Intuition, Imagination, and Philosophical Methodology

Tamar Gendler draws together in this book a series of essays in which she investigates philosophical methodology, which is now emerging as a central topic of philosophical discussions. Three intertwined themes run through the volume: imagination, intuition and philosophical methodology. Each
of the chapters focuses, in one way or another, on how we engage with subject matter that we take to be imaginary. This theme is explored in a wide range of cases, including scientific thought experiments, early childhood pretense, thought experiments concerning personal identity, fictional
emotions, self-deception, Gettier cases, and the general relation of conceivability to possibility. Each of the chapters explores, in one way or another, the implications of this for how thought experiments and appeals to intuition can serve as mechanisms for supporting or refuting scientific or
philosophical claims. And each of the chapters self-consciously exhibits a particular philosophical methodology: that of drawing both on empirical findings from contemporary psychology, and on classic texts in the philosophical tradition (particularly the work of Aristotle and Hume.) By exploring
and exhibiting the fruitfulness of these interactions, Gendler promotes the value of engaging in such cross-disciplinary conversations in illuminating philosophical issues.


Author: Tamar Szabo Gendler
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 08/24/2013
Pages: 374
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.77d
ISBN: 9780199683154

About the Author

Tamar Szabó Gendler is a professor of philosophy and chair of the Cognitive Science Program at Yale University

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