Lecture of Prof. Steven Stich

Lecturer: Prof. Steven Stich (Rutgers University)
date: 2012/11/01 16:00 – 18:00
at Faculty of Letters, Kyoto University

ABSTRACT

Experimental Philosophy and the Bankruptcy of the Great Tradition
Stephen Stich
Rutgers University

From Plato to the present, appeal to intuition has played a central role in philosophy.  However, recent work in experimental philosophy has shown that in many cases intuition cannot be a reliable source of evidence for philosophical theories.  Without careful empirical work, there is no way of knowing which intuitions are unreliable.  Thus the venerable tradition that views philosophy as a largely a priori discipline that can be pursued from the armchair is untenable.  This talk will survey some of the ways in which intuition is used in philosophy, give an overview of the growing body of evidence indicating that intuition is often unreliable, and develop the argument that this evidence undermines the tradition of armchair philosophy.  Several new studies focusing on the intuitions of professional philosophers will be discussed.

TOP