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54True EnoughMIT Press. 2017.Science relies on models and idealizations that are known not to be true. Even so, science is epistemically reputable. To accommodate science, epistemology should focus on understanding rather than knowledge and should recognize that the understanding of a topic need not be factive. This requires reconfiguring the norms of epistemic acceptability. If epistemology has the resources to accommodate science, it will also have the resources to show that art too advances understanding
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1208Emotion and UnderstandingIn Georg Brun, Ulvi Dogluoglu & Dominique Kuenzle (eds.), Epistemology and Emotions, Ashgate Publishing Company. 2008.
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55Indeterminacy, underdetermination, and the anomalism of the mentalSynthese 45 (2). 1980.Davidson's token-Token identity theory is based on the indeterminacy of translation. I argue that psychological theories, Like other theories, Are underdetermined by the evidence, And that their reduction, Like other reductions, Is subject to the indeterminacy of translation. This does not invalidate reduction, But it does raise epistemic difficulties. Accepting a claim as law-Like involves uncertainty and risk. There are ideological reasons for thinking that psychophysical reduction involves ri…Read more
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Paul Gochet, Introduction 249 Hourya Sinaceur, Du formalisme à la constructivité: le finitisme 251 Michael Detlefsen, Hilbert's Formalism 285 Yvon Gauthier, Hilbert et la logique interne des mathématiques 305 (review)Revue Internationale de Philosophie 47 247. 1993.
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30The Epistemic Normativity of Knowing-HowIn Astrid Wagner & Ulrich Dirks (eds.), Abel Im Dialog: Perspektiven der Zeichen- Und Interpretationsphilosophie, De Gruyter. pp. 483-498. 2018.
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12Representation, Comprehension, and CompetenceSocial Research: An International Quarterly 51. 1984.
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26Richard Foley's Intellectual Trust in Oneself and Others (review)Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 68 (3): 724-734. 2004.Descartes’ demon is a crafty little devil. Despite centuries of effort by exceedingly clever thinkers, he continues to elude our clutches. Skepticism endures. The reason, Richard Foley thinks, is not hard to discover. It is simply impossible to break through the Cartesian circle. Our only means of vindicating a claim to knowledge or rational belief is to show that it is produced or sustained by our best epistemic methods, that it satisfies the best standards we can devise for rational belief. Th…Read more
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14Philosophical Inquiry: Classic and Contemporary Readings (edited book)Hackett Publishing Company. 2007.This meticulously edited anthology provides a comprehensive, problems-oriented entree to philosophy. Substantial readings from major classical and contemporary thinkers--featuring many of Hackett's widely acclaimed translations--are supported by a general introduction, engaging introductions to each major topic, and a glossary of important philosophical terms.
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59Construction and CognitionTheoria 24 (2): 135-146. 2009._The Structure of Appearance_ presents a phenomenalist system which constructs enduring visible objects out of qualia. Nevertheless Goodman does not espouse phenomenalism. Why not? In answering this question this paper explicates Goodman’s views about the nature and functions of constructional systems, the prospects of reductionism, and the character of epistemology.
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129``Is Understanding Factive?"In ``Is Understanding Factive?", Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 322--30. 2009.
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Eine Neubestimmung der Ästhetik. Goodmans epistemische WendeIn Nelson Goodman, Jakob Steinbrenner, Oliver R. Scholz & Gerhard Ernst (eds.), Symbole, Systeme, Welten: Studien zur Philosophie Nelson Goodmans, Synchron. 2005.
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Relocating aesthetics: Goodman's epistemic turnRevue Internationale de Philosophie 46 (185): 171-186. 1993.
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161The Relativity of Fact and the Objectivity of ValueThe Harvard Review of Philosophy 6 (1): 4-15. 1996.
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80Nelson Goodman's theory of symbols and its applications (edited book)Garland. 1997.A challenger of traditions and boundaries A pivotal figure in 20th-century philosophy, Nelson Goodman has made seminal contributions to metaphysics, epistemology, aesthetics, and the philosophy of language, with surprising connections that cut across traditional boundaries. In the early 1950s, Goodman, Quine, and White published a series of papers that threatened to torpedo fundamental assumptions of traditional philosophy. They advocated repudiating analyticity, necessity, and prior assumptions…Read more
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36Take If from Me: The Epistemological Status of TestimonyPhilosophy and Phenomenological Research 65 (2): 291-308. 2002.Testimony consists in imparting information without supplying evidence or argument to back one's claims. To what extent does testimony convey epistemic warrant? C. J. A. Coady argues, on Davidsonian grounds, that (1) most testimony is true, hence (2) most testimony supplies warrant sufficient for knowledge. I appeal to Grice's maxims to undermine Coady's argument and to show that the matter is more complicated and context‐sensitive than is standardly rocognized. Informative exchanges take place …Read more
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93Making Manifest: The Role of Exemplification in the Sciences and the ArtsPrincipia: An International Journal of Epistemology 15 (3): 399-413. 2011.Exemplification is the relation of an example to whatever it is an example of. Goodman maintains that exemplification is a symptom of the aesthetic: although not a necessary condition, it is an indicator that symbol is functioning aesthetically. I argue that exemplification is as important in science as it is in art. It is the vehicle by which experiments make aspects of nature manifest. I suggest that the difference between exemplars in the arts and the sciences lies in the way they exemplify. …Read more
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140Interpretation and understandingErkenntnis 52 (2): 175-183. 2000.To understand a term or other symbol, I argue that it is generally neither necessary nor sufficient to assign it a unique determinate reference. Independent of and prior to investigation, it is frequently indeterminate not only whether a sentence is true, but also what its truth conditions are. Nelson Goodman's discussions of likeness of meaning are deployed to explain how this can be so.
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18Ejemplos elocuentesEnrahonar: Quaderns de Filosofía 49 69-89. 2012.Se considera que la ciencia es el espejo de la naturaleza, mientras que el arte imita la vida. De ser así, las representaciones en ambas disciplinas deberían asemejarse a sus objetos. En contra de tales teorías miméticas, argumento que la ejemplificación y no la simple semejanza es crucial. Explico en qué consiste la ejemplificación: una relación referencial de un ejemplar con alguna de sus características. Puesto que la ejemplificación es selectiva, un ejemplar puede diferir de su referente en …Read more
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74Review of Henk W. de regt, Sabina leonelli, Kai eigner (eds.), Scientific Understanding: Philosophical Perspectives (review)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2010 (1). 2010.
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606Understanding and the factsPhilosophical Studies 132 (1). 2007.If understanding is factive, the propositions that express an understanding are true. I argue that a factive conception of understanding is unduly restrictive. It neither reflects our practices in ascribing understanding nor does justice to contemporary science. For science uses idealizations and models that do not mirror the facts. Strictly speaking, they are false. By appeal to exemplification, I devise a more generous, flexible conception of understanding that accommodates science, reflects o…Read more
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Epistemology |
Aesthetics |
Areas of Interest
Metaphysics and Epistemology |