Department of Philosophy
\nUniversity of Birmingham
\n\n5pm-7pm\, Tuesday the 3rd of June 2014
\nRoom G51\, ERI Building\, University of Birmingham Campus
\n(G3 on \;Campus Map)
\n\nRoyal Institute of Philosophy\, Birmingham Branch
\nPublic Lecture
\n\nDaniel Stoljar (ANU): Philosophical Progress and Reasonable Optimism
\n\nThis lecture is free and open to all. Refreshments will also be provided. For further information\, please contact Dr Jussi Suikkanen (jussiphil@gmail.com).
\n\nAbstract:
\nCan there be progress in philosophy? \; On the one hand\, it is often thought that philosophical problems are perennials for which it is pointless to expect a solution. On the other hand\, professional philosophy seems to have organized itself\, perhaps unconsciously\, around the opposite view: how else to explain the panoply of books\, papers\, journals\, conferences\, graduate programs\, websites etc.? Who is right? And what turns on who is right?
\nThis paper defends a reasonable optimism about philosophical progress. Optimistic\, because I argue that we have answered philosophical questions in the past and therefore should expect to do so in the future. \; Reasonable\, because the sort of optimism I have in mind does not extend to all kinds of problem reasonably thought of as philosophical nor even to every instance of those kinds of problem.