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36What’s philosophical about Kant’s philosophy of the human sciences?Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 43 (1): 203-207. 2012.
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74Why did Kant reject physiological explanations in his anthropology?Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 39 (4): 495-505. 2008.One of Kant’s central tenets concerning the human sciences is the claim that one need not, and should not, use a physiological vocabulary if one studies human cognitions, feelings, desires, and actions from the point of view of his ‘pragmatic’ anthropology. The claim is well known, but the arguments Kant advances for it have not been closely discussed. I argue against misguided interpretations of the claim, and I present his actual reasons in favor of it. Contemporary critics of a ‘physiological…Read more
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Selbsttäuschung: Wer ist hier rational und warum?Studia Philosophica: Jahrbuch Der Schweizerischen Philosoph Ischen Gesellschaft, Annuaire de la Société Suisse de Philosphie 68 229-254. 2009.I argue that both psychological and philosophical studies of selfdeception suffer from serious weaknesses, albeit different ones. On the one hand, psychologists often use varying and unreflective conceptions of selfdeception in their research. On the other hand, philosophers either ignore the necessity of paying attention to psychological research – or, if they do, they use empirical studies of human cognition and reasoning without realizing that theories and data are loaded with highly problema…Read more
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2Kant on Empirical PsychologyIn Eric Watkins (ed.), Kant and the Sciences, Oxford University Press. 2001.This paper explains Kant’s views on the theory of matter as developed in the Dynamics chapter of his Metaphysical Foundations, and elaborates their background in the chemistry of the period. Kant’s general approach to matter theory unites Newtonian and Leibnizian motifs, and entails an intricate internal structure for matter involving a multiple overlap of material shells of different density. Kant’s chemical views derive from Stahlian chemistry and involve a noncorpuscularian account of chemica…Read more
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75What Is the Foundation of Norms of Rationality?In Ansgar Beckermann, Holm Tetens & Sven Walter (eds.), Philosophie: Grundlagen und Anwendungen/Philosophy: Foundations and Applications., Mentis. 2008.An overview of debates about the relation between the psychology of human rationality and naturalized epistemology, introducing three papers by Michael Bishop, Gerd Gigerenzer, and Alvin Goldman.
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26Michael Friedman and the “marriage” of history and philosophy of science : Mary Domski and Michael Dickson : Discourse on a new method:Reinvigorating the marriage of history and philosophy of science; with a concluding essay by Michael Friedman. Chicago: Open Court, 2010, viii+852pp, $89.95 HBMetascience 23 (2): 225-232. 2013.
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66Self-Deception, Rationality, and the SelfTeorema: International Journal of Philosophy 26 (3): 73-95. 2007.This essay is a plea for the view that philosophers should analyze the concept of self-deception more with the aim of having useful applications for empirical research. This is especially desirable because psychologists often use different, even incompat-ible conceptions of self-deception when investigating the factual conditions and con-sequences, as well as the very existence, of the phenomenon. At the same time, philosophers who exploit psychological research on human cognition and reasoning …Read more
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52This essay aims to sharpen debates on the pros and cons of historical epistemology, which is now understood as a novel approach to the study of knowledge, by comparing it with the history of epistemology as traditionally pursued by philosophers. The many versions of both approaches are not always easily discernable. Yet, a reasoned comparison of certain versions can and should be made. In the first section of this article, I argue that the most interesting difference involves neither the subject…Read more
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43The Roles of Instruments in Psychological ResearchHistory of Psychology 8 3-34. 2005.What roles have instruments played in psychology and related disciplines? How have instruments affected the dynamics of psychological research, with what possibilities and limits? What is a psychological instrument? This paper provides a conceptual foundation for specific case studies concerning such questions. The discussion begins by challenging widely accepted assumptions about the subject and analyzing the general relations between scientific experimentation and the uses of instruments in ps…Read more
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1Kant on empirical psychology: How not to investigate the human mindIn Eric Watkins (ed.), Kant and the Sciences, Oxford University Press. pp. 163--184. 2001.
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28Reines und empirisches Selbstbewusstsein in Kants Anthropologie: Das „Ich“ und die rationale CharakterentwicklungIn Giuseppe Motta & Udo Thiel (eds.), Immanuel Kant: Die Einheit des Bewusstseins (Kant-Studien Ergänzungshefte), Degruyter. pp. 195-220. 2017.
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31What Did Kant Mean by and Why Did He Adopt a Cosmopolitan Point of View in History?In Stefano Bacin, Alfredo Ferrarin, Claudio La Rocca & Margit Ruffing (eds.), Kant und die Philosophie in weltbürgerlicher Absicht. Akten des XI. Internationalen Kant-Kongresses, De Gruyter. pp. 863-876. 2013.
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51‘Kant our Contemporary’? Kitcher on the Fruitfulness of Kant's Theory of the Cognitive SubjectKantian Review 19 (1): 135-141. 2014.In chapter 15 of Kant's Thinker, Patricia Kitcher claims that we can treat Kant as , and that his theory of apperception new. I question this with respect to two of her four chosen topics. First, I address her attempt to show that Kant's theory of apperceptive self-knowledge is immune to sceptical doubts of the sort Barry Stroud presents. Second, I turn to her argument that this theory is superior to current accounts of the special authority of self-knowledge. Over and above specific weaknesses,…Read more
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171This essay aims to sharpen debates on the pros and cons of historical epistemology, which is now understood as a novel approach to the study of knowledge, by comparing it with the history of epistemology as traditionally pursued by philosophers. The many versions of both approaches are not always easily discernable. Yet, a reasoned comparison of certain versions can and should be made. In the first section of this article, I argue that the most interesting difference involves neither the subject…Read more
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98Bühler and Popper: Kantian therapies for the crisis in psychologyStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 43 (2): 462-472. 2012.I analyze the historical background and philosophical considerations of Karl Bühler and his student Karl Popper regarding the crisis of psychology. They share certain Kantian questions and methods for reflection on the state of the art in psychology. Part 1 outlines Bühler’s diagnosis and therapy for the crisis in psychology as he perceived it, leading to his famous theory of language. I also show how the Kantian features of Bühler’s approach help to deal with objections to his crisis diagnosis …Read more
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98Crisis discussions in psychology—New historical and philosophical perspectivesStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 43 (2): 425-433. 2012.In this introductory article, we provide a historical and philosophical framework for studying crisis discussions in psychology. We first trace the various meanings of crisis talk outside and inside of the sciences. We then turn to Kuhn’s concept of crisis, which is mainly an analyst’s category referring to severe clashes between theory and data. His view has also dominated many discussions on the status of psychology: Can it be considered a “mature” science, or are we dealing here with a pre- o…Read more
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7Eine Frage des CharaktersIn Ralph Schumacher, Rolf-Peter Horstmann & Volker Gerhardt (eds.), Kant Und Die Berliner Aufklärung: Akten des Ix. Internationalen Kant-Kongresses. Bd. I: Hauptvorträge. Bd. Ii: Sektionen I-V. Bd. Iii: Sektionen Vi-X: Bd. Iv: Sektionen Xi-Xiv. Bd. V: Sektionen Xv-Xviii, De Gruyter. pp. 440-449. 2001.
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55Psychology’s Territories: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives from Different Disciplines (edited book)Erlbaum. 2007.This is an interdisciplinary collection of new essays by philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists and historians on the question: What has determined and what should determine the territory or the boundaries of the discipline named "psychology"? Both the contents - in terms of concepts - and the methods - in terms of instruments - are analyzed. Among the contributors are Mitchell Ash, Paul Baltes, Jochen Brandtstädter, Gerd Gigerenzer, Michael Heidelberger, Gerhard Roth, and Thomas Sturm.
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156Cognitive Externalism Meets Bounded RationalityPhilosophical Psychology 27 (1): 50-64. 2014.When proponents of cognitive externalism (CE) turn to empirical studies in cognitive science to put the framework to use and to assess its explanatory success, they typically refer to perception, memory, or motor coordination. In contrast, not much has been said about reasoning. One promising avenue to explore in this respect is the theory of bounded rationality (BR). To clarify the relationship between CE and BR, we criticize Andy Clark's understanding of BR, as well as his claim that BR does n…Read more
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181What (Good) is Historical Epistemology? Editors' IntroductionErkenntnis 75 (3): 285-302. 2011.We provide an overview of three ways in which the expression “Historical epistemology” (HE) is often understood: (1) HE as a study of the history of higher-order epistemic concepts such as objectivity, observation, experimentation, or probability; (2) HE as a study of the historical trajectories of the objects of research, such as the electron, DNA, or phlogiston; (3) HE as the long-term study of scientific developments. After laying out various ways in which these agendas touch on current debat…Read more
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14How Reason Almost Lost its Mind: The Strange Career of Cold War RationalityUniversity of Chicago Press: Chicago. 2013.
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40Tools=Theories=Data? On Some Circular Dynamics in Cognitive Science.In Mitchell G. Ash & Thomas Sturm (eds.), Psychology’s Territories: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives from Different Disciplines, Erlbaum. 2007.
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69Irreducible Mind? On E. Kelly et al., Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century (review)American Journal of Psychology 123 246-250. 2010.This is a review of a book that tries to re-establish mind-body dualism by using (a) empirical research on near-death experiences, placebo effects, creativity, claiming even that parapsychology should become a respected part of science, and (b) Frederic W. H. Myers' (1843-1901) metaphor of the brain as a kind of receiving device that records what the irreducible mind sends as messages. Among other things, we criticize the lack of philosophical clarity about mind-body relation, and question the b…Read more
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150The extended cognition thesis: Its significance for the philosophy of (cognitive) sciencePhilosophical Psychology 27 (1): 1-18. 2014.While the extended cognition (EC) thesis has gained more followers in cognitive science and in the philosophy of mind and knowledge, our main goal is to discuss a different area of significance of the EC thesis: its relation to philosophy of science. In this introduction, we outline two major areas: (I) The role of the thesis for issues in the philosophy of cognitive science, such as: How do notions of EC figure in theories or research programs in cognitive science? Which versions of the EC thes…Read more
Areas of Specialization
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Immanuel Kant |
Rationality |
General Philosophy of Science |
Philosophy of Psychology |
History of Psychology |
History of Cognitive Science |