Dr. Russell Blackford
Russell Blackford, Ph.D., Dip.Ed, LLB (Hons) is a Fellow of the
Institute for Ethics and
Emerging Technologies and a columnist
for Betterhumans. In Australia, he
is best known for his frequent articles
in the high-profile journal of ideas,
Quadrant Magazine where his articles cover such
subjects as the prospect of computer superintelligence; post-modernist
theory and its problems; the role of the universities; cyberspace;
bioethical issues, including cloning, stem cell research, and genetic
engineering; radical life extension; religion and science; contemporary
issues in philosophical ethics; and debates about a wide range of social
and political issues, including free speech, racism, and refugee
policy. These articles include Singularity
Shadow,
Who’s Afraid of the Brave New World?,
Genetics, Ethics and the State,
Stephen Jay Gould on Science and Religion, and
Women and Physics, Philosophy and Cyberspace.
Russ is
an Australian writer, critic, and sessional lecturer at the
School of
Philosophy and Bioethics,
Monash University. He is
based in Melbourne, Victoria. As a creative writer, he specializes in
science fiction, fantasy and horror. His non-fiction work frequently
deals
with issues involving science and society, particularly philosophical
bioethics,
cyberculture, and the history and current state of the science
fiction genre.
His books include
Dark Futures (Terminator 2: The New John Connor Chronicles,
Book 1),
An Evil Hour (Terminator 2: The New John Connor Chronicles, Book
2),
Times of Trouble (Terminator 2: The New John Connor Chronicles, Book
3),
Kong Reborn, and he coauthored
Strange Constellations : A History of Australian Science Fiction
(Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and
Fantasy).
He won the
Aurealis Award and the Ditmar
Award for
The Sword of God.
Russ earned first class honors degrees in both Arts
(University of Newcastle)
and Law (University of Melbourne), a Ph.D. on the supposed return to myth
in modern fiction at the
University of Newcastle and a Master of
Bioethics degree at Monash University.
He earned a Dip.Ed from the University of Newcastle and a LLB (Hons 1)
from the University of Melbourne.