Philip Walsh

Gartner (Research and Advisory Consulting Firm)
  •  2047
    The Sound of Silence: Merleau‐Ponty on Conscious Thought
    European Journal of Philosophy 25 (2): 312-335. 2017.
    We take ourselves to have an inner life of thought, and we take ourselves to be capable of linguistically expressing our thoughts to others. But what is the nature of this “inner life” of thought? Is conscious thought necessarily carried out in language? This paper takes up these questions by examining Merleau-Ponty’s theory of expression. For Merleau-Ponty, language expresses thought. Thus it would seem that thought must be independent of, and in some sense prior to, the speech that expresses i…Read more
  •  1842
    Husserl’s Concept of Motivation: The Logical Investigations and Beyond
    History of Philosophy & Logical Analysis 16 (1): 70-83. 2013.
    Husserl introduces a phenomenological concept called “motivation” early in the First Investigation of his magnum opus, the Logical Investigations. The importance of this concept has been overlooked since Husserl passes over it rather quickly on his way to an analysis of the meaningful nature of expression. I argue, however, that motivation is essential to Husserl’s overall project, even if it is not essen- tial for defining expression in the First Investigation. For Husserl, motivation is a rela…Read more
  •  879
    Husserl on Other Minds
    In Hanne Jacobs (ed.), The Husserlian Mind, Routledge. pp. 257-268. 2021.
    Husserlian phenomenology, as the study of conscious experience, has often been accused of solipsism. Husserl’s method, it is argued, does not have the resources to provide an account of consciousness of other minds. This chapter will address this issue by providing a brief overview of the multiple angles from which Husserl approached the theme of intersubjectivity, with specific focus on the details of his account of the concrete interpersonal encounter – “empathy.” Husserl understood empathy as…Read more
  •  743
    Cognitive extension, enhancement, and the phenomenology of thinking
    Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 16 (1): 33-51. 2017.
    This paper brings together several strands of thought from both the analytic and phenomenological traditions in order to critically examine accounts of cognitive enhancement that rely on the idea of cognitive extension. First, I explain the idea of cognitive extension, the metaphysics of mind on which it depends, and how it has figured in recent discussions of cognitive enhancement. Then, I develop ideas from Husserl that emphasize the agential character of thought and the distinctive way that c…Read more
  •  730
    The Phenomenology of Ritual Resistance: Colin Kaepernick as Confucian Sage
    Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 20 (1): 1-24. 2021.
    In 2016, Colin Kaepernick, a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, remained seated during the national anthem in order to protest racial injustice and police brutality against African-Americans. After consulting with National Football League and military veteran Nate Boyer, Kaepernick switched to taking a knee during the anthem for the remainder of the season. Several NFL players and other professional athletes subsequently adopted this gesture. This article brings together complementary Conf…Read more
  •  700
    Intercorporeity and the first-person plural in Merleau-Ponty
    Continental Philosophy Review 53 (1): 21-47. 2019.
    A theory of the first-person plural occupies a unique place in philosophical investigations into intersubjectivity and social cognition. In order for the referent of the first-person plural—“the We”—to come into existence, it seems there must be a shared ground of communicative possibility, but this requires a non-circular explanation of how this ground could be shared in the absence of a pre-existing context of communicative conventions. Margaret Gilbert’s and John Searle’s theories of collecti…Read more
  •  684
    Low-Level Properties in Perceptual Experience
    International Journal of Philosophical Studies 25 (5): 682-703. 2017.
    Whether perceptual experience represents high-level properties like causation and natural-kind in virtue of its phenomenology is an open question in philosophy of mind. While the question of high-level properties has sparked disagreement, there is widespread agreement that the sensory phenomenology of perceptual experience presents us with low-level properties like shape and color. This paper argues that the relationship between the sensory character of experience and the low-level properties re…Read more
  •  610
    Empathy, Embodiment, and the Unity of Expression
    Topoi 33 (1): 215-226. 2014.
    This paper presents an account of empathy as the form of experience directed at embodied unities of expressive movement. After outlining the key differences between simulation theory and the phenomenological approach to empathy, the paper argues that while the phenomenological approach is closer to respecting a necessary constitutional asymmetry between first-personal and second-personal senses of embodiment, it still presupposes a general concept of embodiment that ends up being problematic. A …Read more
  •  604
    Motivation and Horizon: Phenomenal Intentionality in Husserl
    Grazer Philosophische Studien 94 (3): 410-435. 2017.
    This paper argues for a Husserlian account of phenomenal intentionality. Experience is intentional insofar as it presents a mind-independent, objective world. Its doing so is a matter of the way it hangs together, its having a certain structure. But in order for the intentionality in question to be properly understood as phenomenal intentionality, this structure must inhere in experience as a phenomenal feature. Husserl’s concept of horizon designates this intentionality-bestowing experienti…Read more
  •  542
    The Concept of Motivation in Merleau-Ponty: Husserlian Sources, Intentionality, and Institution
    Journal of the History of Philosophy 60 (2): 303-336. 2022.
    Merleau-Ponty’s relation to Husserl has been understood along a spectrum running from outright repudiation to deep appreciation. The aim of this paper is to clarify a significant and heretofore largely neglected unifying thread connecting Husserl and Merleau-Ponty, while also demonstrating its general philosophical import for phenomenological philosophy. On this account, the details of a programmatic philosophical continuity between these two phenomenologists can be structured around the concept…Read more
  •  19
    This is an open access book which explores phenomenology as both an exceptionally diverse movement in philosophy as well as an active research method that crosses disciplinary boundaries. The volume brings together lively overviews of major areas and schools of phenomenology, as well as the most recent applications across a range of fields. The first part reviews the state-of-the-art in various areas of contemporary phenomenology, including several distinct schools of Husserl and Heidegger schol…Read more
  •  3
    Introduction
    In Patrick Londen, Jeffrey Yoshimi & Philip Walsh (eds.), Horizons of Phenomenology: Essays on the State of the Field and Its Applications, Springer Verlag. pp. 1-13. 2023.
    This book explores phenomenology as a diverse movement in philosophy and as an active research method that crosses disciplinary boundaries. Bringing together overviews of major areas and schools of phenomenology, as well as the most recent applications of phenomenology across a range of fields, this volume offers a concise introduction to phenomenological research. The first part reviews the state of the art in various areas of contemporary phenomenology, including several distinct schools of Hu…Read more