…applicability in linguistics, philosophy, science and everyday life are briefly surveyed in §2. Whether types are universals is discussed in §3. §4 discusses some other suggestions for what types are,…
Symmetry and Symmetry Breaking
…forth. These issues relate directly to traditional problems in the philosophy of science, including the status of the laws of nature, the relationships between mathematics, physical theory, and the world,…
Microphysical Causation and the Case for Physicalism
Abstract: Physicalism is sometimes portrayed by its critics as a dogma, but there is an empirical argument for the position, one based on the accumulation of diverse microphysical causal explanations…
The Philosophy of Phenomenal Consciousness
Abstract: A primer on the philosophical issues relating to phenomenal consciousness, part of a collection of new papers by scientists and philosophers on the constitution of consciousness….
The Imaginary Museum of Musical Works: An Essay in the Philosophy of Music
Publisher’s Note: What is the difference between a performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and the symphony itself? What does it mean for musicians to be faithful to the works they…
Logic and Philosophy of Logic from Humanism to Kant
This chapter begins with a discussion of humanist criticisms of scholastic logic. It then discusses the evolution of the scholastic tradition and the influence of Renaissance Aristotelianism, Descartes and his…
Truth in Virtue of Meaning: A Defence of the Analytic/Synthetic Distinction
…philosophy of language. Tools have been refined, confusions cleared up, and most significantly, many philosophers now accept a view of language – semantic externalism – on which it is possible…
Justice and the Politics of Difference
…of domination and oppression to cover issues eluding the distributive model. Democratic theorists, according to Young do not adequately address the problem of an inclusive participatory framework. By assuming a…
Empathy, Polyandry, and the Myth of the Coy Female
Introduction: For over three decades, a handful of partially true assumptions were permitted to shape the construction of general evolutionary theories about sexual selection. These theories of sexual selection presupposed…
Why Equality and Which Inequalities?: A Modern Confucian Approach to Democracy
…about actual social and political problems (Which inequalities are objectionable?). From this perspective, early Confucian texts endorse some inequalities, in particular those based on virtue, while objecting to others, especially…