“Research” in Philosophy tends to fall either under the umbrella of scholarly rigorous conceptual analysis and interpretation giving rise to critical constructive advances in thinking about a subject matter or philosophical problem, or, under the umbrella of empirical philosophy.  My research efforts most definitively fall under the former branch which is, arguably, the traditional endeavour of Philosophy.  My research also falls under two University of Adelaide acknowledged areas of research strength for the School of Humanities and Philosophy: ethics and aesthetics.  I have recently published a review of Kant’s ‘Doctrine of Right’: A Commentary, The Philosophical Quarterly (2014); (doi: 10.1093/pq/pqt049); and, an original article, Cinematic realism revisited: A Kantian perspective, is forthcoming in Journal of Philosophical Research (Volume 41 (2016)). I am also currently working on a related paper on Andre Bazin’s cinematic realism which I intent to submit to the journal Philosophy by mid-2016.   This is in addition to re-writing sections of a paper on Kant’s Humanity principle considered in light of his theory of ideas of reason to be re-submitted Kantian Review during 2016.  Completion of the above projects will free me to devote all my research time to completing a monograph, Cinematic realism revisited, for an upcoming Brill Book Series. 

FURTHER DETAIL

FACULTY SMALL GRANT – I received a second-round Faculty Small Grant in 2011 to work on a project in Philosophy of Film that focused on aesthetic, epistemological, and moral-political critiques of cinematic realism; I have defended cinematic realism through a Kantian aesthetics framework that relates morality and art in a way that has intrinsic transformative power and contrasted this with more externally opposed and mechanical conceptionsn of art's transformative function.

BRILL MONOGRAPH PROPOSAL

Robert Sinnerbrink, a well-known Australian scholar in Philosophy of Film with whom I have corresponded drew attention in 2015 to a Brill Book Series initiative inviting submissions of proposals for  75000 word monographs on a topic in Philosophy of Film.  My proposal on Cinematic Realism addressing different conceptions of realism in film, from earlierst film theory to the current day, and including critical assessment of aesthetic and political-ideological critiques of cinematic realism to shed light on the controversal nature of realism, was accepted. My manuscript is in the early stages of development.  For more detail on the series:

www.botzbornstein.org/#!brill-book-series/c6rg

KANT'S MORAL PHILOSOPHY

I consider this the most important area of my research and scholarship and am committed to publishing if possible in an internationally recognised specialist A* philosophy journal Kantian Review.  A version of my paper on Kant’s humanity principle, if accepted and published, would have considerable impact both in terms of Kant scholarship and applied ethics. My approach to Kant is systemic and engages with the spectrum of his metaphysical commitments, avoiding trends to "empiricise" Kant.