Stephanie Collins

My research focuses on social ontology. I develop theories for understanding human groups, including groups’ ontological status, mental and epistemic capacities, agency, responsibility, and duties. I’m keenly interested in applying these theories to states and businesses. I also work on care ethics, associative duties, human rights, and the nature of individuals’ obligations in the face of moral collective action problems.

From 2020-2023, I am working on a major three-year project called “Organisations’ Wrongdoing: From Metaphysics to Practice,” which is being funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. 

To find downloadable versions of all my published work, and information about the book associated with my current project, see my personal website: https://stephaniecollins.xyz/.

I’m an associate editor at Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy and Journal of Applied Philosophy, an area editor in political philosophy at Ergo, a member of the editorial panel at Thought, and a faculty advisor at the Undergraduate Philosophy Journal of Australasia. From 2016 to 2021, I was an associate editor at Analysis. I’m vice-president, treasurer, and steering committee member at the International Social Ontology Society. I’m on the undergraduate engagement committee of the Australasian Association of Philosophy.

I started at Monash in 2022. In 2018-2021, I was a researcher in the Dianoia Institute of Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University. From 2013-2018, I was a Lecturer in Political Theory at the University of Manchester. I got my PhD in Philosophy from ANU in 2013. Before that, I did a Master of Public Policy and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) at the University of Auckland.

In 2019, I was a Visiting Research Professor at the University of Vienna, working on the ERC-funded project The Normative and Moral Foundations of Group Agency. In 2017-18, I was a Mind Association Research Fellow.

I'm always interested in doing media and public engagement related to my research. You can find out about my past media work here: https://stephaniecollins.xyz/media/

I am interested in supervising research students in all areas of analytic moral, social, and political philosophy.