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Brute Facts Elly Vintiadis (Lecturer in Philosophy, Lecturer in Philosophy, American College of Greece)

Brute Facts By Elly Vintiadis (Lecturer in Philosophy, Lecturer in Philosophy, American College of Greece)

Summary

Brute facts are facts that don't have explanations. They are instrumental in our attempts to give accounts of other facts or phenomena, and so they play a key role in many philosophers' views about the structure of the world. This volume explores neglected questions about the nature of brute facts and their explanatory role.

Brute Facts Summary

Brute Facts by Elly Vintiadis (Lecturer in Philosophy, Lecturer in Philosophy, American College of Greece)

Brute facts are facts that don't have explanations. Such facts appear in our explanations, inform many people's views about the structure of the world, and are part of philosophical interpretations in metaphysics and the philosophy of science. Yet, despite the considerable literature on explanation, the question of bruteness has been left largely unexamined. The chapters in Brute Facts address this gap in academic thought by exploring the central considerations which surround this topic. How can we draw a distinction between facts that can reasonably be thought of as brute and facts for which further explanation is possible? Can we explain something and gain understanding by appealing to brute facts? Is naturalism inconsistent with the existence of (non-physical) brute facts? Can modal facts be brute facts? Are emergent facts brute? This volume brings together contributions by authors who offer different answers to these questions. In presenting a range of different viewpoints on these matters, Brute Facts engages with major debates in contemporary philosophy concerning modality, naturalism, consciousness, reduction and explanation.

Brute Facts Reviews

a comprehensive introduction as well as thoughtfully relevant ... contributions knitting together the various expert critical responses to the existence and use of brute facts ... Recommended. * J. Gough, CHOICE *
A lucid evaluation of the limits of science is as important for science education as the analysis of what can be achieved by science. In order to defend the reliability of the scientific method against antiscientific challenges, it is important to reflect on the scope and limits of scientific explanation. By contributing to this task, the book will be useful and relevant as a background for science educators and science education research. * Max Kistler, Science & Education *
Overall, this collection explores a variety of themes in the existing literature. The issues that it covers deserve a broader audience. Hopefully, this work will draw more attention to the topic in the coming years. * Derek Shiller, Metascience *

About Elly Vintiadis (Lecturer in Philosophy, Lecturer in Philosophy, American College of Greece)

Elly Vintiadis teaches philosophy at the American College of Greece. Her current research interests are in the philosophy of mind, the metaphysics of mind and philosophy of psychiatry - mainly explanation, emergentism and the philosophical implications of mental disorders. In the past Vintiadis has taught at the Hellenic Naval Staff and Command College and at the City College of New York. Constantinos Mekios studied genetics at Columbia University prior to joining the philosophy department at Boston University, where he specialized in the philosophy of biology. Mekios is currently associate professor of philosophy at Stonehill College, where he has been teaching since 2006. His philosophical research remains informed primarily by biological problems and his present work centers on questions concerning explanation and methodology in Systems Biology.

Table of Contents

1: Elly Vintiadis: Introduction 2: John Heil: Must there be brute facts? 3: Elanor Taylor: How to make the case for brute facts 4: Joseph Levine: Bruteness and supervenience: mind vs. morality 5: James Van Cleve: Brute necessity and the mind body problem 6: Dana Goswick: Are modal facts brute facts? 7: Kevin Morris: Truthmaking and the mysteries of emergence 8: Torin Alter: Are there brute facts about consciousness? 9: Gerald Vision: The Provenance of Consciousness 10: John Symons: Brute facts about emergence 11: Elly Vintiadis: There is nothing (really) wrong with emergent brute facts 12: Peter Wyss: Emergence: inexplicable but explanatory 13: Mark H. Bickhard: Naturalism, emergence, and brute facts 14: Argyris Arnellos and Charbel El-Hani: Emergence, downward determination and brute facts in biological systems

Additional information

NPB9780198758600
9780198758600
019875860X
Brute Facts by Elly Vintiadis (Lecturer in Philosophy, Lecturer in Philosophy, American College of Greece)
New
Hardback
Oxford University Press
2018-11-01
284
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
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