Wikipedia tells us that Experimental Philosophy (X-Phi) is: an emerging field of philosophical inquiry that makes use of empirical data—often gathered through surveys which probe the intuitions of ordinary people—in order to inform research on philosophical questions. This use of empirical data is widely seen as opposed to a philosophical methodology that relies mainly on a priori justification, sometimes called Continue Reading …
Search Results for: "experimental philosophy"
Experimental Philosophy
At the New York Times’ Room for Debate some philosophy professors are discussing the following question: As philosophy departments have come under attack for being costly and impractical, do experimental methods, called “x-phi” by its proponents, offer new horizons for old problems? Or are they immaterial and a waste of time? Most of the participants note that Philosophy’s use of evidence Continue Reading …
Philosophical Crumbs 03/17/2015: Heidegger, Chuang Tzu, Sex and Promises
A roundup of recent philosophical activity on the Internet.
“Very Bad Wizards” Podcast on Free Will
A point neglected in the moral discussion in our recent episode is free will. She-who-will-not-be-named (read her view here) on the one hand insists on the supremacy of empirical science but on the other hand insists that our freedom and hence moral responsibility is obvious and inescapable. So that should make her a compatibilist, but as usual, she doesn’t really Continue Reading …
Good X-Phi and Bad Art
[Editor’s Note: Thanks to philosophy grad student and musician Al Baker for this guest post.] The first time I heard the term “experimental philosophy,” part way through my master’s degree, it sounded like such an obvious oxymoron that I couldn’t help but think it was a terrible idea. I shared, and continue to share, many of the worries that Seth Continue Reading …