Inner Self and External World
Philosopher Hubert Dreyfus talks about the views of multiple philosophers concerning how the inner self encounters the every day reality of the external world.
Quantum Mechanics
Philosopher Hilary Putnam talks about the challenge philosophers face in trying to interpret scientific functions --such as quantum mechanics-- when the effects are observable, but the function itself is not.
Scientific Realism
Philosopher Hilary Putnam calls himself a scientific realist for a number of reasons, including his contention that there's no serious difference in the reality status of scientific objects and common sense objects. Even with respect to observabilit...
Scientific Theory
Philosopher Stephen Toulmin talks about the difficulty of attempting to force different scientific theories into a single, logically coherent system.
Philosophy and Science
Philosopher W.V. Quine talks about what philosophy means to him and what philosophers do. He states that philosophy is very closely related to science and that there isn't a clear boundary between them.
How Do We Encounter Reality?
Philosopher Hubert Dreyfus talks about the intriguing professional relationship between Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. Although Husserl was Heidegger's mentor, the younger Heidegger was as much an influence on Husserl's philosophical beliefs a...
Brain in a Vat (Part 1)
Philosopher Hilary Putnam explains his "brain in a vat" theory. This theory calls into question basic human assumptions about knowledge and reality on the grounds that we have no way of knowing if what we think we see and experience and believe to b...
What is Real?: Realists' Side of the Debate with Anti-realists, The
The distinction between trying to capture the true nature of reality versus defining it in human terms has remained central to recent philosophy. The two sides in the debate are the realists and anti-realists. To realists, reality is objective and e...
What is Real?: Basic Nature of Reality, The
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that probes the basic nature of reality, trying to find a simple explanation for that which is complex. It looks at the world from both an onotological and cosmological point of view.
Merleau-Ponty and the Intentional Arc
Philosopher Hubert Dreyfus talks about 20th century philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty and his concept "the intentional arch." Stemming from Merleau-Ponty's focus on perception as a major component of understanding the world, the intentional arch is ...