•  1201
    Horgan and Tienson on phenomenology and intentionality
    Philosophical Studies 167 (2): 313-326. 2014.
    Terence Horgan, George Graham and John Tienson argue that some intentional content is constitutively determined by phenomenology alone. We argue that this would require a certain kind of covariation of phenomenal states and intentional states that is not established by Horgan, Tienson and Graham’s arguments. We make the case that there is inadequate reason to think phenomenology determines perceptual belief, and that there is reason to doubt that phenomenology determines any species of non-perce…Read more
  •  949
    It is widely suspected that arguments from conceivability, at least in some of their more notorious instances, are unsound. However, the reasons for the failure of conceivability arguments are less well agreed upon, and it remains unclear how to distinguish between sound and unsound instances of the form. In this paper I provide an analysis of the form of arguments from conceivability, and use this analysis to diagnose a systematic weakness in the argument form which reveals all its instances to…Read more
  •  844
    Phenomenal Properties: The Epistemology and Metaphysics of Qualia
    Dissertation, University of Calgary. 1998.
    This dissertation develops and defends a detailed realist, internalist account of qualia which is consistent with physicalism and which does not resurrect the epistemological 'myth of the Given.' In doing so it stakes out a position in the sparsely populated middle ground between the two major opposing factions on the problem of phenomenal consciousness: between those who think we have a priori reasons to believe that qualia are irreducible to the physical , and those who implicitly or explicitl…Read more
  •  693
    Supervenience and physicalism
    Synthese 117 (1): 53-73. 1998.
    Discussion of the supervenience relation in the philosophical literature of recent years has become Byzantine in its intricacy and diversity. Subtle modulations of the basic concept have been tooled and retooled with increasing frequency, until supervenience has lost nearly all its original lustre as a simple and powerful tool for cracking open refractory philosophical problems. I present a conceptual model of the supervenience relation that captures all the important extant concepts without ign…Read more
  •  554
    Are qualia natural kinds? In order to give this question slightly more focus, and to show why it might be an interesting question, let me begin by saying a little about what I take qualia to be, and what natural kinds. For the purposes of this paper, I shall be assuming a fairly full-blooded kind of phenomenal realism about qualia: qualia, thus, include the qualitative painfulness of pain (rather than merely the functional specification of pain states), the qualitative redness in the visual fiel…Read more
  •  432
    The myth of the myth of the given
    Manuscrito 27 (2): 321-60. 2004.
    Qualia have historically been thought to stand in a very different epistemological relation to the knower than does the external furniture of the world. The ‘raw feels’ of thought were often said to be ‘given’, while what we might call the content of that thought – for example, claims about the external world – was thought only more or less doubtfully true; and this was often said to be because we are ‘directly’ or ‘non-inferentially’ confronted by qualia or experiences, whereas all other proper…Read more
  •  355
    Zombies, Epiphenomenalism, and Physicalist Theories of Consciousness
    Canadian Journal of Philosophy 36 (4): 481-509. 2006.
    In its recent history, the philosophy of mind has come to resemble an entry into the genre of Hammer horror or pulpy science fiction. These days it is unusual to encounter a major philosophical work on the mind that is not populated with bats, homunculi, swamp-creatures, cruelly imprisoned genius scientists, aliens, cyborgs, other-worldly twins, self-aware Computer programs, Frankenstein-monster-like ‘Blockheads,’ or zombies. The purpose of this paper is to review the role in the philosophy of m…Read more
  •  236
    The second volume of this comprehensive anthology covers the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The anthology is broad ranging both in its selection of material by figures traditionally acknowledged as being of central importance, and in the material it presents by a range of other figures. The material in this volume is presented in three sections. The first, “Power and the State,” includes selections by such figures as Goldman, Lenin, Weber, Schmitt, and Hayek. Among those included in…Read more
  •  195
    This paper critiques the representationalist account of qualia, focussing on the Representational Naturalism presented by Fred Dretske in Naturalizing the Mind. After laying out Dretskes theory of qualia and making clear its externalist consequences, I argue that Dretskes definition is either too liberal or runs into problems defending its requirements, in particular naturalness and mentalness. I go on to show that Dretskes account of qualia falls foul of the argument from misperception in such …Read more
  •  183
    This paper deals with the relationship between the embodied cognition paradigm and two sets of its implications: its implications for the ontology of selves, and its implications for the nature and extent of phenomenal consciousness. There has been a recent wave of interest within cognitive science in the paradigm variously called ‘embodied,’ ‘extended,’ ‘situated’ or ‘distributed’ cognition. Although ideas applied in the embodied cognition research program can be traced back to the work of Heid…Read more
  •  181
    Zombies and Epiphenomenalism
    Dialogue 48 (1): 129. 2009.
    RÉSUMÉ: Cette étude examine la relation entre la demande que les zombies sont logiquement/métaphysiquement possible et de la position que la conscience phénoménal est epiphenomenal. Il est souvent présumé que la première entraîne ce dernier, et que, par conséquent, toute implausibility dans la notion de conscience epiphenomenalism remet en question la possibilité réelle de zombies. Quatre façons dont les zombist pourrait répondre sont examinées, et je soutiens que les deux les plus fréquemment r…Read more
  •  169
    Beyond the fringe: William James on the transitive parts of the stream of consciousness
    Journal of Consciousness Studies 6 (2-3): 141-53. 1999.
    One of the aspects of consciousness deserving of study is what might be called its subjective unity - the way in which, though conscious experience moves from object to object, and can be said to have distinct ‘states', it nevertheless in some sense apparently forms a singular flux divided only by periods of unconsciousness. The work of William James provides a valuable, and rather unique, source of analysis of this feature of consciousness; however, in my opinion, this component of James’ theor…Read more
  •  139
    ... CHAPTER 1 Philosophy Philosophy, at least according to the origin of the word in classical Greek, is the "love of wisdom" — philosophers are lovers of ...
  •  137
    Representation and a science of consciousness
    Journal of Consciousness Studies 14 (1): 62-76. 2007.
    The first part of this paper defends a 'two-factor' approach to mental representation by moving through various choice-points that map out the main peaks in the landscape of philosophical debate about representation. The choice-points considered are: (1) whether representations are conceptual or non-conceptual; (2) given that mental representation is conceptual, whether conscious perceptual representations are analog or digital; (3) given that the content of a representation is the concept it ex…Read more
  •  128
    Qualia and the argument from illusion: A defence of figment (review)
    Acta Analytica 22 (2): 85-103. 2007.
    This paper resurrects two discredited ideas in the philosophy of mind. The first: the idea that perceptual illusion might have something metaphysically significant to tell us about the nature of phenomenal consciousness. The second: that the colours and other qualities that ‘fill’ our sensory fields are occurrent properties (rather than representations of properties) that are, nevertheless, to be distinguished from the ‘objective’ properties of things in the external world. Theories of conscious…Read more
  •  98
    The Broadview Anthology of Social and Political Thought: Volume 1: From Plato to Nietzsche (edited book)
    with Samantha Brennan, Will Kymlicka, Jacob T. Levy, Alex Sager, and Clark Wolf
    Broadview Press. 2008.
    This comprehensive volume contains much of the important work in political and social philosophy from ancient times until the end of the nineteenth century. The anthology offers both depth and breadth in its selection of material by central figures, while also representing other currents of political thought. Thucydides, Seneca, and Cicero are included along with Plato and Aristotle; Al-Farabi, Marsilius of Padua, and de Pizan take their place alongside Augustine and Aquinas; Astell and Constant…Read more
  •  82
    First of all, I just want to say that in my opinion this is an interesting and thought-provoking book, and a badly needed corrective to certain mistaken assumptions about James. I find myself very much in sympathy with many of its main points. Some of the things I have to say in the following may— or perhaps may not—be thought to disagree with some of what Professor Brown has argued in his book. If that is so, it should be taken only as an indication of the degree to which William James on Radic…Read more
  •  78
    This concise edition of the acclaimed introductory anthology First Philosophy brings together thirty readings on six topics central to philosophy. Mindful of the intrinsic difficulty of much of the material, the editor has provided comprehensive introductions both to the six topics and to each individual selection. By providing a detailed discussion of the historical and intellectual background to each piece, he aims to enable readers to approach the material without unnecessary barriers to unde…Read more
  •  70
    The Broadview Anthology of Social and Political Thought: Essential Readings: Ancient, Modern, and Contemporary Texts (edited book)
    with Samantha Brennan, Will Kymlicka, Jacob T. Levy, Alex Sager, and Clark Wolf
    Broadview Press. 2012.
    This volume features a careful selection of major works in political and social philosophy from ancient times through to the present. Every reading has been painstakingly annotated, and each figure is given a substantial introduction highlighting his or her major contribution to the tradition. The anthology offers both depth and breadth in its selection of material by central figures, while also representing other currents of political thought. Thirty-two authors are represented, including fourt…Read more
  •  66
    This volume contains many of the most important texts in western political and social thought from the sixteenth to the end of the nineteenth century. A number of key works, including Machiavelli’s _The Prince_, Locke’s _Second Treatise_, and Rousseau’s _The Social Contract_, are included in their entirety. Alongside these central readings are a diverse range of texts from authors such as Mary Wollstonecraft, Sojourner Truth, and Henry David Thoreau. The editors have made every effort to include…Read more
  •  53
    Knowledge, Possibility, and Consciousness (review)
    Disputatio 1 (19): 265-270. 2005.
    019-5
  •  50
    Is Man The Measure?
    Philosophical Inquiry 19 (1-2): 71-84. 1997.
  •  33
    Neurosis
    International Journal of Applied Philosophy 11 (2): 51-61. 1997.
  •  30
    The Strange Attraction of Sciousness: William James on Consciousness
    Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society 34 (2). 1998.
  •  29
    Meditations on First Philosophy (edited book)
    with Ian Johnston
    Broadview Press. 2013.
    Considered a foundational text in modern philosophy, the _Meditations on First Philosophy_ presents numerous powerful arguments that to this day influence debates in epistemology, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of religion. This new translation incorporates revisions from the second Latin edition and the later French translation to make Descartes’ reasoning as lucid and engaging as possible. Also included in this edition is a brief introduction to Descartes and the _Meditations_, rev…Read more
  •  25
    This volume of _The Broadview Introduction to Philosophy_ offers a thoughtful selection of readings in epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophy of religion. Substantial selections from important historical texts are provided, as are a number of contemporary readings on each topic. Unlike other introductory anthologies, the Broadview offers considerable apparatus to assist the student reader in understanding the texts without simply summarizing them. Each selection includes an introduction d…Read more
  •  24
    Philosophy of mind: the key thinkers (edited book)
    Bloomsbury Academic. 2014.
    Philosophers have raised and struggled with questions relating to the human mind for more than 2,000 years. Philosophy of Mind: The Key Thinkers offers a comprehensive historical overview of this fascinating field. Twelve specially commissioned essays introduce and explore the contributions of those philosophers who have shaped the subject and the central issues and arguments therein. The modern debate about the mind was shaped by Descartes in the seventeenth century, and then reshaped in the mi…Read more
  •  22
    This volume of _The Broadview Introduction to Philosophy_ offers an intriguing selection of readings on ethics, social-political philosophy, and issues of life, death, and happiness. Canonical texts from historical figures such as Plato, Hobbes, and Wollstonecraft are included alongside contemporary selections from such thinkers as Claudia Card, Judith Jarvis Thomson, and Ta-Nehisi Coates. Unlike other introductory anthologies, the Broadview offers considerable apparatus to assist the student re…Read more