Naturalism in Question

Mario De Caro is Hilary Putnam’s literary executor and Professor of Moral Philosophy at Roma Tre University. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Philosophical Association, a regular visiting professor at Tufts University, and author of five volumes in Italian. David Macarthur is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sydney. With Mario De Caro, he edited Naturalism in Question, Naturalism and Normativity, and Hilary Putnam’s Philosophy in an Age of Science. He also edited Hilary and Ruth Anna Putnam’s Pragmatism as a Way of Life.

Naturalism in Question is undertaking an important task—to address the prevalence of scientific naturalism as the paradigm of serious philosophical work in contemporary Anglo-American philosophy. The fact that such eminent philosophers as Davidson, Cavell, McDowell, Stroud, and Putnam are brought together around a common issue is itself an attractive feature. It provides a certain landscape of contemporary American Philosophy that is most important to bring into view. It shows that despite all their obvious differences, such philosophers can be seen as sharing a similar concern to revive a form of philosophy that does not model its rigor on problematic pictures of scientific work.

• Introduction: The Nature of Naturalism I. Science and Reality 1. The Charm of Naturalism Barry Stroud 2. The Miracle of Monism John Dupre 3. The Content and Appeal of "Naturalism" Hilary Putnam 4. Naturalism Without Representationalism Huw Price II. Mind 5. Naturalism in the Philosophy of Mind John McDowell 6. Naturalism and Skepticism David Macarthur 7. Intentionality and Norms Akeel Bilgrami 8. Could There Be a Science of Rationality? Donald Davidson III. Agency 9. Agency and Alienation Jennifer Hornsby 10. Is Freedom Really a Mystery? Mario De Caro 11. Subjectivity and the Agential Perspective Stephen L. White IV. Ethical and Aesthetic Normativity 12. A Nonnaturalist Account of Personal Identity Carol Rovane 13. Against Naturalism in Ethics Erin I. Kelly 14. Postscript (2002) to "The Investigations' Everyday Aesthetics of Itself" Stanley Cavell Notes Bibliography Contributors Index