Common Sense As Evidence: Against Revisionary Ontology and Skepticism1
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Kripke's Theory of Truth
Kripke’s Theory of Truth (for the strong Kleene scheme) Presented by Christopher Gauker Version: July 26, 2006 Contemporary discussions of truth often make reference to Kripke’s theory of truth (presented by Kripke only his 1975 Journal of Philosophy paper). What Kripke did was show how to interpret a language in such a way that it contains its own truth predicate. The fact that the language he describes contains its own truth predicate is proved by means of something called a fixed-point theorem. I have written this document and posted it on the web because it is hard to find a presentation of Kripke’s theory that will be understandable even to readers who have had only a first course in logic. It is my intention that this presentation will be understandable to all readers who have been exposed to at least the following: The languages of ordinary predicate logic. Recursive definitions of truth in a structure for such languages. (Structures are also called models or interpretations.) The basic concepts and notation of set theory, such as curly brackets, membership (“∈”), inclusion (“⊆”), ordered n-tuples, relations and functions. Kripke’s theory of truth builds on a three-valued interpretation of a language. (So sentences may be neither true nor false (N) as well as (T) or false (F).) Various three- valued valuation schemes may be used. Here we will consider only the strong Kleene scheme, which is the only one most people care about. I can take no credit for this presentation. It is nothing more than a distillation from the more general presentation in Anil Gupta and Nuel Belnap’s book, The Revision Theory of Truth (MIT Press, 1993) (who in turn acknowledge debts to Fitting and Visser). -
A Note on Extension, Intension, and Truth Author(S): Anil Gupta and Nuel Belnap Source: the Journal of Philosophy, Vol
Journal of Philosophy, Inc. A Note on Extension, Intension, and Truth Author(s): Anil Gupta and Nuel Belnap Source: The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 84, No. 3 (Mar., 1987), pp. 168-174 Published by: Journal of Philosophy, Inc. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2026597 Accessed: 28/05/2009 11:06 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=jphil. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1995 to build trusted digital archives for scholarship. We work with the scholarly community to preserve their work and the materials they rely upon, and to build a common research platform that promotes the discovery and use of these resources. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Journal of Philosophy, Inc. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of Philosophy. http://www.jstor.org 168 THE JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY A NOTE ON EXTENSION, INTENSION, AND TRUTH* I T is common knowledge that two predicates may coincide in extension but differ in intension and that, for any predicate, one can construct an infinity of coextensional predicates that differ in intension. -
GAGE-DISSERTATION-2014.Pdf (1.774Mb)
ABSTRACT Objectivity and Subjectivity in Epistemology: A Defense of the Phenomenal Conception of Evidence Logan Paul Gage, Ph.D. Committee Chairperson: Trent Dougherty, Ph.D. We all have an intuitive grasp of the concept of evidence. Evidence makes beliefs reasonable, justifies jury verdicts, and helps resolve our disagreements. Yet getting clear about what evidence is is surprisingly difficult. Among other possibilities, evidence might consist in physical objects like a candlestick found at the crime scene, propositions like ‘a candlestick was found at the crime scene,’ or experiences like the experience of witnessing a candlestick at the crime scene. This dissertation is a defense of the latter view. Evidence, we will argue, consists in experiences or mental states called ‘seeming states.’ We begin with a look at why the logical positivists came to abandon the experiential or “phenomenal” conception of evidence and adopted what I call “the courtroom conception.” Despite its appeal, we argue that this latter view is too objective; it has trouble playing the role of subjective reasons-provider. Being more subjective, the phenomenal conception deserves another look. However, many have thought that the phenomenal conception itself is unable to fulfill other important roles of evidence. In Chapter Two we dispute this, arguing that the phenomenal conception can play all four of the chief roles of evidence. Examining the religious epistemology of Alvin Plantinga in Chapter Three we come to see that the phenomenal conception, while attractive, is in danger of being too subjective. If the phenomenal conception of evidence is to be tenable, it must be offered in conjunction with a conservative epistemic principle which tethers together experiences with the beliefs they evidence in an epistemically appropriate manner. -
PGR Faculty List 2021 ALL Departments 24August2021 Draft
Faculty Lists fall 2021 Email: [email protected] for corrections. Current update: 8/24/2021 #=75 or older in 2021 (* was over 70 in 2017 list) Part-time faculty are half-time, unless otherwise noted. UNITED STATES (the top 50 will be ranked) FACULTY # Arizona Faculty: Sara Aronowitz, Thomas Christiano, Stewart Cohen, Juan Comesaña, Reza Hadisi, RiChard Healey, Laura, Howard, J. Christopher Maloney, MiChael McKenna, Bill OberdiCK, Guido PinCione, Marga Reimer, Daniel Russell, Carolina Sartorio, David SChmidtz, Houston Smit, MarK Timmons, Joseph Tolliver, Jason Turner, Steven Wall, Jonathan Weinberg. Part-time faculty: *Allen Buchanan (.25 time) Cognate faculty and philosophers in other units: Martin FriCKe, Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini, Christopher Robertson, Simone Sepe. FACULTY # Arizona State Faculty: RiChard Amesbury, Brad Armendt, Thomas BlaCKson, Cheshire Calhoun, Peter de Marneffe, Typer DesRoChes, MarCello Di Bello, Peter Kung, Joan MCGregor, Shyam Nair, Ben Phillips, Nestor Ángel Pinillos, Douglas W. Portmore, Maura Priest, Steven Reynolds. Part-time faculty: Cognate faculty and philosophers in other units: RiChard Creath, Tyler DesRoChes, ZaChary Horne, Ted Humphrey, PatriCia J. Huntingon, Manfred LaubiChler, Jane MainesChein, Martin BeCK MatuštíK, Ben A. Minteer, *Jeffrie G. Murphy, BeCKett Sterner, Jason Robert, Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, Norbert Samuelson, BeCKett Sterner. FACULTY # BerKeley Faculty: Olivia Bailey, John Campbell, Timothy ClarKe, Shamik Dasgupta, Johann FriCK, Hannah Ginsborg, Florian Grosser, Wesley H. Holliday, NiKo Kolodny, Geoffrey Lee, John MaCFarlane, Paolo ManCosu, Alva Noë, Andreja NovaKoviC, Kristin Primus, R. Jay WallaCe, Daniel Warren, Seth Yalcin, Xueyin (Snow) Zhang. Part-time Faculty: Joshua Cohen (.25 time), MiChael (M.G.F.) Martin, Veronique Munoz Darde, Kwong-Loi Shun. Cognate Faculty and Philosophers in Other Units: Asad Q. -
Barnett CV January 2016
David James Barnett Department of Philosophy • 807 Union Street • Schenectady, NY 12308 917 657 5326 • [email protected] • www.davidjamesbar.net AREAS OF Epistemology, Philosophy of Mind SPECIALIZATION AREAS OF Early Modern Philosophy, Logic, Philosophy of Language, Bioethics COMPETENCE ACADEMIC Union College. 2012-present, Assistant Professor, Philosophy Department APPOINTMENTS Union College. 2012-present, Affiliated Professor, Neuroscience Program New York University. 2015-2016, Visiting Scholar, Philosophy Department University of Edinburgh. Summer 2013, Visiting Fellow, Eidyn research center EDUCATION New York University. 2003-2012, PhD New College of Florida. 1998-2003, BA (Honors) in Philosophy and Cognitive Science DISSERTATION Self-Knowledge and the Boundaries of the Mind Committee: Paul Boghossian (chair), Don Garrett, James Pryor PUBLICATIONS “Perceptual Justification and the Cartesian Theater”, forthcoming Oxford Studies in Epistemology. Runner-up, 2015 Marc Sanders Prize in Epistemology “Inferential Justification and the Transparency of Belief ”, 2016 Noûs 50(1): 184-212. “Is Memory Merely Testimony from One’s Former Self?”, 2015 Philosophical Review 124(3): 353-392. “What’s the Matter With Epistemic Circularity?”, 2014 Philosophical Studies 171(2): 177-205. WORKS IN “Moore’s Paradox and Self-Knowledge” draft available PROGRESS “Epistemic Autonomy and the Cartesian Circle” draft available “A Note on Egan’s Counterexamples to Causal Decision Theory” draft available “Higher-Order Evidence is the Wrong Kind of Reason” outline -
Seminar in Epistemology: Fallibilism (PHIL 468)
Seminar in Epistemology: Fallibilism (PHIL 468) Professor Baron Reed Spring Quarter, 2012 office: 3-225 Kresge Hall 2-345 Kresge Hall email: [email protected] T 4:00-6:50 office hours: T/Th 12:30-1:30 and by appointment Course Description: “We are all fallibilists nowadays,” says Michael Williams. This is almost entirely true. But, despite its near-universal acceptance, fallibilism remains poorly understood. There are significant problems that follow in its wake—e.g,. the Gettier problem and the Lottery Paradox. Moreover, some philosophers claim more for knowledge than fallibilism can deliver, tying knowledge to assertion, practical rationality, and epistemic possibility. Finally, some philosophers think that the very idea of fallibilism is suspect; if the view is correct, it means “the world must do us a favor,” as John McDowell puts it. But the whole point of knowledge, one might have thought, is that it puts one in such a position that favors are not needed. In this seminar, we will investigate whether fallibilism has the resources to meet some or all of these concerns. Required Texts: Readings to be posted on Blackboard. Required Work: Work for the course will include a short paper, a presentation, a commentary on a classmate’s paper, and a final paper: 20% Short paper (4-5 pages) 20% Presentation (4-5 pages) 10% Comments (2 pages) 50% Final Paper (10 pages) Excellent class participation may also factor into the final grade. Course Policies: (1) Regular contributions to discussion will be expected. (2) Extensions must be requested before the due date. -
Against Parthood* in Karen Bennett and Dean W
Against Parthood* In Karen Bennett and Dean W. Zimmerman, eds., Oxford Theodore Sider Studies in Metaphysics, volume 8 (Oxford: OUP, 2013): 237– 93 I will defend what Peter van Inwagen calls nihilism: composite entities (entities with proper parts) do not exist.1 This formulation will need to be rened, and, at the very end of the paper, softened a little. But let us stick to the simple, strong version for now. Nihilism may seem absurd. For the world of common sense and science consists primarily of composite entities: persons, animals, plants, planets, stars, galaxies, molecules, viruses, rocks, mountains, rivers, tables, chairs, telephones, skyscrapers, cities… According to nihilism, none of these entities exist. But it is not absurd to reject such entities if one accepts their noncomposite subatomic particles. Consider three subatomic particles, a, b, and c, arranged in a triangular pattern. According to some, there exists in addition a fourth thing, T , which contains a, b, and c as parts. According to me, this fourth thing does not exist. Picture the disagreement thus: *Thanks to Frank Arntzenius, Elizabeth Barnes, Karen Bennett, Jiri Benovsky, Mike Bergmann, Ben Caplan, Ross Cameron, John Collins, Earl Conee, Shamik Dasgupta, Janelle Derstine, Sinan Dogramaci, Cian Dorr, TomDougherty, Matti Eklund, Hartry Field, Kit Fine, Anthony Fisher, Pete Graham, Yu Guo, John Hawthorne, Allan Hazlett, Sophie Horowitz, Michael Huemer, TomKelly, Josh Knobe, Rob Koons, Martin Lin, Ned Markosian, Kris Mc- Daniel, Trenton Merricks, Jill North, Lewis Powell, Jim Pryor, Josh Schechter, Nico Silins, Steve Steward, Margot Strohminger, Sarah Stroud, Meghan Sullivan, Jason Turner, Bruno Whittle, Dean Zimmerman, to anonymous referees, and especially to Liz Harman for much wisdom and patience. -
Gupta Comment
Discussion of Anil Gupta's “Outline of an Account of Experience” The MIT Faculty has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters. Citation Byrne, Alex et al. "Discussion of Anil Gupta's “Outline of an Account of Experience”." Analytic Philosophy 59, 1 (March 2018): 75-88 © 1999-2020 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. As Published http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/phib.12121 Publisher Wiley Version Author's final manuscript Citable link https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/123434 Terms of Use Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike Detailed Terms http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Comments on Gupta Alex Byrne 1. Transitions Fundamental to Gupta’s picture is the idea of a “rational transition”. The role of experience, he thinks, “is not to provide the subject knowledge of anything or to bestow a rational or justificatory status on…beliefs or judgments”, but to “render rational certain transitions, including transitions from views to judgments”. His central non-perceptual example of a rational transition involves modus-ponens reasoning from the two premises, B and if B then C, to the conclusion C. And that does indeed seem to be rational or reasonable, in some sense of these elastic terms. Something is going right if someone reasons in this way—at least it’s better than affirming the consequent. Since valid reasoning, as Gupta emphasizes, implies nothing about whether the premises are true, or justifiably believed, or known, this example might seem to suggest that the rationality of transitions and the rationality of beliefs are quite different matters. -
M.A. Philosophy Programme Is a Two Year Course Divided Into Four-Semester
UNIVERSITY OF DELHI MASTER OF ARTS (Acronym for the Course) (Effective from Academic year 2018-19) PROGRAMME BROCHURE (M.A.) Department of Philosophy Faculty of Arts University of Delhi Delhi-110007 2 University of Delhi Examination Branch Date: 18 June 2018 Courses: M. A. in Philosophy Check List of new Course evaluation for AC Consideration S.No. Parameters Status 1. About the Department 2 Introduction to CBCS 3. Programme Structure 4. Codification of Papers 5. Scheme of Examinations 6. Pass Percentage 7. Promotion Criteria 8. Division Criteria 9. Qualifying Papers 10. Span Period 11. Attendance Requirements 12. Course content for each Paper 13. List of Readings 2 3 I ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT Faculty of Arts, North Campus, Delhi University The History and Profile of the Department of Philosophy, University of Delhi. Located in the heart of the main Humanities Block of the Arts Faculty, North Cam- pus, facing an inner quadrangle garden, the Department of Philosophy is one of the oldest in the University of Delhi. This building constructed in the early part of the twentieth century is well known for its red brick colonial structure. This Department began as a combined Department of Philosophy and Psychology in the year 1953. The Department of Psychology became independent in 1962. Since then the Department of Philosophy is an Autonomous Department. Various distinguished scholars who have either taught or been associated with the Department of Philosophy, Delhi University include N.V. Banerjee, S.S Barlingay, R. C. Pandeya, Margaret Chatterjee, S.K. Saxena, Ram Chandra Gandhi and Mrinal Miri. A large number of eminent philosophers from India and abroad have lectured in the De- partment. -
A Companion to the Philosophy of Language
A COMPANION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE SECOND EDITION Volume I Edited by Bob Hale, Crispin Wright, and Alexander Miller This second edition first published 2017 © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Edition history: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. (1e, 1997) Registered Office John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK Editorial Offices 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148‐5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services, and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley‐blackwell. The right of Bob Hale, Crispin Wright, and Alexander Miller to be identified as the authors of the editorial material in this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks, or registered trademarks of their respective owners. -
Curriculum Vitae 2015 JAMES THOMAS CARGILE Place and Date
Curriculum Vitae 2015 JAMES THOMAS CARGILE Place and Date of Birth Ponca City, Oklahoma - 13 April 1938 Education University of Utah, B.A. 1957 University of Virginia, M.A. 1962 University of Cambridge, Ph.D. 1965 Teaching Experience T.A., University of Virginia, 1960-62 Tutor, University of Cambridge, 1962-65 Assistant Professor, University of Virginia, 1965-69 Visiting Asst. Professor, University of Michigan, Fall 1968 Associate Professor, University of Virginia, 1969-80 Visiting Assoc. Professor, University of Illinois, Fall 1970 Professor, University of Virginia, 1981-present FBI Academy (taught logic and ethics) Areas of Specialization Ethics, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Logic, Philosophy of Language Honors and Awards All-University Outstanding Teaching Award, 1997 Publications Books Paradoxes: A Study in Form and Predication, Cambridge University Press, 1979. (This book was re-issued in paperback, 2009). Articles “Logical Form” in The Force of Argument, ed. By Jonathan Lear and Alex Oliver, Routledge, 2010, pp.48-67. Critical Notice of The Language of Thought Revisited by Jerry Fodor (Oxford 2008) in Analysis, February, 2010, pp.1-10. “The Fallacy of Epistemicism” Oxford Studies in Epistemology. 2006. pp. 33-67. “On ‘Alexander’s Dictum’” Topoi vol. 22 (2003). “On Russell’s Argument Against Resemblance Nominalism” Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 2003. “Panteismo” in Arete vol XIII no. 2, 2001. Comments on Christopher Peacocke’s Being Known for the Book Symposium Philosophical Books 2001. “Skepticism and Possibilities” Philosophical and Phenomenological Research 2000. “Proposition and Tense” Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic 1999. “On an Argument Against Closure” Nous, June 1999. “The Problem of Induction”, Philosophy 73, 1998. -
Anil Gupta, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences: Biographical Bibliometric Fact Sheets
Anil Gupta, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences: Biographical Bibliometric Fact Sheets E. R. Prakasan and V. L. Kalyane Scientific Information Resource Division, Knowledge Management Group, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, India – 400 085 *e-mail: [email protected] Anil Gupta, Distinguished Professor Logic, Philosophy of Language, Metaphysics, Epistemology PhD, Pittsburgh, 1977 [email protected] Anil Gupta is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, professor of History and Philosophy of Science, and a fellow of the Center for Philosophy of Science. He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Before joining the department in 2001, he taught at Indiana, Illinois at Chicago, and McGill [1]. Materials and Methods Standard bibliometric methods were used [2-70] for the analysis of the Bibliography (see Appendix) of Anil Gupta [71-117]. Results He is the author of The Logic of Common Nouns (Yale, 1980) and Empiricism and Experience (Oxford, 2006), and a co-author (with Nuel Belnap) of The Revision Theory of Truth (MIT, 1993). Gupta has received fellowships from the NEH and the ACLS, and he was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, in 1998-99. Gupta’s main research interests lie in logic, philosophy of language, metaphysics, and epistemology. Topics that are of special interest to him include definitions, truth, meaning, and perception. 50 7 Number of publications 45 Cumulative Number of Publications 6 40 ations c i 35 ons ubl 5 P cati 30 of 4 25 publi