"My research is in the philosophy of explanation and understanding, as considered from the pragmatic perspective within the philosophy of science (van Fraassen, Achinstein). I am interested in current work on explanation in cognitive science (Lombrozo, Gopnik) and in the transmission of understanding as an alternative to the philosophical project of justification, in light of Pyrrhonian-style failures. Other research interests include: experimental philosophy; the Humean and Rortyan senses of contingency; Arthur Fine's NOA; Hacking's styles of reasoning; the ethics of care; and the scholarship of teaching and learning.
"Recently, I have been exploring alternative methodologies in order to think about how one might work, authentically, as a naturalist philosopher and, more broadly, how empirical data might work to constrain a possibility space. I co-authored an experimental study with cognitive scientist Seth Chin-Parker (Denison), which suggests that different backgrounds prime participants…
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"My research is in the philosophy of explanation and understanding, as considered from the pragmatic perspective within the philosophy of science (van Fraassen, Achinstein). I am interested in current work on explanation in cognitive science (Lombrozo, Gopnik) and in the transmission of understanding as an alternative to the philosophical project of justification, in light of Pyrrhonian-style failures. Other research interests include: experimental philosophy; the Humean and Rortyan senses of contingency; Arthur Fine's NOA; Hacking's styles of reasoning; the ethics of care; and the scholarship of teaching and learning.
"Recently, I have been exploring alternative methodologies in order to think about how one might work, authentically, as a naturalist philosopher and, more broadly, how empirical data might work to constrain a possibility space. I co-authored an experimental study with cognitive scientist Seth Chin-Parker (Denison), which suggests that different backgrounds prime participants to generate different explanatory styles when responding to the same question; I conducted an x-phi study on Judith Jarvis Thomson’s violinist thought experiment; and I wrote up a qualitative study about my brother Jay Bradner’s work in chemical biology on open source drug development."
I presently serve as the Executive Director of the American Association of Philosophy Teachers and formerly served on the Board of the American Philosophical Association as the chair of the APA Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy. In these roles, I work with committee members to help philosophers throughout the profession develop their teaching and to promote the teaching of philosophy as culturally, politically and socially vital. I self-identify, primarily, as a teacher of undergraduates and have more than eight years of teaching experience in the liberal arts college environment. I have been teaching undergraduates all told, i.e. at many different kinds of institutions, for more than 20 years and have just loved every minute of it. I regularly teach courses in philosophy of science, epistemology, philosophy of biology and metaphysics. Here at Kenyon, I will be teaching epistemology, philosophy of biology, bioethics, philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, introduction to philosophy, and logic.
Plato writes in the Republic that “education is the craft concerned with … turning around…. It isn’t the craft of putting sight into the soul.” This passage identifies education’s special super power — what the best philosophy courses can do for students — turn them around, spin them a bit, and leave them a little disoriented. After the course, when they go back into the “cave,” they’ll question the oppressive ideologies that keep people in the dark by shining false lights. Though I work within the naturalistic tradition of Aristotle, rather than the rationalistic tradition of Plato, I have fully embraced Plato’s suggestion that philosophers should play an activist role in their societies (rather than remaining in Descartes’s sphere of reflection) once they have come to understand the aporetic limits of a priori dialectic. In this spirit, I have written several popular essays for Slate, The Atlantic, and Salon on topics that matter to me: the effect of the wealth gap on educational opportunity, the media bullying of Appalachia, and the struggle to remain engaged as a parent while pursuing a career, among others.
Areas of Expertise
Philosophy of science/biology, epistemology/social epistemology, ethics of care, scholarship of teaching and learning.
Education
2005 — Doctor of Philosophy from Northwestern University
1996 — Master of Arts from Northwestern University
1993 — Master of Arts from University of Illinois- Urbana
1991 — Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University
Courses Recently Taught
PHIL 100
Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 100
The primary aim of this course is to acquaint the student with the spirit, methods and problems of philosophy. Students will explore the range of issues in which philosophical inquiry is possible and to which it is relevant. Major works of important philosophers, both ancient and modern, will be used to introduce topics in metaphysics, theory of knowledge, ethics and other traditional areas of philosophical concern. No prerequisite. Offered every semester.
PHIL 105
Introduction to Logic
PHIL 105
This course is an examination of the informal reasoning used in everyday life as well as in academic contexts. We will aim to both describe and understand that reasoning, on the one hand, and improve our competence in reasoning, on the other. We will explore the nature of explanation and causation, and we will discuss ways of articulating our reasoning patterns that make their nature clear. Thus we aim both to improve critical thinking and reading skills, and to understand in a deeper way the role that those skills play in human life. This counts towards the logic requirement for the major and minor. No prerequisite. Offered every year.
PHIL 191
ST: FY Sem The Bioethics
PHIL 191
PHIL 201
Symbolic Logic
PHIL 201
There are many different ways to get someone to do what you want. These include threatening violence, lying, conditioning, bribery, begging and providing an argument. An "argument" (in logic) is an appeal to evidence in the support of a conclusion. (It should not be confused with the ordinary usage of the term "argument," which means quarrel.) An argument &emdash; unlike the other methods of persuasion &emdash; is an appeal to what is rational in the person to whom one is speaking. It is the only method that respects the other person's ability to think. An argument does this in two ways. First, an argument is an attempt to show that the evidence supports the conclusion. Second, an argument is the only method that invites the other person to assess whether the evidence in fact does support the conclusion. An argument invites a conversation. Logic is the study of what makes some arguments successful and some not. We will develop a procedure for assessing whether an argument is good (i.e., valid). We will examine the uses and the limits of this method. This counts toward the logic requirement for the major and minor. No prerequisite. Offered every year.
PHIL 245
Philosophy of Natural Science
PHIL 245
One of the greatest human achievements is scientific knowledge. But what is scientific knowledge? Is it different from other kinds of knowledge? Should we take scientific claims as literally true or as useful fictions? What status should we accord scientific work? We will examine the answers to these questions offered by the Logical Positivists, the Popperians, Kuhn, Quine, Lakatos and Boyd. On the way, we will consider the issues surrounding induction, explanation, theoretical entities, laws, observation, reductionism and so on. No formal background in the natural sciences is assumed. This counts toward the epistemology requirement for the major. No prerequisite. Offered every third year.
PHIL 260
Philosophy of Mind and Brain
PHIL 260
Mentality is not like much else in the universe. Mentality (or mind) is quite peculiar. The human brain (unlike other physical things) has the power to think. We have thoughts. Yet what are thoughts? Thoughts don't seem to be physical. For instance, unlike physical objects, thoughts don't have any weight. One does not gain weight by having new thoughts or lose weight by forgetting them. Unlike physical objects, thoughts have no shape. The thought of a circle is not circular. Yet thoughts have power. When we explain human behavior, we do so by saying that the person has certain thoughts; i.e., they have certain beliefs and certain desires. Those beliefs and desires (those thoughts) caused the person to act the way he did. The view that there are thoughts, that thoughts are in minds, that thoughts cause behavior, is the ordinary everyday view of the world. It is called folk psychology (i.e., the psychology of ordinary folk). Folk psychology seems obviously true. But is it true? And if it is true, can we describe it in a clear way? Does contemporary research in psychology support or undermine folk psychology? We will see that what seems so obvious is in fact quite controversial. Many psychologists and philosophers think something is wrong with folk psychology. We will examine some of those debates. This counts toward the metaphysics requirement for the major. No prerequisite. Offered every third year.
PHIL 291
ST:Experimental Philosophy
PHIL 291
PHIL 291
ST: Philosophy of Biology
PHIL 291
PHIL 291
PENDING CPC APPROVAL
PHIL 291
PHIL 405
Epistemology Seminar
PHIL 405
This is an advanced course on the central debates in epistemology: internalism versus externalism, foundationalism versus coherentism, naturalism versus antinaturalism. We examine these issues through the writings of Quine, Rorty, Putnam, Stroud, Dretske, Wittgenstein and others. This counts toward the epistemology requirement for the major. Prerequisite: philosophy major and junior standing or permission of instructor. Offered in a three-year rotation with PHIL 400 and 410.
PHIL 493
Individual Study
PHIL 493
Individual studies are offered to those students who are highly motivated in a specific area of inquiry and who are judged responsible and capable enough to work independently. Such courses might be research oriented, but more usually are readings-oriented, allowing students to delve in greater depth into topics that interest them or which overlap or supplement other courses of the philosophy department. Students must seek permission of the instructor and department chair before enrolling. They are urged to do this in the semester prior to the one in which they hope to be enrolled. Individual study is at the discretion of the instructor, and schedules may limit such an addition. An individual study cannot duplicate a course or area being concurrently offered. Exceptions to this rule are at the discretion of the instructor and chair. Individual study is usually considered an advanced course. Required work should be viewed as on a par with a seminar or a 300- or 400-level course. The instructor and student(s) should establish and agree upon the extent and nature of the work expected. The work may take one of the following forms: several short papers, one long paper, one in-depth project, a lengthy general outline and annotated bibliography, public presentation(s), etc. An individual study can apply to the major or to the minor with permission of the department. Individual studies may be taken for either 0.25 or 0.50 credits. This decision must be agreed upon with the instructor. The student(s) and instructor will meet on a regular basis. The frequency of contact hours is to be determined by the instructor in consultation with the student. Because students must enroll for individual studies by the end of the seventh class day of each semester, they should begin discussion of the proposed individual study preferably the semester before, so that there is time to devise the proposal and seek departmental approval before the established deadline.\n
Academic & Scholarly Achievements
2018
2017
2015
“How to Teach Philosophy of Science,” Teaching Philosophy, March 31, 2015. DOI: 10.5840/teachphil201532633.
2015
“Collaborative Research Groups in the Experimental Philosophy Seminar” in Experiential Learning in Philosophy, Julinna Oxley and Ramona Ilea, eds. (New York: Routledge, 2015).
2013
“Using Structure to Understand Justice and Care as Different Worlds,” in special issue “Structure of Scientific Revolutions: 50 Years On,” Topoi 32:1 (2013): 111-122, doi: 10.1007/s11245-012-9134-y.
2013
“Rethinking Epistemic Incentives: How Patient-Centered, Open Source Drug Discovery Generates More Valuable Knowledge Sooner,” Episteme: Journal of Individual and Social Epistemology 10:4, (2013): 217-39, doi: 10.1017/epi.2103.33.