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692Two-Sided Trees for Sentential Logic, Predicate Logic, and Sentential Modal LogicTeaching Philosophy 42 (1): 41-56. 2019.This paper will present two contributions to teaching introductory logic. The first contribution is an alternative tree proof method that differs from the traditional one-sided tree method. The second contribution combines this tree system with an index system to produce a user-friendly tree method for sentential modal logic.
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482Phenomenal consciousness, sense impressions, and the logic of 'what it's likeIn Ralph D. Ellis & Natika Newton (eds.), Consciousness & Emotion: Agency, Conscious Choice, and Selective Perception, John Benjamins. 2005.
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243Dennett and the Quest for Real MeaningPhilosophy in the Contemporary World 9 (1): 11-18. 2002.In several recent pieces, Daniel Dennett has advanced a line of reasoning purporting to show that we should reject the idea that there is a tenable distinction to be drawn between the manner in which we represent the way things are and the manner in which "blessedly simple" intentional systems like thermostats and frogs represent the way things are. Through a series of thought experiments, Dennett aims to show that philosophers of mind should abandon their preoccupation with "real meaning as opp…Read more
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237The Importance of Being ErroneousPhilosophical Topics 27 (1): 281-308. 1999.The question of animal belief (or animal intentionality) often degenerates into a frustrating and unproductive exchange. Foes of animal intentionality point out that non-linguistic animals couldn’t possibly possess the kinds of mental states we linguistic beings enjoy. They claim that linguistic ability enables us to become sensitive to intensional contexts or to the states of mind of others in a way that is unavailable to the non-linguistic, and that would be necessary for proper attributions o…Read more
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148On Peter Olen’s Wilfrid Sellars and the Foundations of NormativityJournal for the History of Analytical Philosophy 7 (3). 2019.All contributions included in the present issue were originally prepared for an “Author Meets Critics” session organized by Carl Sachs for the Eastern Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association in Savannah, Georgia, on 5th January, 2018.
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126Dennett’s Overlooked OriginalityMinds and Machines 16 (1): 43-55. 2006.No philosopher has worked harder than Dan Dennett to set the possibility of machine mentality on firm philosophical footing. Dennett’s defense of this possibility has both a positive and a negative thrust. On the positive side, he has developed an account of mental activity that is tailor-made for the attribution of intentional states to purely mechanical contrivances, while on the negative side, he pillories as mystery mongering and skyhook grasping any attempts to erect barriers to the concept…Read more
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118Zombies, Phenomenal Concepts, and the Paradox of Phenomenal JudgmentJournal of Consciousness Studies 17 (3-4): 3-4. 2010.This paper explores the viability of rejecting a largely unchallenged third premise of the conceivability argument against materialism. Fittingly labeled 'type-Z' , this reply essentially grants to the zombie lover, not just the possibility of zombies, but also their actuality. We turn out to be the very creatures Chalmers has taken such great pains to conceive and more conventional materialists have tried to wipe off the face of the planet. So consciousness is a wholly material affair. What is …Read more
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97Some more thoughts about thought and talk: Davidson and fellows on animal beliefPhilosophy 77 (1): 115-124. 2002.Donald Davidson's argument that non-linguistic creatures lack beliefs rests on two premises: (1) to be a believer, one must have the concept of belief, and (2) to have the concept of belief, one must interpret the utterances of others. However, Davidson's defense of these premises is overly compressed and unconvincing. In a recent issue of Philosophy, Roger Fellows provides new arguments for these premises. In this paper, I explain why I'm not persuaded by Fellows' attempt to bolster Davidson's …Read more
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61(Re)Motivating Inferentialism Commentary on Mark McCullagh's "Motivating Inferentialism"Southwest Philosophy Review 22 (2): 151-154. 2006.
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50The Force and Content of the Geach-Frege ProblemSouthwest Philosophy Review 27 (2): 93-97. 2011.
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46“From the Grunts and Groans of the Cave….” Presidential AddressSouthwest Philosophy Review 29 (1): 1-11. 2013.
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30Denial Has Its Consequences: Peirce's Bilateral SemanticsTransactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society 55 (4): 361. 2019.In at least a few of his formulations of the pragmatic maxim around 1905—those in which he sought to inoculate his brand of pragmatism against misappropriation by other pragmatists and also to supply a demonstration of its truth—Charles Peirce instructs us to look not only at the consequences of affirming some claim or concept, but also at the consequences of denying it. Referring to himself in the third person as "the author," Peirce writes: Endeavoring, as a man of that type naturally would, t…Read more
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28Grief and Self-KnowledgeJournal of Philosophy of Emotion 4 (1): 27-33. 2022.In Grief: A Philosophical Guide, Michael Cholbi characterizes grief as a “questioning attitude”; it calls attention to and prompts questions about the significance of the departed specifically to the griever. Accordingly, Cholbi assigns grief a largely self-directed cognitive purpose: grief’s goodness is that it leads—when things go well—to greater self-knowledge. In this paper, I question this claim. Calling upon an ordinary episode of grief, I argue that there are at least a few cases of grief…Read more
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26Review of Andrew Brook, Don Ross (eds.), Daniel Dennett (review)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2002 (11). 2002.
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22The Force and Content of the Geach-Frege ProblemSouthwest Philosophy Review 27 (2): 93-97. 2011.
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20Of Demands and Desires for Picon Punch: Commentary on Avery Archer’s “What is Direction of Fit?”Southwest Philosophy Review 31 (2): 75-80. 2015.
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15Taking Peirce’s Graphs Seriously (review)International Journal of Philosophical Studies 30 (4): 438-445. 2022.There is a saying in the energy industry that hydrogen is the fuel of the future … and so it will always remain. The jab might equally be leveled at Peirce’s graphical systems of logic. Though Peir...
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15On the Construction of Heavenly Bodies: Comments on Justin Remhof’s “Object Constructivism and Unconstructed Objects”Southwest Philosophy Review 30 (2): 45-49. 2014.
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15Emotional Cognitivism without RepresentationalismJournal of Philosophy of Emotion 1 (1): 113-122. 2019.In _Knowing Emotions_, Rick Anthony Furtak seeks an account that does justice to both the cognitive and corporeal dimensions of our emotional lives. Concerning the latter dimension, he holds that emotions serve to represent axiological features of the world. Against such a representationalist picture, I shall suggest an alternative way to understand how our emotions gear in with the rest of our cognitive states.
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12Impressions, and the logic of 'what it's like'Consciousness and Emotion: Agency, Conscious Choice, and Selective Perception 1 137. 2005.
Paradise, Nevada, United States of America
Areas of Interest
Philosophy of Language |
Logic and Philosophy of Logic |
Philosophy of the Americas |