Understanding Naturalism

Jack Ritchie is a Postdoctoral Fellow at University College Dublin.

"A very useful overview of various kinds of scientific naturalism and their relevance to contemporary debates in central areas of philosophy. It should be required reading for any course or seminar studying the varieties and future direction of contemporary scientific naturalism." - Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews "Ritchie's book will be of great service to those who want to understand the many facets of naturalism in contemporary analytical philosophy. I know of no other book that gives the kind of synoptic overview of the relevant issues within epistemology, philosophy of science, philosophy of mind and philosophy of language. At the same time, the author draws links and parallels between these different areas in order to sketch a naturalistic position of his own. Rather than enunciating a bland deference to science, Ritchie shows how naturalism is an issue that will keep philosophers busy for at least the forseesable future.A" - Jonathan Knowles, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

• 1. Introduction: What do we mean by Natural? 2. First Philosophy 3. Quine and Epistemology Naturalised 4. Reliabilism 5. The Science of Science: Naturalised Philosophy of Science 6. Materialism and Physicalism 7. Naturalism without Physicalism? 8. Naturalism, Meaning and Truth 9. Conclusion: New Directions for Naturalism Questions for Discussion and Revision Further Reading