I've been everywhere... (almost... in the U.S.)

5 states remaining in my quest for the lower 48.



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The 41st Philosophy Carnival

The new philosophy carnival is posted here. I found Westminster Wisdom's portrayal quite amusing. My apologies for falling asleep at the wheel, but the paper I posted a few days ago has really gotten under my skin.

Action individuation in ordinary language

I've not posted in a while because I've been working on the following paper. It's about action individuation and ordinary intuitions. If you're not interested in experimental philosophy or you've got serious objections against it, I advise you not to read the paper.

Action individuation in ordinary language

Comments are greatly appreciated!

31st MidSouth Philosophy Conference

I received word yesterday that my paper was accepted for presentation at the MidSouth Philosophy Conference. As long as I can find an affordable flight, I'll be heading to Memphis, TN at the end of February. I'll be presenting my paper on the New Wittgensteinian interpretation of nonsense. Here's the title and abstract:

Is the New Wittgensteinian Conception of Nonsense Wittgensteinian?

In this paper, I argue that the New Wittgensteinian interpretation concerned with Wittgenstein's conception of nonsense cannot be sustained. The main problem is that the New Wittgensteinians have not looked at what we actually say about nonsense and especially at how the word behaves in our language game. The properly Wittgensteinian way to proceed is to examine actual usage, to see what we call 'nonsense' and on what occasions. Wittgenstein warns us, "don't think, but look!" (PI: 66) The New Wittgensteinians have not heeded this warning; instead, they have turned Wittgenstein's coneption of nonsense into a bit of metaphysics.

Philosophy at 7200' (w/ apologies to Close Range)

I've been traveling around the U.S. for almost two weeks, and I'm still traveling. I don't mean to be on the road this evening. In fact, I'd prefer to be home in Ogden, UT preparing for the first day of classes. Weather conditions in Wyoming, however, are very bad. Interstate 80 is closed in both directions from Laramie. So, I'm staying in Laramie, Wyoming for this evening (and possibly more if conditions don't improve).

Laramie is home of the University of Wyoming and Marc Moffett. Who is Marc Moffett? Well, he's the creator and a contributor of the blog Close Range. If you've not had a chance to read Close Range, I definitely suggest to do so. There are many fine posts!

The holiday break was very busy for me. I traveled to Washington, to Boston, and to Iowa. All of my trips were very productive.

First, I had a great time at the APA Eastern Division meeting in Washington, D.C. I didn't attend very many sessions, but I had a chance to meet up with people I hadn't seen in quite a while as well as meeting fellow-blogger Brandon of Siris. Brandon and I had a nice meeting discussing our interests and current projects. I'm very interested in Brandon's work on causation in early modern philosophy. I gathered from our discussion there's an interesting line of debate in early modern philosophy from Hume to Malebranche on the concept of causation. Brandon has also tentatively agreed to be a guest blogger on my philosophy of western religion blog this semester. He will be a valuable addition to our discussions.

In addition to meeting with Brandon, I caught up with a former colleague, Scott Wilson. Scott's a contributor at PeaSoup. He works mostly on ethics. Our meeting consisted in discussions of how to approach the interviewing process. We had a fine chat over a wonderful meal!

Much of my time was consumed by meetings with Robert Barnard and Neil Manson. We discussed many topics. Neil, too, will be a contributor to my philosophy of religion class blog. Bob, Neil, and I discussed golf, philosophy of religion, and the state of a priori investigations in light of experimental philosophy, and our future projects.

I also spent a significant amount of time meeting with marketing and publicity people for major publishing houses. They informed me of many new and upcoming releases that would be great for book reviews in the near future.

My time away from Ogden was very productive. I'm anxious to get back to teach and to complete my dissertation!