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Metaphilosophy
Edited by Jonathan Ichikawa (University of British Columbia)
About this topic
| Summary | Metaphilosophy is the philosophical study of philosophy itself; just as the philosophy of language is the philosophical study of language or the philosophy of time is the philosophical study of time, the philosophy of philosophy is the philosophical study of philosophy. Central questions include questions about the nature of philosophical inquiry--for instance, are we attempting to discover objective truths about the external world, or is philosophy concerned with something more mind-dependent, like understanding words or concepts?--and questions about the epistemology of philosophy--for instance, how (if at all) is armchair philosophical knowledge possible, and what is the bearing of empirical science on philosophy? |
| Key works | An influential entry point into the literature here is Williamson 2007, which defends a nonskeptical approach to philosophy according to which it is continuous with nonphilosophical inquiry. For a more traditional, rationalist approach, see Jackson 1998. The exchange between Goldman 2007 and Kornblith 2007 provides a good exemplar of the debate about the proper subject matter of philosophy. |
| Introductions | The literature on metaphilosophy typically occurs at a relatively advanced level; unlike many other philosophical subdisciplines, the study of philosophy requires significant antecedent familiarity with much of philosophy, so it is not particularly well-suited to introductory treatments. However, Rosenberg 1984 is one influential introductory text. |
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In this area
Subcategories
Metaphilosophical Views (577 | 60)
Naturalism (144 | 92)
Pragmatism (120 | 58)
Philosophical Methods (1,196 | 108)Joachim Horvath
Formal Philosophy (28)
Rhetoric (23)
Experimental Philosophy (1,216 | 1)James Andow
History/traditions: Metaphilosophy
Also in this area
Trending in Metaphilosophy
- What do philosophers believe?David Bourget & David J. Chalmers - 2014 - Philosophical Studies 170 (3):465-500.
- Review of 'Wittgenstein and the End of Philosophy-by Daniel Hutto 2nd Ed. (2006).Michael Starks - 2016 - In Suicidal Utopian Delusions in the 21st Century: Philosophy, Human Nature and the Collapse of Civilization-- Articles and Reviews 2006-2017 2nd Edition Feb 2018. Las Vegas, USA: Reality Press. pp. 259-270.
- (1 other version)Experimental moral philosophy.Mark Alfano, Don Loeb & Alex Plakias - 2018 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:1-32.
- What is a thought experiment, anyhow?Massimo Pigliucci - 2006 - Philosophy Now (Nov/Dec):30.
- Normality and actual causal strength.Thomas F. Icard, Jonathan F. Kominsky & Joshua Knobe - 2017 - Cognition 161 (C):80-93.
- Surveying Freedom: Folk Intuitions about free will and moral responsibility.Eddy Nahmias, Stephen Morris, Thomas Nadelhoffer & Jason Turner - 2005 - Philosophical Psychology 18 (5):561-584.
- Bad News for Conservatives? Moral Judgments and the Dark Triad Personality Traits: A Correlational Study.Marcus Arvan - 2013 - Neuroethics 6 (2):307-318.
- Early Modern Experimental Philosophy.Peter R. Anstey & Alberto Vanzo - 2016 - In Wesley Buckwalter & Justin Sytsma (eds.), Blackwell Companion to Experimental Philosophy. Malden, MA: Blackwell. pp. 87-102.
- The epistemology of moral disagreement.Rach Cosker-Rowland - 2017 - Philosophy Compass 12 (2):1-16.
- True happiness: The role of morality in the folk concept of happiness.Jonathan Phillips, Christian Mott, Julian De Freitas, June Gruber & Joshua Knobe - 2017 - Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 146 (2):165-181.
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