By Richard Moran (NHC Fellow, 1994–95) Since Socrates, and through Descartes to the present day, the problems of self-knowledge have been central to philosophy’s understanding of itself. Today the idea of ”first-person authority” — the claim of a distinctive relation each person has toward his or her own mental life — has been challenged from a number of directions, … Continued
By Ralph Wedgwood (NHC Fellow, 1998–99) The Nature of Normativity presents a complete theory about the nature of normative thought – that is, the sort of thought that is concerned with what ought to be the case, or what we ought to do or think. Ralph Wedgwood defends a kind of realism about the normative, according … Continued
By William Barrett (NHC Fellow, 1981–82) Traces the development of philosophical thought from the seventeenth century to today, and explores why questions of the soul figure so little in the minds of present-day technocratic intellectuals.
By L. A. Paul (NHC Fellow, 2011–12) As we live our lives, we repeatedly make decisions that shape our future circumstances and affect the sort of person we will be. When choosing whether to start a family, or deciding on a career, we often think we can assess the options by imagining what different experiences … Continued
By Javier Muguerza (NHC Fellow, 1982–83) La filosofía parte del supuesto que su función es la guarda o vigilancia de la racionalidad. Pero son plurales los usos de la razón: razón lógica, razón analítica, razón instrumental y, la que aquí nos importa, la razón dialógica o comunicativa. ¿Puede llevarse a cabo la reconstrucción del proceso … Continued
By Francesca Bordogna (NHC Fellow, 2006–07) At Columbia University in 1906, William James gave a highly confrontational speech to the American Philosophical Association (APA). He ignored the technical philosophical questions the audience had gathered to discuss and instead addressed the topic of human energy. Tramping on the rules of academic decorum, James invoked the work … Continued
By Alvin I. Goldman (NHC Fellow, 1981–82) Whatever the target of our effort to know—whether we probe the origin of the cosmos, the fabric of man-made symbols and culture, or simply the layout of our immediate environment—all knowledge is grounded in natural cognitive capacities. Philosophers of knowledge must therefore make use of the science of … Continued
By Alvin I. Goldman (NHC Fellow, 1981–82) A certain conception of social epistemology is articulated and applied to numerous social arenas. This conception retains epistemology's traditional interest in truth and reliable inquiry, but replaces its customary emphasis on solitary knowers with a focus on social institutions and interpersonal practices. Postmodernism, science studies, and pragmatism pose … Continued
By Ruth Barcan Marcus (NHC Fellow, 1992–93) Based on her earlier ground-breaking axiomatization of quantified modal logic, the papers collected here by the distinguished philosopher Ruth Barcan Marcus cover much ground in the development of her thought, spanning from 1961 to 1990. The first essay here introduces themes initially viewed as iconoclastic, such as the … Continued
By John Palmer (NHC Fellow, 2004–05) John Palmer develops and defends a modal interpretation of Parmenides, according to which he was the first philosopher to distinguish in a rigorous manner the fundamental modalities of necessary being, necessary non-being or impossibility, and non-necessary or contingent being. This book accordingly reconsiders his place in the historical development … Continued