Brandeis University
Department of Philosophy
PhD, 1975
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Epistemology
Aesthetics
Areas of Interest
Metaphysics and Epistemology
  •  168
    Nominalism, realism and objectivity
    Synthese 196 (2): 519-534. 2019.
    I argue that constructive nominalism is preferable to scientific realism. Rather than reflecting without distortion the way the mind-independent world is, theories refract. They provide an understanding of the world as modulated by a particular theory. Truth is defined within a theoretical framework rather than outside of it. This does not undermine objectivity, for an assertion contains a reference to the framework in terms of which its truth is claimed.
  •  66
    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.
  •  133
    Mainsprings of metaphor
    with Israel Scheffler
    Journal of Philosophy 84 (6): 331-335. 1987.
  •  93
    The cost of correspondence
    Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 47 (3): 475-480. 1987.
  •  228
    Interpretation and understanding
    Erkenntnis 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.
  •  123
    Ejemplos elocuentes
    Enrahonar: 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
  •  144
    Review: Williams on Truthfulness (review)
    Philosophical Quarterly 55 (219). 2005.
    Truth and Truthfulness: an Essay in Genealogy. By Bernard Williams