Research Interests
⛬ The relationship between Pragmatism and Embodied Cognitive Science in the ongoing “pragmatic turn.”
⛬ Exposition and application of pragmatic philosophy to Philosophy of Cognitive Science
⛬ Cognitive approaches to the Philosophy of Language and Philosophy of Logic
⛬ Organismal and systems-level approaches to reassessing concepts in A.I. and Philosophy of Mind, e.g. consciousness, free will, ontology, agency
⛬ The relationship between Pragmatism and Embodied Cognitive Science in the ongoing “pragmatic turn.”
⛬ Exposition and application of pragmatic philosophy to Philosophy of Cognitive Science
⛬ Cognitive approaches to the Philosophy of Language and Philosophy of Logic
⛬ Organismal and systems-level approaches to reassessing concepts in A.I. and Philosophy of Mind, e.g. consciousness, free will, ontology, agency
Current Projects
WORKS IN PROGRESS
“Except for Truth: The (Practically) Pragmatist Epistemology of Karl Popper” (paper)
“Popper’s Philosophy of Language” (paper)
“Adopting x to Affirm y: Metaphysical Leveraging in Philosophy of Science and Mind” (paper)
“Free Will Quietism: Setting Aside the Traditional Debate in Favor of a New Discussion” (paper)
“An Organismal and Systems-Level Approach to Choices and Responsibility” (paper)
“Value Frames & the godlike Position: Another Look at Machine Metaethics” (paper)
MONOGRAPHS IN PREPARATION (ONGOING)
“Understanding Pragmatism: A Guide to the Practical Philosophy of William James and F.C.S. Schiller”
MANUSCRIPTS IN PREPARATION
New edition of Formal Logic (1912) by F.C.S. Schiller, with an introduction and notes
New edition of Logic for Use (1929) by F.C.S. Schiller, with an introduction and notes
WORKS IN PROGRESS
“Except for Truth: The (Practically) Pragmatist Epistemology of Karl Popper” (paper)
“Popper’s Philosophy of Language” (paper)
- Outlines the approach to language, meaning, definitions, linguistic analysis, and linguistic disputes enunciated by Sir Karl Popper (1902-1994), with an emphasis on the differences between Popper and the positivists.
“Adopting x to Affirm y: Metaphysical Leveraging in Philosophy of Science and Mind” (paper)
“Free Will Quietism: Setting Aside the Traditional Debate in Favor of a New Discussion” (paper)
“An Organismal and Systems-Level Approach to Choices and Responsibility” (paper)
“Value Frames & the godlike Position: Another Look at Machine Metaethics” (paper)
MONOGRAPHS IN PREPARATION (ONGOING)
“Understanding Pragmatism: A Guide to the Practical Philosophy of William James and F.C.S. Schiller”
- This volume unpacks the Pragmatism of William James and F.C.S. Schiller in a way that is suitable for an academic audience, but in a style befitting a more public-facing work. It dispels common myths regarding Pragmatism, and provides clear answers to objections to it raised by non-pragmatist philosophers. My approach in this work is to read James in light of Schiller, treating Schiller as his designated expositor, taking my cue from various statements to this effect by James in his publications and personal correspondence. The result is a careful, systematic Jamesian Pragmatism that does not recede into mystical opacity or poetic flourish, but is clearly set forth within the context of 19th century empiricism and the nascent Analytic tradition. Schiller strengthens the project of James, and formulates a comprehensively pragmatic approach to metaphysics, epistemology, language, logic, and science. There are ten chapters planned, beginning with an explanation of the name “Pragmatism” and ending with a section discussing the its implications for ethics and metaethics.
- In his now-classic compendium of lectures entitled Pragmatism: A New Name For Some Old Ways of Thinking, William James makes it clear that not only was his philosophy not entirely unprecedented within the tradition of Western philosophy but that one does not actually need to be a pragmatist proper to employ its methods. This volume builds on that notion by finding the methods of Pragmatism in the philosophy and thought of non-pragmatists. Each chapter examines the work of a different empirical philosopher (Karl Popper, Friedrich Nietzsche, A.J. Ayer, and others) to reveal distinctive parallels between their approach and the Pragmatism of James and F.C.S Schiller. It begins with chapters on pragmatic methods in earlier philosophies (“old ways of thinking”) stretching back to Aristotle, the place of Pragmatism in 19th century empiricism, and a positive assessment of Commonsense Realism as a practical philosophy, and then it proceeds with six chapters comparing the work of six empirical philosophers with Jamesian Pragmatism.
MANUSCRIPTS IN PREPARATION
New edition of Formal Logic (1912) by F.C.S. Schiller, with an introduction and notes
New edition of Logic for Use (1929) by F.C.S. Schiller, with an introduction and notes