-
83A light theory of colorPhilosophical Studies 110 (3): 267-284. 2002.Traditional theories locate color in primary qualities of objects, in dispositional properties of objects, in visual fields, or nowhere. In contrast, we argue that color is located in properties of light. More specifically, light is red iff there is a property P of the light that typically interacts with normal human perceivers to give the sensation of red. This is an error theory, because objects and visual fields that appear red are not really red, since they lack the properties that make ligh…Read more
-
73Mele's Effective Intentions: The power of conscious will (review)Philosophical Books 51 (3): 127-143. 2010.
-
73Some Problems for Gibbard’s Norm-ExpressivismPhilosophical Studies 69 (2-3). 1993.I conclude that Gibbard fails to solve several of the traditional problems for expressivism. He solves some of these problems, but his solutions to them in effect give up expressivism. Of course, one might respond that it does not really matter whether his theory is expressivist. In some ways, I agree. Gibbard says many fascinating things about morality which have at most indirect connections to his expressivist analysis. I am thinking especially of his later discussions of hyperscepticism, paro…Read more
-
72Explanation and Justification in Moral EpistemologyThe Proceedings of the Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy 1 117-127. 1999.Recent exchanges among Harman, Thomson, and their critics about moral explanations have done much to clarify this two-decades-old debate. I discuss some points in these exchanges along with five different kinds of moral explanations that have been proposed. I conclude that moral explanations cannot provide evidence within an unlimited contrast class that includes moral nihilism, but some moral explanations can still provide evidence within limited contrast classes where all competitors accept th…Read more
-
72Moral framing effects within subjectsPhilosophical Psychology 34 (5): 611-636. 2021.Several philosophers and psychologists have argued that evidence of moral framing effects shows that many of our moral judgments are unreliable. However, all previous empirical work on moral framing effects has used between-subject experimental designs. We argue that between-subject designs alone do not allow us to accurately estimate the extent of moral framing effects or to properly evaluate the case from framing effects against the reliability of our moral judgments. To do better, we report r…Read more
-
71Hypnotizing Libet: Readiness potentials with non-conscious volitionConsciousness and Cognition 33 (C): 196-203. 2015.The readiness potential (RP) is one of the most controversial topics in neuroscience and philosophy due to its perceived relevance to the role of conscious willing in action. Libet and colleagues reported that RP onset precedes both volitional movement and conscious awareness of willing that movement, suggesting that the experience of conscious will may not cause volitional movement (Libet, Gleason, Wright, & Pearl, 1983). Rather, they suggested that the RP indexes unconscious processes that may…Read more
-
69Does Neuroscience Undermine Morality?In Gregg D. Caruso & Owen J. Flanagan (eds.), Neuroexistentialism: Meaning, Morals, and Purpose in the Age of Neuroscience, Oxford University Press. 2018.
-
68Do Psychopaths Refute Internalism?In Thomas Schramme (ed.), Being Amoral: Psychopathy and Moral Incapacity, Mit Press. pp. 187-208. 2014.The chapter focuses on the philosophical debate between moral motivational internalism and externalism. The author analyzes and thereby challenges the conceptual problems underlying this quarrel in relation to the apparent empirical findings on psychopathy. Major obstacles in making progress in this debate are conceptual and methodological problems. First, there is not a clear-cut and undisputed definition of moral internalism. Second, empirical results about a lack of moral judgment are not for…Read more
-
64Clean Hands: Philosophical Lessons From ScrupulosityOup Usa. 2019.People with Scrupulosity have rigorous, obsessive moral beliefs that lead to extreme and compulsive moral acts. These fascinating outliers raise profound questions about human nature, mental illness, moral belief, responsibility, and psychiatric treatment. Clean Hands? Uses a range of case studies to examine this condition and its philosophical implications.
-
63Moral knowledge?: new readings in moral epistemology (edited book)Oxford University Press. 1996.In Moral Knowledge? New Readings in Moral Epistemology, editors Walter Sinnott-Armstrong and Mark Timmons bring together eleven specially commissioned essays by distinguished moral philosophers exploring the nature and possibility of moral knowledge. Each essay represents a major position within the exciting field of moral epistemology in which a proponent of the position presents and defends his or her view and locates it vis-a-vis competing views. The authors include established philosophers s…Read more
-
63Morality, Normativity, and SocietyPhilosophical Review 105 (4): 552. 1996.A complete moral theory should combine substantive ethics with metaethics, including moral semantics, moral epistemology, moral ontology, moral psychology, and the definition of morality. All of these topics and more are discussed with great clarity, insight, and originality in Copp’s remarkable book. Some of Copp’s positions are known from earlier articles, but his book reveals interconnections that increase the plausibility of each view separately and of the structure as a whole.
-
62Responsibility Without Freedom? Folk Judgements About Deliberate ActionsFrontiers in Psychology 10 (1133): 1--6. 2019.A long-standing position in philosophy, law, and theology is that a person can be held morally responsible for an action only if they had the freedom to choose and to act otherwise. Thus, many philosophers consider freedom to be a necessary condition for moral responsibility. However, empirical findings suggest that this assumption might not be in line with common sense thinking. For example, in a recent study we used surveys to show that – counter to positions held by many philosophers – lay pe…Read more
-
61Years of moral epistemology: A bibliographySouthern Journal of Philosophy 29 (S1): 217-229. 1991.
-
60Entrapment in the net?Ethics and Information Technology 1 (2): 95-104. 1999.Internet stings to catch child molesters raise problems for popular tests of entrapment that focus on causation, initiative, counterfactuals, and subjective predisposition. An objective test of entrapment works better in the context of the Internet. The best form of objective test is determined by consequences of drawing a line at various places. This approach allows some Internet stings but counts other stings as entrapment when they go too far.
-
59Moral Psychology: The Evolution of Morality: Adaptations and Innateness (edited book)Bradford. 2007.For much of the twentieth century, philosophy and science went their separate ways. In moral philosophy, fear of the so-called naturalistic fallacy kept moral philosophers from incorporating developments in biology and psychology. Since the 1990s, however, many philosophers have drawn on recent advances in cognitive psychology, brain science, and evolutionary psychology to inform their work. This collaborative trend is especially strong in moral philosophy, and these volumes bring together some …Read more
-
59Summary of Moral SketicismsPhilosophical Books 49 (3): 193-196. 2008.My book, Moral Skepticisms, is intended to serve as an introduction to moral epistemology as well as a development of my own moral epistemology. Hence, my opening chapter surveys the field of moral epistemology and the varieties of moral scepticism. The main lesson is that we should stop arguing about moral scepticism in general, because there are too many kinds that differ in too many important details.
-
57Moral conformity and its philosophical lessonsPhilosophical Psychology 33 (2): 262-282. 2020.ABSTRACTThe psychological and philosophical literature exploring the role of social influence in moral judgments suggests that conformity in moral judgments is common and, in many cases, seems to b...
-
57Neuromarketing: Ethical Implications of its Use and Potential MisuseJournal of Business Ethics 144 (4): 799-811. 2017.Neuromarketing is an emerging field in which academic and industry research scientists employ neuroscience techniques to study marketing practices and consumer behavior. The use of neuroscience techniques, it is argued, facilitates a more direct understanding of how brain states and other physiological mechanisms are related to consumer behavior and decision making. Herein, we will articulate common ethical concerns with neuromarketing as currently practiced, focusing on the potential risks to c…Read more
-
56Personality Disorders and Responsibility: Learning from PeayPhilosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology 18 (3): 245-248. 2011.People with personality disorders should be treated fairly. Potential crime victims should be protected. That much is uncontroversial. The hard questions ask what is fair, when is protection adequate, and how should we achieve fairness and protection together. Peay outlines five main hurdles that the law must jump to reach these goals. All five raise serious challenges. To begin to address these challenges, we must first clarify what a personality disorder is. The notion of a personality disorde…Read more
-
56Moral Psychology: The Cognitive Science of Morality: Intuition and Diversity (edited book)Bradford. 2007.For much of the twentieth century, philosophy and science went their separate ways. In moral philosophy, fear of the so-called naturalistic fallacy kept moral philosophers from incorporating developments in biology and psychology. Since the 1990s, however, many philosophers have drawn on recent advances in cognitive psychology, brain science, and evolutionary psychology to inform their work. This collaborative trend is especially strong in moral philosophy, and these three volumes bring together…Read more
-
55The truth of performativesInternational Journal of Philosophical Studies 2 (1). 1994.No abstract
-
55How to Allow Conscientious Objection in Medicine While Protecting Patient RightsCambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 26 (1): 120-131. 2017.
-
52Replies to Hough, Baumann and BlaauwPhilosophical Quarterly 58 (232): 478-488. 2008.I reply to comments by Gerry Hough, Peter Baumann and Martijn Blaauw on my book Moral Skepticisms. The main issues concern whether modest justifiedness is epistemic and how it is related to extreme justifiedness; how contrastivists can handle crazy contrast classes, indeterminacy and common language; whether Pyrrhonian scepticism leads to paralysis in decision-making or satisfies our desires to evaluate beliefs as justified or not; and how contextualists can respond to my arguments against relev…Read more
-
47Précis of moral scepticisms (review)Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 77 (3): 789-793. 2008.No Abstract
Huckleberry Spring, North Carolina, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
4 more
Epistemology |
Philosophy of Religion |
Applied Ethics |
Meta-Ethics |
Moral Psychology |
Normative Ethics |
Philosophy of Law |
Neuroscience |
Psychology |
Areas of Interest
4 more
Epistemology |
Philosophy of Religion |
Applied Ethics |
Meta-Ethics |
Moral Psychology |
Normative Ethics |
Philosophy of Law |
Neuroscience |
Psychology |