My research falls chiefly in the philosophy of psychology and cognitive science, the philosophy of biology, and general philosophy of science, but I also have some ongoing interests in ethics and moral psychology, metaphysics and epistemology, and 17th and 18th century philosophy. Most of my published work has been on individualism in psychology, but don't hold that against me! Topics on which I am currently working include constitution views in metaphysics, the concept of realization in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science, and social agency. From 1995-1998 a lot of my research time was soaked up as the general editor for the MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences MITECS, which was published in April 1999, and is now available as a reasonably-priced paperback ($US70 or so for 1100 large pages!).
I am currently continuing work on a series of books under the
general title The
Individual in the Fragile Sciences, a project that ranges across
the cognitive, biological, and social sciences. A 3-year SSHRC grant
with teaching release awarded in 2001 allowed me to finish two books in
this project, Boundaries
of the Mind (2004) and Genes
and the Agents of Life (2005), both published with Cambridge
University Press. Another 3-year SSHRC grant awarded in 2005
should allow me to complete work on the
third
book in the series; its working title is Domains of the Social. There
are a number of other projects that I have started but am unlikely to
find time to make much progress on alone in the near future, and you
should click here for an overview (in pdf)
of 12
Projects that fit this description.
Other books that I have out are Cartesian Psychology and Physical Minds (Cambridge, 1995; paperback 1997); and two edited books, Species: New Interdisciplinary Essays (1999), and (with Frank Keil), Explanation and Cognition, (2000), both published by MIT Press. Journals that I have recent articles in include Pacific Philosophical Quarterly ("Intentionality and Phenomenology", 84 (November 2003), pp.413-431), Philosophical Studies ("Two Views of Realization", 104 (May 2001), pp.1-31), Philosophy of Science ("Pluralism, Entwinement, and the Levels of Selection", 70 (July 2003), pp.531-552; and "Test Cases, Resolvability, and Group Selection: The Myxoma Case, 71 (July 2004), pp.380-401), and The Journal of the History of Philosophy ("Locke's Primary Qualities", 40 (April 2002), pp.201-228). I have also recently done a series of extended reviews of books in philosophy of biology: on Phil Kitcher's influence, on eugenics, on primatology, and on the early history of life. A complete list of publications (including these) is available from my c.v.. For the food that fuels all this, and how it is to be eaten, click here.
Over the last 13 years I have taught courses in ethics, the
philosophy of mind and psychology, logic and language, naturalistic
epistemology, philosophy of science, and the philosophy of
biology. I welcome inquiries from graduate and undergraduate
students regarding courses and opportunities for study; grad students
might also be interested in this 12
Projects document (in pdf). You
can find syllabi for my
current and/or most recent courses on the sidebar of this website.
This informational page was updated in August 2005
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