Thought Experiments in Philosophy
Can philosophical hypotheses be tested from the armchair? Yes: by conducting thought experiments. In this course, we explore a range of thought experiments and reflect on the nature and use of this method in philosophy.
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Course: Further details, online booking
Resources for this course
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Thought Experiments |
Entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy by J. R. Brown and Y. Fehige, 2011. |
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Baggini on Thought Experiments |
A podcast about thought experimenting in philosophy. |
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The Argument View |
Article Preprint: Norton, J. D. (2004). Thought Experiment: is there More to the Argument? Philosophy of Science, 71, 1139–51.... |
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Handout 2: What are Thought Experiments? |
Sheet with some characterisations (quotes). |
Peter Wyss | view |
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Handout 3: Overview Theories of Thought Experiments |
A list with sketches; Molyneux's Question on the back. |
Peter Wyss | view |
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Handout 5: The Knowledge and Zombie Arguments |
Background for the Mary and zombie thought experiments. |
Peter Wyss | view |
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The 'Trigger' View |
A selection of articles by T. Szabo Gendler. Of particular interest is 'Philosophical Thought Experiments, Intuitions, and Cognitive Equilibrium... |
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Handout 6: Function and Experience |
Background about functionalism and internalism. Extract from Kuhn. |
Peter Wyss | view |
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Philosophy Experiments |
A link to a website with interactive experiments, associated with The Philosophers Magazine. |
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The Model View |
Link to N. Nersessian's website with online publications; look for 'In the theoretician's laboratory: Thought experimenting as mental modeling'... |
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Handout 7: The Twin Earth Case |
Revised background information about Putnam's thought experiment; sketch of Häggqvist's model for thought experiments. |
Peter Wyss | view |