Philip P. Hanson
Associate Professor of Philosophy
- Email: hanson@sfu.ca
- Tel: 778-782-3330
- Office: WMC 5658
Education
- B.A.(Hon) Philosophy, 1970: University of Calgary
- M.A. Philosophy, 1972: Princeton University
- Ph.D. Philosophy, 1975: Princeton University
Areas of Specialization
Analytic Epistemology and Metaphysics, and Philosophies of Mind, Mathematics, and Logic.
Selected Publications
- 鈥淩eturn of the A Priori,鈥 co-authored with Bruce Hunter, in Return of the A Priori, Canadian Journal of Philosophy Supplementary Vol. 18, co-edited with Bruce Hunter (Calgary, 1992).
- Information, Language and Cognition: Vancouver Studies in Cognitive Science Vol 1 (editor), Oxford University Press (New York, 1993).
- 鈥淐ognitive Content and Semantics,鈥 in The Logical Foundations of Cognition: Vancouver Studies in Cognitive Science Vol. 4, edited by John Macnamara and Gonzalo E. Reyes, Oxford University Press (New York) , 1994.
- 鈥淧hysics, Logic and the Phenomenal,鈥 critical notice of Gregory Mulhauser鈥檚 Mind Out of Matter: Topics in the Physical Foundations of Consciousness and Cognition; in Minds and Machines, 10, (2000) 391-400.
- 鈥淢ind, Matter and Supervenience: A Reply to Mulhauser,鈥 in Minds and Machines, 11, (2001) 301-306.
- 鈥淒arwin鈥檚 Algorithm, Natural Selective History, and Intentionality Naturalized,鈥 in Naturalism, Evolution, and Intentionality, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, Supplementary Vol. 27, J.S. McIntosh (ed.), (2001) 53-83.
- Review of Mark Quentin Gardiner鈥檚 Semantic Challenges to Realism: Dummett and Putnam, in University of Toronto Quarterly, Vol. 71 no. 1 (2001).
- 鈥淚dealism, Skepticism, and Internal Relations: remarks on Hymers鈥檚 Philosophy and its Epistemic Neuroses,鈥 Dialogue, Vol. XLIII, No. 3 (2004) 577-586.
- Review of Gregg Rosenberg鈥檚 A Place For Consciousness: Probing the Deep Structure of the Natural World, in Philosophical Books, Vol. 47 No. 2 (April 2006) 170-173.
- 鈥淚s Logic All in Our Heads? From Naturalism to Psychologism,鈥 with Jeffry Pelletier and Renee Elio, Studia Logica Vol. 86 (2008) 1-63.
Selected Presentations
- 鈥淭hree Grades of Conceptual Involvement in Naturalistic Epistemology,鈥 Philosophy Department, Trent University, October 1998.
- 鈥淓xplaining the Inexplicability,鈥 Consciousness 2000 Conference, Center For the Study of Consciousness, U of Arizona, Tuscon, April 2000.
- 鈥淭wo Conceptions of Levels,鈥 Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science Meetings, Dalhausie University, Halifax, May 2003.
- 鈥淓mergent Self-Organisation as order For Free,鈥 Australasian Association of Philosophy Meetings, ANU, Canberra, July 2006.
- 鈥淎 Priori Methods and the Concrete World,鈥 invited contribution to a symposium on the a priori at the Pacific APA meetings, Pasedena CA, March 2008.
- 鈥淲hat鈥檚 Model Theory Got To Do With It?鈥, invited comments on Gila Sher鈥檚 鈥淚s Logic in the Mind or in the World?鈥, Pacific APA meetings, Vancouver, April 2009.
- 鈥淭he Contingency of Logic,鈥 Department of Philosophy, U of Victoria, January 2010.
- 鈥淔ield鈥檚 Deflationary Philosophy of Logic,鈥 UBC Epistemology Workshop, March 2010.
Recent Graduate Seminars
- The A Priori
- Naturalism and Logic
- Causation, Explanation, and Realism
- Field's Philosophies of Truth and of Logic
- The Applicability of Mathematics
Some Recent M.A. 'Professional Papers' Supervised
"鈥淢athematics and Indispensibility鈥; 鈥淥n Universals as Parts of Objects鈥; 鈥淢acroscopic Irreducible Probability and Emergent Phenomena鈥; 鈥淥n Logical Revision: Field, Maddy, and a Hybrid Proposal鈥; 鈥淒isagreement: What鈥檚 It Really Good For?鈥; 鈥淢addy and Balaguer on the Methodological Undecidability of Mathematical Content鈥
Courses
This instructor is currently not teaching any courses.