Neo-Sellarsian Images of Philosophy and Science

T. Parent (Nazarbayev University)

Date: 12/31/2024, 10:15 (UK) / 12:15 (Israel) / 21:15 (Sydney)

Speaker: Ted Parent (Nazarbayev University)

Title: Neo-Sellarsian Images of Philosophy and Science

Abstract: Sellars (1962) contains some of the most important metaphilosophical reflections from the analytic tradition. He insightfully describes the relationship between philosophy and science, by identifying the philosophical task of integrating the manifest image into the scientific image. But while this description is sound, it is importantly incomplete. Here, I first suggest that a more complete picture shows philosophy in “superposition” in relation to science; philosophy occuplies multiple positions in relation to science, owing to the variegated tasks that philosophers pursue. In the final section, we shall see that our catalogue of philosophical tasks provides means for confronting that obstinate question “How is metaphysics possible?”