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53True 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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1177Emotion and UnderstandingIn G. Brun, U. Dogluoglu & D. Kuenzle (eds.), Epistemology and Emotions, . 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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27Richard 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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12Representation, Comprehension, and CompetenceSocial Research: An International Quarterly 51. 1984.
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144Construction 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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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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51Nelson Goodman's new riddle of induction (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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15The philosophy of Nelson Goodman: selected essays (edited book)Garland. 1997.v. 1. Nominalism, constructivism, and relativism in the work of Nelson Goodman -- v. 2. Nelson Goodman's new riddle of induction -- v. 3. Nelson Goodman's philosophy of art -- v. 4. Nelson Goodman's theory of symbols and its applications.
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59Between the absolute and the arbitraryCornell University Press. 1997.In Between the Absolute and the Arbitrary, Catherine Z. Elgin maps a constructivist alternative to the standard Anglo-American conception of philosophy's ...
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195The epistemic efficacy of stupiditySynthese 74 (3). 1988.I show that it follows from both externalist and internalist theories that stupid people may be in a better position to know than smart ones. This untoward consequence results from taking our epistemic goal to be accepting as many truths as possible and rejecting as many falsehoods as possible, combined with a recognition that the standard for acceptability cannot be set too high, else scepticism will prevail. After showing how causal, reliabilist, and coherentist theories devalue intelligence, …Read more
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6From knowledge to understandingIn Stephen Hetherington (ed.), Epistemology Futures, Oxford University Press. pp. 199--215. 2006.
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23Reconceptions In Philosophy and Other Arts and Sciences, by Nelson Goodman and Catherine Z. Elgin (review)Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 51 (3): 710-713. 1991.
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15Review: D. M. Armstrong, A Combinatorial Theory of Possibility; Brian Skyrms, Tractarian Nominalism (review)Journal of Symbolic Logic 56 (1): 352-355. 1991.
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28Williams on truthfulnessPhilosophical Quarterly 55 (219): 343-352. 2005.Truth and Truthfulness: an Essay in Genealogy. By Bernard Williams
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6Die Macht der Sparsamkeit Fiktionale, indirekte und metaphorische Rede in der Symboltheorie Nelson GoodmansDeutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie 45 (4): 487-500. 1997.
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34Outstanding problems: Replies to zif criticsSynthese 95 (1). 1993.Answers set the stage for new questions. Reconfigured terrains require new maps. We endedReconceptions with the words constructionalism always has plenty to do. The papers in this volume prove our point. They raise issues and disclose avenues that merit further investigation. In what follows, I venture some brief replies that answer objections and indicate areas that deserve further study.
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114Creation as reconfiguration: Art in the advancement of scienceInternational Studies in the Philosophy of Science 16 (1). 2002.Cognitive advancement is not always a matter of acquiring new information. It often consists in reconfiguration--in reorganizing a domain so that hitherto overlooked or underemphasized features, patterns, opportunities, and resources come to light. Several modes of reconfiguration prominent in the arts--metaphor, fiction, exemplification, and perspective--play important roles in science as well. They do not perform the same roles as literal, descriptive, perspectiveless scientific truths. But to…Read more
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13Nominalism, constructivism, and relativism in the work of Nelson Goodman (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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250"The Legacy of" Two Dogmas"American Philosophical Quarterly 48 (3): 267. 2011.W. V. Quine is famous, or perhaps infamous, for his repudiation of the analytic/synthetic distinction and kindred dualisms—the necessary/contingent dichotomy and the a priori/a posteriori dichotomy. As these dualisms have come back into vogue in recent years, it might seem that the denial of the dualisms is no part of Quine's enduring legacy. Such a conclusion is unwarranted—not only because the dualisms are deeply problematic, but because "Two Dogmas of Empiricism" haunts even those who want to…Read more
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22Art and educationIn Harvey Siegel (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Education, Oxford University Press. pp. 319. 2009.
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Epistemology |
Aesthetics |
Areas of Interest
Metaphysics and Epistemology |