is Fit for Purpose, AXΦII: 2nd Annual Australasian Experimental Philosophy Conference, University of Waikato, 29 July 2017.

  47. Does increasing national happiness require decreasing freedom or determining social values?, Quality of life research: An interdisciplinary discussion, Auckland University of Technology, 26 May 2017.

  48. Watch the James Dean and Duration Neglect hypotheses crash and burn: Lessons for experimenters, Empirical Philosophy Workshop, Victoria University of Wellington, 12 May 2017.

  49. I'm glad it's over, but should I be? A puzzle about privileging future hedonic states (later changed to A better life or a better future? Calling out our bias against the past), New Zealand Association of Philosophy Conference, University of Waikato, 2 December 2016.

  50. Privileging our future hedonic states, the 1st annual Australasian Experimental Philosophy workshop (AXΦI), Victoria University of Wellington, 9 September 2016.

  51. A solution to a puzzle about the badness of death: Satisfying the strict existence requirement, University of Waikato Philosophy Seminar Series, 1 September 2016.

  52. Happiness: It’s not for everyone, Fall 2014 – Spring 2015 Center for Practical and Professional Ethics Speaker Series, California State University, Sacramento, One World 2015 Faculty Panel, 12 May 2015. Video.

  53. What I think when I think about happiness, California State University, Sacramento, One World 2015 Faculty Panel, 21 April 2015.

  54. Are philosophers happy, and does philosophy make them happy?, University of California, Merced, Mind, Technology, and Society Talk Series, 9 March 2015. Video.

  55. The Future of Happiness: Or what is good for beings that can change themselves? Hamilton College, New york, 2nd International Conference on Wellbeing and Public Policy, 11 June 2014.

  56. What is good for us and how can we know?, California State University, Sacramento, Philosophy Department Public Seminar, 28 February 2014. (This seminar is somewhat different to the seminar below).

  57. What is good for us and how can we know?, Victoria University of Wellington Philosophy Programme Seminar Series, 24 February 2014.

  58. Happiness: What is it, is it achievable, and is it desirable? History of Wellbeing Symposium, Philadelphia, 29 October 2013.

  59. Prediction Markets and Betting on Matters of Life and Death: When Repugnance is Misguided, Victoria University of Wellington Philosophy Programme Seminar Series, 18 July 2013.

  60. Making a Killing: The Ethics of Predicting Terrorism with Markets, Victoria University of Wellington, Australasian Association of Philosophy (New Zealand Division) Annual Conference, December 2012.

  61. Happiness & Wellbeing, Job Talk, Massey University, Albany Campus, 6 June 2012.

  62. Would You Plug into the Experience Machine?, Victoria University of Wellington Philosophy Programme Seminar Series, 24 May 2012.

  63. The Experience Machine is Dead, Long Live the Experience Machine!, University of Otago, Australasian Association of Philosophy Annual Conference, July 2011.

  64. Optimistic Naturalism: Scientific Advancement and the Meaning of Life, Victoria University of Wellington Philosophy Programme Seminar Series, 22 July 2010.

  65. (With Dr David Eng) Sharing the Responsibility of Dealing with Climate Change: Interpreting the Principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities at the Copenhagen 2009: issues, Options, Outlooks and Outcomes seminar series in Wellington, 16 December 2009. Note that this presentation is slightly different from the one below.

  66. (With Dr David Eng) Sharing the responsibility of dealing with climate change: Interpreting the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. The Ethical Foundations of Public Policy (Protecting the Global Commons stream), Victoria University of Wellington, 10 December 2009.

  67. Defining Pleasure for Hedonism: Lessons from Science, University of Melbourne, Australasian Association of Philosophy Annual Conference, July 2009.

  68. The Experience Machine Revisited, Victoria University of Wellington Philosophy Programme Seminar Series, 10 July 2008.

  69. Hedonism, False Pleasures and the Role of Intuitions in Assessing Theories of Well-Being, University of Auckland, Australasian Association of Philosophy (New Zealand Division) Annual Conference, 3 December 2007.

 

Panels and Commentaries

  1. Official Commentator on Justin Sytsma's: Reversing the norm effect on causal attributions, International Speaker Series, International Center for Philosophy, Beijing Normal University, online, 1 April 2024.

  2. Panel Member for "Keeping it local: Perspectives on publishing", Town Hall Presentation series, University of Waikato, online, 25 October 2023.

  3. Panel Member for "Setting the Scene" at the 4th Biennial NZ Association of Positive psychology Conference, University of Waikato, 24 November 2018.

  4. Panel Member for "A student engagement panel" at Learnfest 2017, University of Waikato, 16 November 2017. Video.

  5. Official Commentator on Sherif Girgis's: What is marriage? Man and woman: A defense, California State University, Sacramento, Symposium on Marriage in a Liberal Democracy, 25 April 2016.

  6. Official Commentator on Ryan Howell's: Happiness for sale: How money buys happiness (and why people don't buy it), California State University, Sacramento, Nammour Symposium, 9 April 2015. Video.

  7. Designated commentator on Garrett Cullity's paper (Acts, Omissions, Emissions) at the Ethics of Climate Change workshop at Victoria University of Wellington, 3 October 2011.

 

Presentations to Professional Groups

  1. Living Standards, Well-being, and Public Policy to the New Zealand Treasury, 14 October 2016.

  2. Wellbeing and Measures of Subjective Wellbeing, presentation to the wellbeing group at Statistics New Zealand, December 2011.

 

Public Talks

  1. AI and the future of work, St. Peter's School Year 11 Careers Day, Cambridge, 27 November 2024.

  2. Programmed to kill: Ethics in the AI era, DiscoverU, Waikato University, 27 November 2024.

  3. What would it be like to be in a​ PHILOSOPHY​ Lecture? Experience ALPSS Day, Waikato University, 1 September 2024.

  4. Introduction to Ethical issues, 1.5-hour talk to Rototuna High School students, Hamilton, 24 August 2023.

  5. Wellbeing (with Suzy Fourie), online workshop for IT Staff, University of Waikato, 27 October 2021.

  6. Philosophy and AI-proof thinking skills, short lecture to advanced students, St Peter's College, Auckland, 6 July 2021.

  7. Does my morality apply to you?, short lecture to advanced students, St Peter's College, Auckland, 6 July 2021.

  8. Good excuses for killing people (and other things philosophy can do for you), short lecture with Nick Munn to prospective students, University of Waikato (Tauranga), 28 May 2021.

  9. Good excuses for killing people (and other things philosophy can do for you), short lecture with Nick Munn to prospective students, University of Waikato (Hamilton), 21 May 2021.

  10. Why study Philosophy, short online lecture for prospective students, University of Waikato, 13 August 2020.

  11. Intro to Philosophy, short video with Nick Munn for prospective students, University of Waikato, 13 August 2020.

  12. The Pitfalls of Commonsense Morality (and why we need ethics), 1-hour talk at Rototuna High School, Hamilton, 23 September 2019.

  13. Introduction to Philosophy, short lecture to prospective students, University of Waikato, 21 February 2019.

  14. The morality of advertising, 1-hour talk to High School students at St. Johns, Hamilton, 13 March 2019.

  15. Introduction to Philosophy, short lecture to prospective students, University of Waikato, 18 May 2018.

  16. Can We Trust Our Moral Common Sense? 1-hour talk to High School students at St. Johns, Hamilton, 7 March 2018.

  17. Can We Trust Our Moral Common Sense? 1-hour talk to High School students at Rio Americano, 4 December 2015.

  18. Can We Trust Our Moral Common Sense? 1-hour talk to High School students at Rio Americano, 3 October 2014.

  19. I participated in a roundtable discussion of the interactive art project, Mood Bank, 20 March 2014. Link

  20. Introduction to Philosophy, 2 short lectures to prospective students during 'Study @ Vic Day', August 2012.

  21. Happiness: Its Meaning Measurement and Importance, 3 2-hour lectures, one on each of the following three topics: what 'happiness' means, how happiness is measured, and what role should happiness play in informing public policy. I created this course and it ran as part of Victoria University of Wellington's Continuing Education Programme, July 2012. 

  22. Introduction to Philosophy, 2 short lectures to prospective students during 'Study @ Vic Day', August 2011.

  23. The Problem with Happiness, 90-minute interactive presentation for the Café Scientifique series at Wholly Bagels in Lower Hutt, September 2010.

  24. Introduction to Philosophy, 2 short lectures to prospective students during 'Study @ Vic Day', August 2010.

  25. Happiness: Its Meaning Measurement and Significance, 3 90-minute lectures, one on each of the following three topics: what 'happiness' means, how happiness is measured, and what we should do about happiness on an individual and a societal level. I created this course and it ran as part of Victoria University of Wellington's Continuing Education Programme, October-November 2009.

  26. Introduction to Philosophy, 6 1-hour lectures (whole course) on a range of subjects, Wellington High School, August-September 2008.

  27. Introduction to Philosophy, 2 short lectures to prospective students during 'Study @ Vic Day', August 2008.

  28. Introduction to Ethics, 4 2-hour lectures (whole course) on Ethics, Kapiti Workers' Educational Association, April 2008.

  29. Introduction to Philosophy, 2 short lectures to prospective students during 'Study @ Vic Day', September 2007.

 

Student Seminar & Conference Presentations

  1. Philosophy of wellbeing (and how it relates to students), Wellbeing Week, University of Waikato, 31 March 2021.

  2. Quarterlife Crisis, Wellbeing, and the Meaning of Life, Hauora Week 2019 Event (Mental Health Awareness), University of Waikato, 25 September 2019.

  3. Are prediction markets morally repugnant and the pluralism reductio of the freebie problem, Philosophy Graduate Student Seminar Series, 14 September 2018.

  4. Does the future matter more for wellbeing than the past? Experimental evidence and the importance of perspective, CSUS Philosophy Club, California State University Sacramento, 11 April 2017.

  5. Keynote lecture: What we value: An experimental investigation of the good life, University of California, Davis Undergraduate Philosophy Conference, 23 April 2016.

  6. The Experience Machine and End of Life Care, Sac State Philosophy Club, 10 November 2015.

  7. Experimental Philosophy, Sac State Philosophy Club, 21 October 2014.

  8. Job Market Roundup, Victoria University of Wellington, 17 July 2014.

  9. We Can Test the Experience Machine: Reply to Smith, Victoria University of Wellington Philosophy Student Seminar Series, June 2011.

  10. Reality Doesn't really Matter: Or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Limbo, Victoria University of Wellington Post Graduate Student Conference, November 2010.

  11. Eliminating Bias from the Experience Machine Thought Experiment, Victoria University of Wellington Philosophy Student Seminar Series, October 2010.

  12. Debate on The Existence of Objective Moral Facts, Victoria University of Wellington Philosophy Student Seminar Series, May 2010.

  13. Sharing the Responsibility of Dealing with Climate Change: Interpreting the Principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities at the Victoria university of Wellington Graduate Student Retreat in Otaki, April 2010.

  14. Defining Pleasure for Hedonism: Lessons from Science, Victoria University of Wellington Philosophy Student Seminar Series, July 2009.

  15. Hedonism: The Debate, with Adrian Currie, Victoria University of Wellington Philosophy Student Seminar Series, May 2009.

  16. The Experience Machine Revisited (Again), Victoria University of Wellington Philosophy Student Seminar Series, March 2009.

  17. Reviving Hedonism: Refuting the White Wall Machine, Bridge Lodge, Lower North Island Graduate Student Conference, March 2008.

  18. Pleasure is the Only Thing of Value: Refuting the False Pleasures Objection, Victoria University of Wellington Philosophy Student Seminar Series, November 2007.

  19. Pleasure is the Only Thing of Value: Reviving Hedonism as a Plausible View of 'the Good Life', Philosophers in New Zealand Annual Graduate Student Conference, November 2007.

  20. The Simple Scientific Account of Pleasure: Step 1 to Reviving Hedonism, Victoria University of Wellington Philosophy Student Seminar Series, August 2007.

  21. In Search of the Good Life: Pleasure, Happiness, Well-Being... And the Odd Cry from the Wilderness, Riverslea Retreat, Victoria University of Wellington Philosophy Graduate Student Conference, June 2007.

  22. From Political Philosophy to Political Activism: Encouraging Political Action in Modernity, Onekaka, Victoria University of Wellington Philosophy Graduate Student Conference, June 2006.

  23. The Science of Happiness, Victoria University of Wellington Philosophy Student Seminar Series, May 2006.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

  • Co-organised (with Stephanie Gibbons) the Law, Politics, and Philosophy Mini Teaching Conference on Student use of Generative AI in Assessment, University of Waikato (5 September 2024).

  • Co-organised (with Nicky Drake) the Workshop on Applied Philosophy of Wellbeing, Australian National University (22-23 August 2024).

  • Co-organised (with Justin Sytsma, Mark Alfano, and Nick Munn) the Australasian Experimental Philosophy Retreat (28 Nov-1 Dec 2022).

  • Co-organised (with Joe Ulatowski and Justin Sytsma) Corpus Fortnight, a 14-day online conference with one presentation per day on experimental corpus analysis (2020).

  • Co-organised the fortnightly online seminar series X-PHI Under Quarantine with Joe Ulatowski and Justine Sytsma (2020).

  • International editorial advisory board member of Lexington Books' (Rowman & Littlefield) book series on "Behavioural Applied Ethics" (2019-).

  • Organising committee member for the 5th biennial New Zealand Association of Positive Psychology conference in Hamilton in 2020.

  • Organised the 4th Annual Australasian Experimental Philosophy Conference, University of Waikato, Hamilton (6-7 December 2019).

  • Organised the annual Philosophy Programme Teaching Symposium (2019-2023).

  • Helped organise the 4th biennial New Zealand Association of Positive Psychology Conference at the University of Waikato (24 November 2018).

  • Executive committee member for the New Zealand Association of Positive Psychology (2018-).

  • Co-organised a major international conference on Wellbeing and Public Policy at Victoria University of Wellington (5-7 September 2018).

  • Editor of the New Zealand Association of Philosophers blog (2017-2020).

  • University of Waikato's representative in the New Zealand Association of Philosophers (2017-).

  • Expert Group member, alongside Peter Singer, for the not-for-profit Global Happiness Organization (2016-).

  • Editorial advisory board member for the Journal of Philosophy of Emotion (2016-2017).

  • Co-organised a symposium on Power at California State University, Sacramento (12-15 April 2015).

  • Co-organized a 2-day conference on The Ethics of Nudges at California State University, Sacramento and Cosumnes River College (November 16-17 2015). Link

  • Co-organised a 2-day conference on Happiness at California State University, Sacramento (8-9 April 2015). Link

  • Advisor to the XPRIZE foundation on a potential prize for happiness and wellbeing initiatives (2014).

  • Founding co-editor of the International Journal of Wellbeing (2010-). Link

  • Co-organised a major international conference on Wellbeing and Public Policy at Victoria University of Wellington (13-15 June 2012). Link

  • Expert scientific adviser on assessing wellbeing for the wellbeing in healthcare group from the Leiden University Medical Center and Tilburg University (2011-2012).

  • Member of the editorial review board for the International Journal of Technoethics (2010-).

  • Peer-reviewer for: AI & Society, Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, Applied Psychology: Health and Wellbeing, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, Erasmus Journal of Philosophy and Economics, Ergo, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, Ethics and Social Welfare, Graeco-Latina Brunensia, History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, International Journal of Technoethics, International Journal of Wellbeing, Journal of Cultural Economics, Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy, Journal of Philosophical Research, Journal of Social Philosophy, Journal of the American Philosophical Association, Journal of Value Inquiry, Methods in Psychology, National Science Center of Poland, Oxford University Press, Palgrave Macmillan, Philosophical Frontiers, Philosophical Psychology, Philosophical Studies, Politics, Philosophy & Economics, Philosophy & Technology, Quality of Life Research, Res Philosophica, Routledge, Scientific Reports, Springer, Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics, Sustainability, and Utilitas.

TEACHING

Highlights​

  • I am the Teaching Excellence Awards Coordinator for the Division of Arts, Law, Psychology, & Social Sciences at the University of Waikato (2020-).

  • As at January 2018, I have over 1,000 hours of teaching experience, mainly in philosophy.

  • University courses I have created and taught: Happiness and wellbeing, Policy submission writing (Work integrated learning course), Practical business ethics (Work integrated learning course), Communication ethics, Ethics and social issues (/Intro applied ethics), Science and human values (/Understanding science: How and why it works), Political philosophy (/Contemporary political philosophy), Philosophy of law, Introduction to philosophy (/The big questions), Special topic: The experience machine, Bioethics (half course).

  • In addition to undergraduate and graduate university students, I have experience teaching school students, adult education groups, and policy makers.

  • I have taught traditional, blended, and fully online courses.

  • I am the Teaching Advocate for the Division of Arts, Law, Psychology, & Social Sciences at the University of Waikato (2018-).

  • I have organised workshops on tertiary teaching and learning, including the Philosophy Programme Annual Mini-Conference Series (2019-)

​​

Teaching Awards

  • University of Waikato Teaching Excellence Award of NZ$3,000 (2018). 

  • Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (UoW) Teaching Excellence Award of NZ$2,000 (2018). 

  • University of Waikato Teaching Excellence Award of NZ$3,000 (2017). 

  • Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (UoW) Teaching Excellence Award of NZ$2,000 (2017). 


Thesis Supervision - PhD

  • Supervisor of PhD student, Cecilia de la Paz, "Title TBA, on an inspirational wellbeing framework for education" (2024- )

  • Chief Supervisor of PhD student, Dani Lawrence, "Should you believe in yourself? (Even against the odds?)" (2023-)

  • Supervisory Panel member of PhD student, Jimmy McManus, "An empirically grounded approach to Aristotelian virtues" (2022-)

  • Chief Supervisor of successful PhD student, Lorenzo Buscicchi, "The nature, value and paradoxes of pleasure" (2017-2021)

  • Supervisory Panel member of successful PhD student, Paul Hubble, "We are what we make" (2017-2020)

  • Supervisory Panel member of successful PhD student, Kim Southey, "Re-presenting Maori and Indigenous notions of 'Being': challenging notions of mental illness" (2016-2020). Kim won the inaugural best PhD thesis award from the University of Waikato.

 

Thesis Supervision - Master's

  • Supervisor of MA student, Alexander Edwards, "Title TBA, on applying insights from Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window to contemporary educational practice"(2024- )

  • Supervisor of MSc student, Maxwell Rodley, "Title TBA, on the value of virtual worlds"(2023- )

  • Supervisor of successful MA student, Linzi Miao, "The Trolley Problem, Intuition, and Moral Psychology" (2021-2022)

  • Co-Supervisor of successful MA student, Jimmy McManus, "A Neo-Aristotelian Theory of Conscientiousness and it’s Empirical Investigation" (2021-2022)

  • Supervisor of successful MA student, Damian Blight, "A Capabilities Approach to Freedom of Employment: Hierarchical capabilities" (2020-2021)


Graduate Lecturing

  • PHIL588: Foundations of Philosophical Research, 4 x 2-hour lectures, in-person co-taught graduate course (moved fully online for COVID19), University of Waikato, March-June 2020.

  • PHIL588: Foundations of Philosophical Research, 9 x 2-hour lectures, in-person co-taught graduate course, University of Waikato, February-July 2018.

  • PHIL588: Foundations of Philosophical Research, 6 x 2-hour lectures, in-person co-taught graduate course, University of Waikato, July-October 2016.

  • PHIL404: Value Theory, 6 2-hour lectures, Co-taught with Simon Keller, Victoria University of Wellington, May-June 2012.


Undergraduate Lecturing

  • COMMS200-24A(HAM): Communication Ethics, 7 2-hour lectures, 76-student FLEXI class, University of Waikato, February-June 2024.

  • PHILO225-24A(HAM): Happiness and Wellbeing, 153 student FLEXI class, University of Waikato, February-June 2024.

  • PHILO318-23G(NET): Ethics at Work, 32-student, 5-week intensive work-integrated learning course, University of Waikato, October-December 2023.

  • PHILO106-23A(HAM&NET): Social and Moral Philosophy, 12 x 1-hour lectures plus 12 online lessons, 153 student FLEXI class, University of Waikato, February-June 2023.

  • PHILO225-23A(HAM): Happiness and Wellbeing, 85 student FLEXI class, University of Waikato, March-June 2023.

  • ARTSC103-22B(HAM): Rights and Reasons, full mainly online FLEXI course, 243 students, University of Waikato, July-November 2022.

  • PHILO106-22A(HAM): Social and Moral Philosophy, 12 x 1-hour lectures plus 12 online lessons, 65 student FLEXI class, University of Waikato, March-June 2022.

  • PHILO225-22A(HAM): Happiness and Wellbeing, 117 student FLEXI class, University of Waikato, March-June 2022.

  • SOCSC301-22A(HAM): Work-integrated learning: Work-related Project, 12 x 2-hour workshops, 20 student FLEXI in-person class. University of Waikato, March-June 2022.

  • PHILO150-21B(HAM/TGA): The Big Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy, 18 x 1-hour lectures, 102 student FLEXI in-person class (with online lectures), co-taught dual location course, University of Waikato, July-October 2021.

  • PHILO225-21A(HAM): Happiness and Wellbeing, 24 x 1-hour lectures plus mini video lectures for FLEXI delivery, 100 student FLEXI class, University of Waikato, March-June 2021.

  • PHILO150-20B(HAM/TGA): The Big Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy, 18 x 1-hour lectures, 108 student in-person class (with online lectures because of COVID 19), co-taught dual location course, University of Waikato, July-October 2020.

  • PHILO390-20A(HAM): Directed Study on The Experience Machine, 1 student in-person class (moved fully online for COVID19), University of Waikato, March-June 2020.

  • PHILO225-20A(HAM): Happiness and Wellbeing, 24 x 1-hour lectures, 77 student in-person class (moved fully online for COVID19), University of Waikato, March-June 2020.

  • PHILO390-20S(HAM): Directed Study on The Experience Machine, 1 student in-person class, University of Waikato, January-February 2020.

  • PHILO225-19A(HAM): Happiness and Wellbeing, 24 x 1-hour lectures, 101 student in-person class, University of Waikato, February-June 2019.

  • PHILO106-19A(HAM): Social and Moral Philosophy, 24 x 1-hour lectures, 102 student in-person class, University of Waikato, February-June 2019.

  • PSYC211-19A(HAM & TGA): Understanding Psychological Research, 2 x 1-hour lectures for a 199 student in-person and TV-linked class, University of Waikato, March 2018.

  • PHILO390-19S(HAM): Directed Study on Taking Egoism Seriously, 1 student in-person class, University of Waikato, January-February 2019.

  • ARTSC111-18B(HAM): Social Science Theory and Action, 1 x 1-hour lecture, 201 student in-person class, University of Waikato, July-October 2018.

  • ARTSC111-18B(TGA): Social Science Theory and Action, 1 x 1-hour lecture, 41 student in-person class, University of Waikato, July-October 2018.

  • PHILO150-18B(HAM): The Big Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy, 24 x 1-hour lectures, 104 student in-person class, University of Waikato, July-October 2018.

  • PHIL390-18A(HAM): Directed Study on Methodology in Philosophy: The Freebie Problem, 1 student in-person class, University of Waikato, February-June 2018.

  • PHILO225-18A(HAM): Happiness and Wellbeing, 36 x 1-hour lectures, 82 student in-person class, University of Waikato, February-June 2018.

  • PHILO106-18A(HAM): Social and Moral Philosophy, 24 x 1-hour lectures, 103 student in-person class, University of Waikato, February-June 2018.

  • PSYC211-18A(HAM & TGA): Understanding Psychological Research, 1 x 1-hour lecture for a 181 student in-person and TV-linked class, University of Waikato, March 2018.

  • PHILO150-17B(HAM): The Big Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy, 24 x 1-hour lectures, 145 student in-person class, University of Waikato, July-October 2017.

  • PHILO106-17A(HAM): Social and Moral Philosophy, 24 x 1-hour lectures, 145 student in-person class, University of Waikato, February-June 2017.

  • PHIL208-17A(HAM): Understanding Science: How and Why it Works, 24 x 2-hour lectures, 23 student in-person class, University of Waikato, February-June 2017.

  • PSYC208-17A(HAM & TGA): Psychological Research: Analysis, Design and Measurement, 1 x 2-hour lectures for a 170 student in-person and TV-linked class, University of Waikato, September 2017.

  • PHIL218: Ethics at Work, 100-student condensed online course, equivalent to 24 x 1-hour lectures, University of Waikato, November-December 2016.

  • PHIL150: The Big Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy, 12 x 1-hour lectures, 145 student in-person class, University of Waikato, July-October 2016.

  • PSYC208: Psychological Research: Analysis, Design and Measurement, 2 x 2-hour lectures for a 170 student in-person and TV-linked class, University of Waikato, September 2016.

  • PHIL105: Science and Human Values, 1 x 30-person section, Sacramento State, (NH) Spring 2016.

  • PHIL122: Political Philosophy, 1 x 35-person section, Sacramento State, (NH) Spring 2016.

  • PHIL199: Special Problems (The Experience Machine), 1 x 1 person section, Sacramento State, (NH) Fall 2015.

  • PHIL122: Political Philosophy, 1 x 35-person section, Sacramento State, (NH) Fall 2015.

  • PHIL105: Science and Human Values, 2 x 30-person sections, Sacramento State, (NH) Fall 2015.

  • PHIL155: Philosophy of Law, 1 x 35-person section, Sacramento State, (NH) Spring 2015.​

  • PHIL105: Science and Human Values, 2 x 30-person sections, Sacramento State, (NH) Spring 2015.​

  • PHIL101: Ethics and Social Issues, 2 x 30-person sections, Sacramento State, (NH) Fall 2014.​

  • PHIL105: Science and Human Values, 1 x 30-person section, Sacramento State, (NH) Fall 2014.​

  • PHIL215/315: Happiness and Wellbeing, 20 2-hour lectures, 5 on Ancient Philosophy, and 15 on Normative Ethics, Victoria University of Wellington, November-December 2013.

  • PHIL361: Bioethics, 12 2-hour lectures, 4 on Euthanasia, 2 on Advance Directives, 2 on Informed Consent, 2 on the Ethics of Alternative Therapies, and 2 on the Ethics of Infectious Diseases and Quarantine, Victoria University of Wellington, September-October 2013.

  • PHIL106: Contemporary Ethical Issues, 12 1-hour lectures, 3 on Introduction to Moral Theory, 3 on Morality of Advertising, and 6 on Climate Ethics at Victoria University of Wellington, July-August 2013.

  • 200.315: Contemporary Political Theory, 10 3-hour lectures, on various theoretical and applied issues in political philosophy, Massey University (Manawatu), March-June, 2012.

  • PHIL104: Argument and Analysis, 6 1-hour lectures on Personal Identity, Victoria University of Wellington, Trimester 1, 2012.

  • PHIL105: The Big Questions, 6 2-hour lectures: 2 on Personal Identity, 2 The Good Life, and 2 on The Meaning of Life, Victoria University of Wellington, November 2011.​

  • PHIL361: Bioethics, 2 3-hour lectures on Advance Directives and Voluntary Euthanasia, Victoria University of Wellington, September 2011.​

  • PHIL104: Argument and Analysis, 6 1-hour lectures on Philosophy of Religion, Victoria University of Wellington, March-April 2011.​

  • PHIL106: Contemporary Ethical Issues, 5 1-hour lectures on the Morality of Advertising, Victoria University of Wellington, March-April 2011.​

  • PHIL104: Argument and Analysis, 8 1-hour lectures on Philosophy of Religion, Victoria University of Wellington, April-May 2010.​

  • PHIL106: Contemporary Ethical Issues, 6 1-hour lectures: 2 introductory lectures and 4 on the Morality of Advertising, Victoria University of Wellington, March 2010. ​

  • PHIL107: Philosophy of Media and the Arts, 6 hours of lectures on The Freedom of the Press, Victoria University of Wellington, October 2009. ​

  • PHIL105: The Big Questions, 5 1-hour lectures on Personal Identity, 3 1-hour lectures on The Meaning of Life, Victoria University of Wellington, July-October 2009. ​

  • PHIL361: Ethics and Politics Special Topic: Bioethics, 1 3-hour lecture on Severely Disabled Newborns, Victoria University of Wellington, April 2009. ​

  • PHIL104: Argument and Analysis, 7 1-hour lectures on Moral Relativism and Why Be Moral?, Victoria University of Wellington, March-April 2009. ​

  • PHIL106: Contemporary Ethical Issues, 6 1-hour lectures: 2 introductory lectures and 4 on the Morality of Advertising, Victoria University of Wellington, March 2009.​

  • PHIL105: The Big Questions, 6 1-hour lectures, 3 on Time Travel and 3 on Death and The Meaning of Life, Victoria University of Wellington, September 2008. ​

  • PHIL/POLS264: Ethics and International Affairs, 3 1-hour lectures on Ethics & Why Killing is Wrong, Victoria University of Wellington, July 2008. ​

  • PHIL106: Contemporary Ethical Issues, 6 1-hour lectures on Happiness, Victoria University of Wellington, May 2008.​

  • PHIL/POLS361: Ethics and Politics Special Topic: Philosophy of Economics, 1 hour lecture on Measuring Well-Being, Victoria University of Wellington, March 2008. ​

  • PHIL123: Critical Thinking, 1 2-hour lecture on Creative Thinking, Victoria University of Wellington, November 2007. ​


Guest Lecturing

  • The method of cases in philosophy,  3 x 25-minute lecture videos for SSRES200-20B (HAM): Social Science Research Methods, University of Waikato, August 2020.

  • How to "win" at philosophy with x-phi. 2-hour lecture for Experimental Philosophy students (PHIL373-19B), Victoria University of Wellington, September 2019.

  • Philosophical Challenges to Positive Psychology. 25 minute lecture for Positive Psychology (151) students (PSYC344-19A), University of Waikato, April 2019.

  • Philosophical Challenges to Positive Psychology. 20 minute lecture for Positive Psychology students (PSYC344-18A), University of Waikato, March 2018.

  • Philosophical Challenges to Positive Psychology. 20 minute lecture for Positive Psychology students (PSYC344-17A), University of Waikato, March 2017.

  • Happiness in the Enlightenment. 1 hour lecture for History of Ethics students, California State University Sacramento, February 2014.

  • Happiness: Causes and Actions, 1 hour lecture for senior experimental design students at Victoria University of Wellington, July 2013. 

  • Happiness and Wellbeing from a Philosophical Perspective, 1 hour lecture for senior human geography students at Victoria University of Wellington, September 2012. 

  • Happiness: Causes and Actions, 1 hour lecture for senior experimental design students at Victoria University of Wellington, September 2012. 

  • Wellbeing and Public Policy for the Master of Public Policy class, Victoria University of Wellington, October 2011. 

 

Other Lecturing

  • Philosophy: Asking the hard questions since about 3000BCE, short lecture to Social Science students, University of Waikato, 25 February 2020.

  • What is philosophy? should I study it? Short lecture to new Social Science students, University of Waikato, 19 February 2019.

  • Happiness: Its Meaning Measurement and Importance, 3 2-hour lectures, one on each of the following three topics: what 'happiness' means, how happiness is measured, and what role should happiness play in informing public policy. I created this course and it ran as part of Victoria University of Wellington's Continuing Education Programme, July 2012.​

  • Happiness: Its Meaning Measurement and Significance, 3 90-minute lectures, one on each of the following three topics: what 'happiness' means, how happiness is measured, and what we should do about happiness on an individual and a societal level. I created this course and it ran as part of Victoria University of Wellington's Continuing Education Programme, October-November 2009. ​

  • Introduction to Philosophy, 6 1-hour lectures (whole course) on a range of subjects, Wellington High School, August-September 2008. ​

  • Introduction to Ethics, 4 2-hour lectures (whole course) on Ethics, Kapiti Workers' Educational Association, April 2008. ​


Tutoring

  • 71203: Business Ethics, The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, 2007, 2008 & 2009.

  • PHIL105: The Big Questions, Victoria University of Wellington, 2008.

  • PHIL/POLS/INTP264: Ethics and International Affairs, Victoria University of Wellington, 2008.

  • PHIL104: Argument and Analysis, Victoria University of Wellington, 2008. ​

  • PHIL106:Contemporary Ethical Issues, Victoria University of Wellington, 2007.

  • PHIL107: Philosophy of Media and the Arts, Victoria University of Wellington, 2007 & 2006.

  • PHIL123: Critical Thinking, Victoria University of Wellington, 2006.

POLICY WORK

  • Commissioned to present on New Zealand wellbeing and public policy initiatives and facilitate workshops for the city government of Dubai (2022).

  • Invited to write a working paper for, and give a presentation to, the New Zealand Treasury on Living Standards, Wellbeing, and Public Policy (2016).

  • Invited to the Living Standards workshop at the New Zealand Treasury October 2013.

  • Invited to comment on Statistics New Zealand's revamp of it's sustainable development index and reports, August 2013.

  • Invited to participate as an expert in the Child Maltreatment Predictive Risk Modelling Ethics Review Workshop in Wellington, April 2013.

  • Invited to attend the April 2012 'High-Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly on Happiness and Wellbeing: A New Economic Paradigm' by the Prime Minister of Bhutan and took part in the "Experts" working group. My work with the "Experts" group is ongoing and is reported on here: Link

  • Helped Simon Keller and Nick Agar to write a report on the ethics of data mining for the New Zealand Ministry of Social Development, June 2011-February 2012.

  • Invited to present on 'Wellbeing and Measures of Subjective Wellbeing' to the wellbeing group at Statistics New Zealand, December 2011. Link

  • Advised the New Zealand Treasury wellbeing group on their Living Standards Framework, 2010-2011. Link

PUBLIC ACADEMIC WORK

  • Presenter of Philosophy Now, a monthly discussion of the big practical questions in philosophy on Radio New Zealand Nights (May 2024-). Link

  • Facilitating an amateur philosophy group that meets fortnightly in Hamilton (October 2016-).

  • Wrote a series of short funny philosophy articles with Lorenzo Buscicchi and Nick Munn for Daily Philosophy (2021).

  • Gave a lecture on Can We Trust Our Moral Common Sense? to high school students at Rio Americano, October 2014 & December 2015.

  • Participated in a roundtable discussion of Mood Bank, a "pop-up bank where you can visualize, deposit and exchange feelings". It is an interactive art experiment designed to get depositors to reflect on the relationship between their moods and corporate objectives, 20 March 2014. Link

  • Gave a public lecture series on happiness and public policy through Victoria University of Wellington in July 2012.

  • Interviewed for, or featured in, over 46 public media articles and programmes, including VICE Magazine, BBC Future, 1 live TV interview, 3 live radio interviews (e.g.), and a long-form podcast interview.

  • Invited to give a 90-minute talk entitled The Problem with Happiness to the Café Scientifique series in Lower Hutt, September 2010.

  • Gave a public lecture series on happiness through Victoria University of Wellington in October-November 2009. Link

  • Co-hosted the philosophical radio programme The Meaning of Life on Human FM in February-May 2009.

GRANTS, COMPETITIVE RESEARCH FUNDING, AND COMMISSIONED RESEARCH/PARTICIPATION

  • ALPSS Interdisciplinary Collaboration Research Grant (2021) (UoW) for the project: Special issue of the International Journal of Wellbeing on "Interdisciplinary Wellbeing Research" (NZ$8,200).

  • University of Waikato Strategic Investment Fund grant for creating a MOOC on happiness and wellbeing for the FutureLearn platform (NZ$28,000).

  • Invited to be a discussant at the Happiness and Well-Being: Integrating Research Across the Disciplines: Capstone Conference (fully funded trip for ~NZ$3,000) in St. Louis, Missouri, USA (2018).

  • University of Waikato Summer Scholar Project funded for NZ$5,000 (2017).

  • Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (UoW) Contestable Research Grant for NZ$7,670 to fund "What Really Matters" (2017).

  • Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (UoW) Contestable Academic Research Visitor Grant for NZ$2,940 (2017).

  • Commissioned (NZ$12,000) to write a policy white paper for the New Zealand Treasury on Living Standards, Wellbeing, and Public Policy (2016).

  • University of Waikato Research Trust Contestable Fund Grant for NZ$2,000 to fund "Securing the last NROs for 2018 PBRF" (2016).

  • Awarded $2,576 from the 2016 College of Arts and Letters Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity Award at Sacramento State for Experimental Philosophy on What Really Matters (2015-2016).

  • Awarded a share of $5,000 (split with Russell DiSilvestro, Kyle Swan, and Christina Bellon) from the Provost's Research Incentive Fund at Sacramento State for developing a large grant proposal on student wellbeing and success (2015).

  • Awarded a competitive fee waiver for a 3-day training workshop on grant writing by the Office of Research Affairs, Sacramento State (2015).

  • Awarded $5,000 from the Provost's Research Incentive Fund at Sacramento State for experimental philosophy research on trolley problems (2014).

  • Awarded US$750 from the Halloran History of Well-Being Project's contestable research grant pool to hire a research assistant to help with my research on 'Western Historical Traditions of Well-Being' (2013).

  • Invited to participate in Halloran History of Wellbeing project and the History of Wellbeing Symposium (fully funded, including honorarium and author payment, for a total of US$7800) in Philadelphia (2013-2015).

  • Lead researcher on a successful VUW Summer Research Scholar project grant application (for 2012-2013).

  • Named on 2 successful external funding grants to support the operations of the International Journal of Wellbeing (for 2011 and 2012; total NZ$25,000).

PRIZES

Professional prizes:

  • University of Waikato Early Career Academic Excellence Award of NZ$3,000 (2018).

  • University of Waikato Teaching Excellence Award of NZ$3,000 (2018).

  • Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (UoW) Teaching Excellence Award of NZ$2,000 (2018).

  • University of Waikato Teaching Excellence Award of NZ$3,000 (2017).

  • Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (UoW) Teaching Excellence Award of NZ$2,000 (2017).

  • Awarded two prizes (one shared with my co-author Larah van der Meer) of £500 each from the Observatory on Responsible Research and Innovation in ICT for articles I submitted in 2013.


Student prizes and scholarships (Victoria University of Wellington; 2005-2012).

  • Victoria Doctoral Completion Award (for finishing on time) in 2012.

  • Doctoral Scholarship/Assistantship from Victoria University of Wellington (for Philosophy study) in 2008.

  • Victoria University of Wellington Masters Scholarship (for Philosophy study) in 2006.

  • Victoria University of Wellington Graduate Scholarship (for Philosophy study) in 2005.

  • Roderic Alley Prize for the best essay on human rights at Victoria University of Wellington in 2005.

OTHER NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Convener of the Philosophy Programme at the University of Waikato (2020-2022).

  • Undergraduate Advisor for the Philosophy Programme at the University of Waikato (2018-2020).

  • Official collaborator in the International Wellbeing Study (Philosophy cohort, 2009-2013). Link

  • Organised the Philosophy Student Seminar Series at Victoria University of Wellington for two years.

  • Organised the Philosophy Student Retreat at Victoria University of Wellington for three years.

  • Set up and coordinated the inaugural Campus Coaches peer support programme at Victoria University of Wellington in 2007.

  • Fulfilled various roles for Youthline Wellington Inc. (a telephone counselling service for youth) from 2000-2007, including Deputy Chairperson, Supervisor, Trainer, and Telephone Counsellor.

ONGOING TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

  • 3-day workshop on Research Proposal Writing, California State University, Sacramento, August 2015.

  • 1-hour Introduction to Camtasia workshop, California State University, Sacramento, August 2015.

  • 1-hour training on general education and graduation requirements at California State University, Sacramento, July 2015.

  • Full day competitive entry workshop, American Association of Philosophy Teachers Workshop, San Francisco State, March 2015.

  • 3-hour workshop on factor analysis, regression and ANOVA with SPSS, run by Mohsen Joshanloo at VUW, August 2013.

  • 2-hour media training workshop at VUW, July 2013.

  • 2-hour workshop on communicating academic research at VUW, June 2013.

  • 2-hour workshop on research funding for early career researchers at VUW, May 2013.

  • 2-day course on Maori language (Te Reo) and culture (Tikanga), run by Mike Ross at VUW, May 2013.

  • 1-day conference on 'Teaching Diversity' run by Ako Victoria at VUW, April 2013.

  • 6-hour course for supervisors titled 'Orientation to Postgraduate Supervision' run by the Faculty of Graduate Research at VUW, November 2012

  • 3-hour course for supervisors entitled 'Insights into Successful Supervisory Practice', run by Margaret Kiley at VUW, October 2012

  • 2-hour course for supervisors on supervising research theses, run by Sue Starfield at VUW, September 2012

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