Brandeis University
Department of Philosophy
PhD, 1975
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Epistemology
Aesthetics
Areas of Interest
Metaphysics and Epistemology
  •  31
    Unnatural Science
    Journal of Philosophy 92 (6): 289. 1995.
  •  31
    Nelson Goodman's philosophy of art (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
  •  31
    Replies
    Synthese 199 (1-2): 1577-1597. 2020.
  •  31
    Analysis and the Picture Theory in the 'Tractatus'
    Philosophy Research Archives 2 568-580. 1976.
    I argue that the picture theory provides both a common referential hase and a common logical syntax for languages embodying alternative conceptual schemes. I offer an analysis of depiction, explicating the Tractarian concepts of pictorial structure, pictorial relationship, and representational form. Significant failure of reference and the existence of languages with incompatible ontological commitments show that on the molar level depiction is not required for sense. Using three premises, taken…Read more
  •  31
  •  30
    Review: Williams on Truthfulness (review)
    Philosophical Quarterly 55 (219). 2005.
  •  30
    The Epistemic Normativity of Knowing-How
    In Astrid Wagner & Ulrich Dirks (eds.), Abel Im Dialog: Perspektiven der Zeichen- Und Interpretationsphilosophie, De Gruyter. pp. 483-498. 2018.
  •  28
    Optional Stops, Foregone Conclusions, and the Value of Argument
    Croatian Journal of Philosophy 4 (3): 317-329. 2004.
    If the point of argument is to produce conviction, an argument tor a foregone conclusion is pointless. I maintain, however, that an argument makes a variety of cognitive contributions, even when its conclusion is already believed. It exhibits warrant. It affords reasons that we can impart to others. It identifies bases tor agreement among parties who otherwise disagree. It underwrites confidence, by showing how vulnerable warrant is under changes in background assumptions. Multiple arguments for…Read more
  •  24
    Considered Judgment
    Princeton University Press. 1999.
    Philosophy long sought to set knowledge on a firm foundation, through derivation of indubitable truths by infallible rules. For want of such truths and rules, the enterprise foundered. Nevertheless, foundationalism's heirs continue their forbears' quest, seeking security against epistemic misfortune, while their detractors typically espouse unbridled coherentism or facile relativism. Maintaining that neither stance is tenable, Catherine Elgin devises a via media between the absolute and the arbi…Read more
  •  24
    Williams on truthfulness
    Philosophical Quarterly 55 (219): 343-352. 2005.
    Truth and Truthfulness: an Essay in Genealogy. By Bernard Williams
  •  23
    Review (review)
    Erkenntnis 21 (3). 1984.
  •  22
    With Reference to Reference
    Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 42 (4): 448-451. 1984.
  •  22
    The cost of correspondence
    Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 47 (3): 475-480. 1987.
  •  22
    Preface
    Synthese 94 (1): 1-1. 1993.
  •  22
    Reconceptions In Philosophy and Other Arts and Sciences, by Nelson Goodman and Catherine Z. Elgin (review)
    Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 51 (3): 710-713. 1991.
  •  21
    The power of parsimony
    Philosophia Scientiae 2 (1): 89-104. 1997.
  •  21
    Richard 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
  •  20
    Art and education
    In Harvey Siegel (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Education, Oxford University Press. pp. 319. 2009.
  •  19
    Touchstones of History: Anscombe, Hume, and Julius Caesar
    Logos and Episteme 1 (1): 39-57. 2010.
    In “Hume and Julius Caesar,” G.E.M. Anscombe argues that some historical claims, such as “Julius Caesar was assassinated,” serve as touchstones for historical knowledge. Only Cartesian doubt can call them into question. I examine her reasons for thinking that the discipline of history must be grounded in claims that it is powerless to discredit. I argue that she is right to recognize that some historical claims are harder to dislodge than others, but wrong to contend that any are invulnerable to…Read more
  •  19
    Understanding: Art and Science
    Midwest Studies in Philosophy 16 (1): 196-208. 1991.
  •  18
    The impossibility of saying what is shown
    Southern Journal of Philosophy 16 (1): 617-627. 1978.
  •  18
    Reply to Van Cleve
    In Matthias Steup & John Turri (eds.), Contemporary Debates in Epistemology, Blackwell. pp. 267. 2013.
  •  17
    Begging to differ
    The Philosophers' Magazine 59 77-82. 2012.
  •  15
    Nelson Goodman 1906-1998
    with Israel Scheffler and Robert Schwartz
    Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association 72 (5). 1999.
  •  15
    In Memoriam: Nelson Goodman
    Erkenntnis 52 (2): 149-149. 2000.
  •  15
    Considered Judgment (review)
    Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 60 (3): 724-726. 2000.
  •  14
    Truth and Falsehood in Visual Images
    Philosophical Review 95 (1): 139. 1986.
  •  14
    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