metaphysics
TagThe Rigor of Philosophy & the Complexity of the World (guest post)
“Analytic philosophy gradually substitutes an ersatz conception of formalized ‘rigor’ in the stead of the close examination of applicational complexity.” (more…)
2022 Sanders Metaphysics Prize Awarded
David Builes, assistant professor of philosophy at Princeton University, and Michele Odisseas Impagnatiello, a graduate student in philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, are the winners of the 2022 Sanders Prize in Metaphysics. (more…)
Qiu Lin Wins 2021 Aristotle Prize
The Metaphysical Society of America (MSA) has awarded its 2021 Aristotle Prize to Qiu Lin, philosophy Ph.D candidate at Duke University. The theme of this year’s prize is Metaphysical Traditions in Dialogue. (more…)
Optimism about Metaphysics (and Philosophy in General)
Is there reason to be optimistic about progress in metaphysics? Jessica Wilson (Toronto) thinks so. (more…)
Mind Chunks
No Escape from Metaphysics
I think the contemporary scene is thriving. But you still run into critics of metaphysics. I find these critics genuinely puzzling. Let me try to explain why. (more…)
Pickup Wins Sanders 2020 Metaphysics Award
Martin Pickup, Turpin Junior Research Fellow at Oriel College, Oxford, is the winner of the 2020 Metaphysics Prize from the Marc Sanders Foundation.
Intuitions, Common Sense, and “Earning the Right” to Judgments about Philosophy
“Intuitions and common sense are not, I claim, a good basis on which to reach philosophical conclusions.” (more…)
The State of Contemporary Metaphysics
“I think metaphysics is what it’s always been—and it’s hard to say what that is!”
Crash Course: Metaphysics & Epistemology of Race
Welcome to another installment of the “Crash Course” series, this time on the metaphysics and epistemology of race. (more…)
Challenges Facing Philosophy of Science
What are the most significant challenges facing philosophy of science today? Nick Zautra, a PhD student in the history and philosophy of science at Indiana University Bloomington, interviewed 30 philosophers of science over the past two years, asking them this question, and presented a summary of their answers at the recent 2018 Philosophy of Science Association (PS..
New Prizes in Epistemology and Metaphysics from the APA
The American Philosophical Association (APA) has announced the creation of two new prizes: one in metaphysics, named for Nicholas Rescher (Pittsburgh), and one in epistemology, named for Ernest Sosa (Rutgers). (more…)
The “Disciplined and Humble Speculation” of Metaphysics
How do we decide whether a metaphysical system is the right one or not? Empirical evidence doesn’t seem to be decisive, and given that some metaphysicians have impossible worlds and Meinongian objects it seems anything might happen in such a system. Are all metaphysical issues undecidable—and extending this thought to philosophy generally do you agree with the tho..
Metaphysics And Its Discontents
“I think metaphysics is the real theory of everything: nothing is off its remit.” (more…)
Sanders Foundation Announces Metaphysics Prize Winner
The Marc Sanders Foundation has announced that T. Scott Dixon, assistant professor of philosophy at Ashoka University (in India), is the winner of its annual metaphysics prize for his essay, “Plural Slot Theory.” (more…)
David Lewis “Letter of the Month” Series (updated)
“The Age of Metaphysical Revolution,” is a project at the University of Manchester whose aim is “to give an account of how the age of metaphysical revolution arose at the end of the twentieth century through a systematic exploration of David Lewis’ philosophy in its historical context.” (more…)
Philosophers: Stop Being Self-Indulgent and Start Being Like Daniel Dennett, says Daniel Dennett
Daniel Dennett (Tufts) does seem to say that, but the real topic of this post is the good question he raises about how to figure out whether the kind of philosophy you’re doing is worth doing. We’ll get to that. But first, check out the following, from what might be the most clickbait-titled-but-just-for-academic-philosophers-article-ever-to-appear-on-a-mainstream-w..
€1.2 Million for Research on the Metaphysics of Pregnancy
Elselijn Kingma, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Southampton, has been awarded a 1.2 million Euro (approximately $1.35 million) European Research Council (ERC) Research Grant for her work on the metaphysics of pregnancy.
Kingma explains: “Every single human is the product of a pregnancy: an approximately nine-month period during which a foe..
Metaphysics as Intellectual Ergonomics (guest post by Elijah Millgram)
This is the fifth in a series of guest posts* by Elijah Millgram (Utah) based on themes from his new book, The Great Endarkenment: Philosophy for an Age of Hyperspecialization. (Here are the first, second, third, and fourth entries.) (more…)
Metaphysics by Forgetting (guest post by Elijah Millgram)
This is the fourth in a series of guest posts* by Elijah Millgram (Utah) based on themes from his new book, The Great Endarkenment: Philosophy for an Age of Hyperspecialization. (Here are the first, second, and third entries.) (more…)
Crash Course: Causation
A few weeks ago we started a new series of “crash course” posts here at Daily Nous. The idea is borrowed from Natalia Cecire (Sussex): to come up with a “one-week self education program” for “students who suddenly need to get up to speed in a field, and don’t have time to take a course or immerse themselves in it for a year,” or for professors seeking to learn about..
Litland (Texas) Wins Sanders Prize in Metaphysics
Jon Litland (University of Texas, Austin) has won the 2015 Sanders Prize in Metaphysics for his paper, “Grounding Ground.” The prize is given to the winner of an annual essay competition open to scholars who are within fifteen years of having received their Ph.D., or students who are currently enrolled in a graduate program (independent scholars may also be eligible..
Tim Crane Talks Metaphysics
It used to be that a trip to the bookstore in search of a volume on metaphysics would bring you face to face with titles about spirits, crystals, energy, and the like. But now things are much better. I mean, you’ll still get howlers like this or this or even this when you search for metaphysics at a place like Amazon, but generally the selection is good and there is..