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149Rescher on the Justification of RationalityInformal Logic 14 (1). 1992.In his recent book Rationality, Nicholas Rescher offers a provocative attempt to justify rationality. In this paper I critically assess that attempt. After clarifying the philosophical problem at issue, I examine Rescher's effort to solve it. I argue that Rescher's justification succeeds, but that he mistakenly characterizes it as pragmatic. It succeeds only if it is understood non-pragmatically. Consequently, Rescher must give up either his justificatory argument, or his commitment to a pragmat…Read more
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253In Defense of the Objective Epistemic Approach to ArgumentationInformal Logic 26 (1): 91-101. 2006.In this paper we defend a particular version of the epistemic approach to argumentation. We advance some general considerations in favor of the approach and then examine the ways in which different versions of it play out with respect to the theory of fallacies, which we see as central to an understanding of argumentation. Epistemic theories divide into objective and subjective versions. We argue in favor of the objective version, showing that it provides a better account than its subjectivist r…Read more
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139Is it irrational to be immoral? A response to FreemanEducational Philosophy and Theory 10 (2). 1978.
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236Why Should Educators Care about Argumentation?Informal Logic 17 (2). 1995.Educators who are reflective about their educational endeavours ask themselves questions like: What is the aim of education? What moral, methodological, or other constraints govern our educational activities and efforts? One natural place to look for answers is in the philosophy of education, which (among other things) tries to provide systematic answers to these questions. One general answer offered by the philosophy of education is that the aim of education consists in fostering the developmen…Read more
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171Farewell to FeyerabendInquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 32 (3). 1989.It is with some trepidation that I offer this critical review of Feyerabend's new book. I do not relish the prospect of getting involved in one of the nasty little fights Feyerabend picks with those who criticize his work. Nevertheless, Feyerabend's work cries out for critical attention. Of particular interest is the degree to which this new work deepens or enhances Feyerabend's earlier castigations of Reason. Fans of Feyerabend will be disappointed to learn that Feyerabend's philosophy is not d…Read more
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29Naturalized philosophy of science and natural science educationScience & Education 2 (1): 57-68. 1993.
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77Truth, problem solving and the rationality of scienceStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 14 (2): 89-112. 1983.
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20Epistemology, critical thinking, and critical thinking pedagogyArgumentation 3 (2): 127-140. 1989.
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198Multiculturalism and the possibility of transcultural educational and philosophical idealsPhilosophy 74 (3): 387-409. 1999.How should we think about the interrelationships that obtain among Philosophy, Education, and Culture? In this paper I explore the contours of one such interrelationship: namely, the way in which educational and (other) philosophical ideals transcend individual cultures. I do so by considering the contemporary educational and philosophical commitment to multiculturalism. Consideration of multiculturalism, I argue, reveals important aspects of the character of both educational and philosophical i…Read more
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56A symposium on epistemology and education, part two: IntroductionEducational Theory 61 (5): 513-514. 2011.
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116Rationality redeemed?: further dialogues on an educational idealRoutedge. 1997.In Educating Reason, Harvey Siegel presented the case regarding rationality and critical thinking as fundamental education ideals. In Rationality Redeemed? , a collection of essays written since that time, he develops this view, responds to major criticisms raised against it, and engages those critics in dialogue. In developing his ideas and responding to critics, Siegel addresses main currents in contemporary thought, including feminism, postmodernism and multiculturalism.
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107Rationality and JudgmentMetaphilosophy 35 (5): 597-613. 2004.Philosophical/epistemic theories of rationality differ over the role of judgment in rational argumentation. According to the “classical model” of rationality, rational justification is a matter of conformity with explicit rules or principles. Critics of the classical model, such as Harold Brown and Trudy Govier, argue that the model is subject to insuperable difficulties. They propose, instead, that rationality be understood, ultimately, in terms of judgment rather than rules. In this article I …Read more
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93Relativism, Incoherence, and the Strong ProgrammeIn Richard Schantz & Markus Seidel (eds.), The Problem of Relativism in the Sociology of (Scientific) Knowledge, De Gruyter. pp. 41-64. 2011.
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348Critical ThinkingIn Nigel Blake (ed.), The Blackwell guide to the philosophy of education, Blackwell. 2003.This chapter contains sections titled: The Nature of Critical Thinking Critical Thinking: Skills/Abilities and Dispositions Critical Thinking and the Problem of Generalizability The Relationship Between Critical Thinking and Creative Thinking “Critical Thinking” and Other Terms Referring to Thinking Critical Thinking and Education Critiques of Critical Thinking Conclusion.
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77Hooker's revolutionary regulatory realismStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 29 (1): 129-141. 1998.
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56On Some Recent Challenges to the Ideal of ReasonInquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines 15 (4): 2-16. 1996.
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253Empirical psychology, naturalized epistemology, and first philosophyPhilosophy of Science 51 (4): 667-676. 1984.In his 1983 article, Paul A. Roth defends the Quinean project of naturalized epistemology from the criticism presented in my 1980 article. In this note I would like to respond to Roth's effort. I will argue that, while helpful in advancing and clarifying the issues, Roth's defense of naturalized epistemology does not succeed. The primary topic to be clarified is Quine's "no first philosophy" doctrine; but I will address myself to other points as well
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232Not by Skill Alone: The Centrality of Character to Critical ThinkingInformal Logic 15 (3). 1993.Connie Missimer (1990) challenges what she calls the Character View, according to which critical thinking involves both skill and character, and argues for a rival conception-the Skill View-according to which critical thinking is a matter of skill alone. In this paper I criticize the Skill View and defend the Character View from Missimer's critical arguments
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432Justification, discovery and the naturalizing of epistemologyPhilosophy of Science 47 (2): 297-321. 1980.Reichenbach's well-known distinction between the context of discovery and the context of justification has recently come under attack from several quarters. In this paper I attempt to reconsider the distinction and evaluate various recent criticisms of it. These criticisms fall into two main groups: those which directly challenge Reichenbach's distinction; and those which (I argue) indirectly but no less seriously challenge that distinction by rejecting the related distinction between psychology…Read more
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167Gimme That Old-Time Enlightenment Meta-NarrativeInquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines 11 (4): 1-1. 1993.
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41Reason and Education: Essays in Honor of Israel SchefflerSpringer Verlag. 1996.Israel Scheffler is the pre-eminent philosopher of education in the English-speaking world today. This volume collects seventeen original, invited papers on Scheffler's philosophy of education by scholars from around the world. The papers address the wide range of topics that Scheffler's work in philosophy of education has addressed, including the aims of education, cognition and emotion, teaching, the language of education, science education, moral education, religious education, and human pote…Read more
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157'Radical' pedagogy requires 'conservative' epistemologyJournal of Philosophy of Education 29 (1). 1995.Many defences of multiculturalist educational initiatives conjoin a‘liberal’ or ‘radical’ moral/political view—that education should endeavour to treat students with respect, and that respecting non-dominant,‘marginalised’ students requires protecting them from the hegemonic domination of the dominant culture—with what appears to be an equally radical epistemological view, according to which respecting minority students and cultures requires respecting their culturally specific epistemologies, w…Read more
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192Is confirmation differential?British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 40 (1): 105-119. 1989.
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Introduction: Philosophy of Education and PhilosophyIn The Oxford handbook of philosophy of education, Oxford University Press. pp. 3--8. 2009.
Coral Gables, Florida, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
| Epistemology |
| Philosophy of Physical Science |
Areas of Interest
| Metaphilosophy |
| Philosophy of Religion |
| Other Academic Areas |