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The Curious Case of the Disappearance of Pyrrhonism from Continental PhilosophyInternational Journal for the Study of Skepticism. forthcoming.In this article, evidence is briefly presented for three facts that together point to something puzzling. (1) That major continental philosophers of the nineteenth century tended to engage in some detail, as part of a broader preoccupation with ancient Greek thought, with Pyrrhonian scepticism. (2) That major continental philosophers of the twentieth century tended to engage in some depth with their nineteenth-century forebears and maintained their tendency to engage significantly with ancient G…Read more
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19Boldyrev, Ivan and Stein, Sebastian (eds.). Interpreting Hegel’s_ Phenomenology of Spirit _:_ _Expositions and Critique of Contemporary Readings. New York / Abingdon: Routledge 2022, ix + 277 pp (review)Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie 106 (2): 375-378. 2024.Review of Ivan Boldyrev and Sebastian Stein (eds). Interpreting Hegel's Phenomenology: Expositions and Critique of Contemporary Readings
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43George di Giovanni. Hegel and the Challenge of Spinoza: A Study in German Idealism, 1801-1831 (review)Hegel Bulletin 1-7. forthcoming.Review of George di Giovanni's Hegel and the Challenge of Spinoza.
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43Schulze's Scepticism and the Rise and Rise of German IdealismIn Robb Dunphy & Toby Lovat (eds.), Metaphysics as a Science in Classical German Philosophy, Routledge. pp. 226-250. 2023.In this chapter, Robb Dunphy is concerned with the nature of G.E. Schulze's scepticism as he presents it in his 1792 work Aenesidemus, and with its relation to the metaphysical projects of Kant, Reinhold, and later German Idealists. After introducing Schulze's text, Dunphy turns to a recent interpretation offered by Jessica Berry, who claims that the extent to which Schulze endorsed a genuinely Pyrrhonian Scepticism has gone unacknowledged, both by his idealist contemporaries and by the majority…Read more
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70Metaphysics as a Science in Classical German Philosophy (edited book)Routledge. 2023.This volume is dedicated to questions about the nature and method of metaphysics in Classical German Philosophy. Its chapters offer original investigations into the metaphysical projects of many of the major figures in German philosophy between Wolff and Hegel. The period of Classical German Philosophy was an extraordinarily rich one in the history of philosophy, especially for metaphysics. It includes some of the highest achievements of early modern rationalism, Kant's critical revolution, and …Read more
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70Sextus and the Nature of SuspensionPhilosophia 51 (4): 2241-2259. 2023.This article is an investigation of the nature of suspension of judgement as it is conceived by Sextus Empiricus. I carry out this investigation by examining what I take to be Sextus’ most pertinent remarks on the topic and by considering them in the context of contemporary philosophical work on the nature of suspension. Against the more frequently encountered idea that Sextus is operating with a privative conception of suspension, I argue that Sextus instead has a metacognitive account of suspe…Read more
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126The Beginning of Hegel's LogicPhilosophy Compass 18 (5): 1-10. 2023.This article discusses two topics, both commonly referred to using the label “the beginning of Hegel's Logic”: (1) Hegel's justification for the claim that a science of logic must begin by considering the concept of “pure being”. (2) Hegel's account of the concepts “being”, “nothing”, and “becoming” in the first chapter of his Logic. Discussing recent work on both of these topics, two primary claims are defended: Regarding (1): the strongest interpretations of Hegel's case for beginning a scienc…Read more
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217This is a draft translation of the first letter of G.E. Schulze's Aenesidemus. Comments and corrections welcome.
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231G.E. Schulze's Aenesidemus, despite its importance for the development of post-Kantian idealism, has not been fully translated into English. Now and then, when I have time, I will upload draft translations of parts of the text here, with the goal of, at some point, providing a complete translation. These drafts will be rough and I welcome feedback! This document contains only the Title page, Schulze's indication of the contents of the work, and the preface
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54Stephen Houlgate. Hegel on Being (review)Idealistic Studies 52 (3): 297-305. 2022.Review of Vols 1 & 2 of Stephen Houlgate's 'Hegel on Being'
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67Hegel and the Problem of Beginning: Scepticism and PresuppositionlessnessRowman and Littlefield. 2023.Hegel opens the first book of his Science of Logic with the statement of a problem: “The beginning of philosophy must be either something mediated or something immediate, and it is easy to show that it can be neither the one nor the other, so either way of beginning finds its rebuttal.” Despite its significant placement, exactly what Hegel means in his expression of this problem and exactly what his solution to it is, remain unclear. In this book, Robb Dunphy provides a detailed engagement with …Read more
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172This is a draft translation of the fourth letter of G.E. Schulze's Aenesidemus. Comments and corrections welcome.
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187This is a translation of the short, third letter in G.E. Schulze's Aenesidemus, without its lengthy appendix. Excerpts of the appendix which follows this letter have been translated into English by George di Giovanni in Between Kant and Hegel, eds. G. di Giovanni and H.S. Harris, (Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company Inc., 2000).
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90On the Incompatibility of Hegel's Phenomenology with the Beginning of his LogicReview of Metaphysics 74 (293): 81-119. 2020.This paper argues firstly that the argument of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit is necessary for the justification of the beginning of his logical project, and secondly that Hegel's attempt to secure the beginning of his Science of Logic by relying upon the argument of the Phenomenology fails. I argue firstly that the position taken up at the beginning of Hegel's Logic is constructed in such a fashion that it relies upon the argument of the Phenomenology to justify it. I then offer some support f…Read more
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55The Scientific Status of Hegel’s Logic, its Circular Structure, and the Matter of its BeginningRevista Eletrônica Estudos Hegelianos 18 (31): 45-66. 2021.This article is concerned with some of the criteria which Hegel believes apply to a scientific treatment of logic. I briefly address criteria which I take Hegel to inherit from German rationalism before focusing on two fairly idiosyncratic criteria: the requirement that a science of logic exhibit a circular structure and that it begin with the concept of pure being. I offer an explanation of these criteria which understands them as motivated by anti-sceptical concerns, before arguing that Hegel’…Read more
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85From Proto-Sceptic to Sceptic in Sextus’ Outlines of PyrrhonismApeiron: A Journal for Ancient Philosophy and Science 55 (3): 455-484. 2022.This is an account of Sceptical investigation as it is presented by Sextus Empiricus. I focus attention on the motivation behind the Sceptic’s investigation, the goal of that investigation, and on the development Sextus describes from proto-Sceptical to Sceptical investigator. I suggest that recent accounts of the Sceptic’s investigative practice do not make sufficient sense of the fact that the Sceptic finds a relief from disturbance by way of suspending judgement, nor of the apparent continuit…Read more
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74Agrippan ProblemsLogos and Episteme 11 (3): 259-282. 2020.In this article I consider Sextus’ account of the Five Modes and of the Two Modes in his Outlines of Pyrrhonism. I suggest that from these we can derive the basic form of a number of different problems which I refer to as “Agrippan problems,” where this category includes both the epistemic regress problem and the problem of the criterion. Finally, I suggest that there is a distinctive Agrippan problem present at the beginning of Hegel’s Science of Logic.
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38Marina Bykova, Kenneth Westphal (Eds.): The Palgrave Hegel Handbook (review)Phenomenological Reviews 6. 2020.Review of the Palgrave Hegel Handbook. Although the coverage of the volume is wide-ranging, this review focuses mostly on material relevant to Hegel's logic, epistemology, and metaphysics.
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130Hegel and the Problem of BeginningHegel Bulletin 42 (3): 344-367. 2021.In this article I develop an interpretation of the opening passages of Hegel's essay ‘With what must the beginning of science be made?’ I suggest firstly that Hegel is engaging there with a distinctive problem, the overcoming of which he understands to be necessary in order to guarantee the scientific character of the derivation of the fundamental categories of thought which he undertakes in the Science of Logic. I refer to this as ‘the problem of beginning’. I proceed to clarify the nature of t…Read more
Falmer, Brighton, East Sussex, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Areas of Specialization
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Skepticism |
Idealism |
G. W. F. Hegel |
Pyrrhonists |
German Idealism |
Metaphysics and Epistemology |
Pyrrhonian Skepticism |
Immanuel Kant |