Beauty, Law and the Lies of Post-Modernism | Mark Fowler & Ian Callinan

About this episode

Mark Fowler and Ian Callinan discuss the effectiveness of Australia's Constitution and the challenges posed by modern legal philosophies.

What makes Australia’s Constitution so effective, and why do so few people understand it? In this interview, Ian Callinan and Mark Fowler unpack the origins of our legal system, the role of philosophy in shaping law, and the importance of keeping power accountable. They also tackle modern challenges: the push for a Human Rights Act, the rise of postmodern thinking, and the growing tension between individual “truths” and objective justice. The result is a powerful discussion on the future of law, freedom, and society. Mark Fowler is an Adjunct Associate Professor at his alma mater, the University of New England School of Law, and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame School of Law, Sydney. He is an Appeals Panel member for the Australian Council for International Development, the peak body for Australian non-government organisations (NGOs) involved in international development and humanitarian action. He is the author of Beauty and The Law . The Honourable Ian Callinan was appointed as a Justice of the High Court in February 1998. He remained a Justice of the High Court until 1 September 2007. He has mediated and arbitrated in an extensive range of…

People in this episode

Host: John Anderson

Guests: Mark Fowler, Ian Callinan

Topics covered

• Australia's Constitution
• legal system origins
• philosophy and law
• Human Rights Act
• postmodern thinking
• individual truths
• objective justice

Keywords

• Australia
• Constitution
• law
• philosophy
• Human Rights Act
• postmodernism
• justice

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of New England School of Law, University of Notre Dame School of Law, Sydney, Australian Council for International Development

Books & works: Beauty and The Law

Places: Australia

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