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Experimental Philosophy: An Introduction

Experimental philosophy uses experimental research methods from psychology and cognitive science in order to investigate both philosophical and metaphilosophical questions. It explores philosophical questions about the nature of the psychological world - the very structure or meaning of our concepts of things, and about the nature of the non-psychological world - the things themselves. It also explores metaphilosophical questions about the nature of philosophical inquiry and its proper methodology. This book provides a detailed and provocative introduction to this innovative field, focusing on the relationship between experimental philosophy and the aims and methods of more traditional analytic philosophy. Special attention is paid to carefully examining experimental philosophy's quite different philosophical programs, their individual strengths and weaknesses, and the different kinds of contributions that they can make to our philosophical understanding. Clear and accessible throughout, it situates experimental philosophy within both a contemporary and historical context, explains its aims and methods, examines and critically evaluates its most significant claims and arguments, and engages with its critics.

Paperback: 200 pages

Publisher: Polity; 1 edition (May 29, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0745649181

ISBN-13: 978-0745649184

Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.6 x 8.2 inches

Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #1,078,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #41 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Analytic Philosophy #7906 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Philosophy

I really enjoyed this work. It makes the subject very accessible. I am not a philosopher, but I was able to follow the material and really understand it. I would highly recommend this work to anyone interested in becoming a better thinker

Excellent introduction to X-Phi. I wrote a longish (10 page) review of it in Philosophia 40 (4):903-917 (2012). Read it here: https://www.academia.edu/1872391/Critical_Study_of_Experimental_Philosophy_by_Joshua_Alexander_10_pp_Experimental Philosophy: An Introduction, by Joshua Alexander, is the first book-length monograph treating exclusively of experimental philosophy, and, as such brings with it considerable excitement. A new interdisciplinary movement, experimental philosophy uses the empirical methods of social psychology and cognitive science to explore questions normally associated with philosophy. Most commonly, experimental philosophers gather data through surveys that probe ordinary intuitions about specific philosophical debates.In its early “Gotcha!” phase, many papers in experimental philosophy seemed to aim at merely embarrassing “armchair” philosophy. But as experimental philosophy has progressed and matured it carried on a detailed metaphilosophical discussion about what role intuitions play inphilosophical practice; (2) contributed to classic and contemporary philosophical debates by collecting data on ordinary intuitions, sometimes shifting the dialectical burden; and (3) constructed theories that explain the intuitive judgments people make by positing particular mechanisms underlying those judgments.Alexander’s volume, while slim, can educate those to whom experimental philosophy is entirely new;it can serve to anchor an undergraduate class on experimental philosophy; and it can go toe-to-toe with experimental philosophy’s many critics.

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