John Macfarlane
Biographic Data
| ID | 462287 |
|---|---|
| NAME | John Macfarlane |
| GIVEN NAMES | John |
| FAMILY NAME | Macfarlane |
| SIGNATURE | MACFARLANE J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of California, Berkeley |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2557-9090 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 32 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 167 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 32 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1909 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Belief: What is it Good for
“Absolutely nothing,” say the radical Bayesians. “Simplifying decisions,” say the moderates. “Providing premises in practical reasoning,” say the epistemologists. “Coordinating with others,” say I. It is hard to see how to construct an adequate theory of rational behavior without using a graded notion of belief, such as credence. But once we have credence, what role is left for belief? After surveying some answers to this question, I will explore…
Vagueness and Thought
Many investigations of vagueness treat it as primarily a linguistic phenomenon. Their objective is to give a model of the meanings of vague words and use it to analyze the sorites paradox, borderline cases, and other phenomena distinctive of vagueness. Nobody would deny that, in addition to saying vague things, we think vague thoughts. But on the standard approach, the investigation of vague language is primary, and what we say about vague though…
Philosophical Logic: A Contemporary Introduction
Replies to Raffman, Stanley, and Wright
Précis of Assessment Sensitivity: Relative Truth and its Applications
Assessment Sensitivity Relative Truth And Its Applications
John MacFarlane debates how we might make sense of the idea that truth is relative, and how we might use this idea to give satisfying accounts of parts of our thought and talk that have resisted traditional methods of analysis.
Making Sense of Relative Truth
This chapter addresses the substantive philosophical question that remains: what does it mean to talk of truth relative to a context of assessment? It does this by explaining how a semantic theory that assigns assessment‐relative truth values is connected to norms for assertion and retraction. Relativist and nonindexical contextualist theories make the same predictions about what may be asserted, but differ in their predictions about when previou…
What Is Assertion*?
What is it to make an assertion? The literature contains four broad categories of answers: (1) To assert is to express an attitude. (2) To assert is to make a move defined by its constitutive rules. (3) To assert is to propose to add information to the conversational common ground. (4) To assert is to undertake a certain sort of commitment. This chapter discusses the motivations, advantages, and disadvantages of each of these views.
Ifs and Oughts
Les miasmes, les microbes et les médecines. La diffusion des idées anciennes et nouvelles dans l’Union médicale du Canada: Le cas de la fièvre typhoïde (1872-1900)
Les dernières décennies du 19 e siècle sont connues comme une période de transition importante dans le monde médicale. Les nouvelles découvertes ont révolutionné la façon de voir et de combattre les maladies. Les microbes, pas les miasmes, furent la cause des maladies, qui furent contrôlé plus avec les mesures sanitaires pour la prévention, que par les traitements miraculeuses. En dépouillant les articles sur la fièvre typhoïde dans la revue l’ U…
Double vision: Two questions about the neo-Fregean program
Nonindexical contextualism
Relativism and disagreement
Sovereignty and Standby: The 1964 Conference on UN Peacekeeping Forces
Since 1945 the idea of some form of permanent UN peacekeeping force has been considered. There have been many suggestions as to how such a force could improve training, reaction time to crises, coordination efficiency and financial stability. The periods 1944–50 and 1990 to the present have been particularly active but the idea was also discussed during the four decades in-between. This article analyses international support for the idea in the m…
The Logic of Confusion
Because I am color blind, I routinely wear mismatched socks and clashing colors (or so I am told). Those who know about my visual deficiencies do not hold me responsible for these fashion mistakes. They may tell me where I've gone wrong, but they do not censure me for sloppiness or lack of a fashion sense, as they might if I had normal color vision. It is tempting to tell a similar story about the charity due those who have taken two things to be…
Paul Triquet et la Croix de Victoria au Québec
Paul Triquet et la Croix de Victoria au Québec. An article from journal Bulletin d'histoire politique (La Commission Tremblay (1953-1956) : cinquante ans de débats sur le déséquilibre fiscal), on Érudit
The Things We (Sorta Kinda) Believe
The Assessment Sensitivity of Knowledge Attributions
Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in the semantics of knowledge-attributing sentences, not just among epistemologists but among philosophers of language seeking a general understanding of linguistic context sensitivity. Despite all this critical attention, however, we are as far from consensus as ever. If we have learned anything, it is that each of the standard views—invariantism, contextualism, and sen- sitive invariantism—has its…
Xiv*-Making Sense of Relative Truth
McDowell's Kantianism
In recent work, John McDowell has urged that we resurrect the Kantian thesis that concepts without intuitions are empty. I distinguish two forms of the thesis: a strong form that applies to all concepts and a weak form that is limited to empirical concepts. Because McDowell rejects Kant's philosophy of mathematics, he can accept only the weaker form of the thesis. But this position is unstable. The reasoning behind McDowell's insistence that empi…
Canada, 1900-1950: Un pays prend sa place/A Country Comes of Age
CANADA, 1900-1950 Un pays prend sa place/A Country Cornes of Age Serge Bernier and John MacFarlane, editors Ottawa: Organization for the History of Canada, 2003. 253pp, $15.00 paper (ISBN 0-9733730-0-8)The first half of the 20th century, the editors of this volume tell us, was a transitional period in Canada's history, a time when the country was seeking its own modern identity. The papers published here, originally presented at the sixth confere…
A Map of Metaphysics Zeta
Book Review| January 01 2003 A Map of Metaphysics Zeta Myles Burnyeat, A Map of Metaphysics Zeta. Pittsburgh: Mathesis Publications, 2001. Pp. x, 176. John MacFarlane John MacFarlane Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google The Philosophical Review (2003) 112 (1): 97–99. https://doi.org/10.1215/00318108-112-1-97 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation John MacFarlane; A M…
Future Contingents and Relative Truth
If it is not now determined whether there will be a sea battle tomorrow, can an assertion that there will be one be true? The problem has persisted because there are compelling arguments on both sides. If there are objectively possible futures which would make the prediction true and others which would make it false, symmetry considerations seem to forbid counting it either true or false. Yet if we think about how we would assess the prediction t…
Logical Properties: Identity, Existence, Predication, Necessity, Truth
Logical Properties: Identity, Existence, Predication, Necessity, Truth
Book Review| July 01 2002 Logical Properties: Identity, Existence, Predication, Necessity, Truth Colin McGinn, Logical Properties: Identity, Existence, Predication, Necessity, Truth. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2000. Pp. vi, 114. John MacFarlane John MacFarlane Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google The Philosophical Review (2002) 111 (3): 462–465. https://doi.org/10.1215/00318108-111-3-462 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Faceboo…
Future Contingents and Relative Truth
If it is not now determined whether there will be a sea battle tomorrow, can an assertion that there will be one be true? The problem has persisted because there are compelling arguments on both sides. If there are objectively possible futures which would make the prediction true and others which would make it false, symmetry considerations seem to forbid counting it either true or false. Yet if we think about how we would assess the prediction t…
Ifs and Oughts
Nonindexical contextualism
Frege, Kant, and the Logic in Logicism
Research Article| January 01 2002 Frege, Kant, and the Logic in Logicism John MacFarlane John MacFarlane Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google The Philosophical Review (2002) 111 (1): 25–65. https://doi.org/10.1215/00318108-111-1-25 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Si…
Frege, Kant, and the Logic in Logicism
Sovereignty and Standby: The 1964 Conference on UN Peacekeeping Forces
Since 1945 the idea of some form of permanent UN peacekeeping force has been considered. There have been many suggestions as to how such a force could improve training, reaction time to crises, coordination efficiency and financial stability. The periods 1944–50 and 1990 to the present have been particularly active but the idea was also discussed during the four decades in-between. This article analyses international support for the idea in the m…
Double vision: Two questions about the neo-Fregean program
The Things We (Sorta Kinda) Believe
Present Condition of International Trade
The Human Factor in Development A Review Essay
Ernest Lapointe and Quebec's Influence on Canada's Foreign Policy
The influence of Ernest Lapointe in 20th century Canadian political history is one of the least understood. Analysing 17 foreign policy decisions, the author uncovers Lapointe's relationship with Mackenzie King and the voice of Quebec he represented
The Wind of Change in the 1990s and Africa's Economic Future
Aristotle's Definition of Anagnorisis
IN CHAPTER 11 of his Poetics Aristotle defines recognition ( ) as , , (1452a30-32). 1 The first part of the definition characterizes recognition as a change from ignorance into knowledge, leading to either friendship or enmity. 2 But what is added by ? Virtually all interpreters take this phrase to be a subjective genitive characterizing the persons involved in the recognition. On the prospective construal, it characterizes them by reference to t…
Logical Properties: Identity, Existence, Predication, Necessity, Truth
Logical Properties: Identity, Existence, Predication, Necessity, Truth
Book Review| July 01 2002 Logical Properties: Identity, Existence, Predication, Necessity, Truth Colin McGinn, Logical Properties: Identity, Existence, Predication, Necessity, Truth. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2000. Pp. vi, 114. John MacFarlane John MacFarlane Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google The Philosophical Review (2002) 111 (3): 462–465. https://doi.org/10.1215/00318108-111-3-462 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Faceboo…
Frege, Kant, and the Logic in Logicism
Research Article| January 01 2002 Frege, Kant, and the Logic in Logicism John MacFarlane John MacFarlane Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google The Philosophical Review (2002) 111 (1): 25–65. https://doi.org/10.1215/00318108-111-1-25 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Si…
Frege, Kant, and the Logic in Logicism
A Map of Metaphysics Zeta
Book Review| January 01 2003 A Map of Metaphysics Zeta Myles Burnyeat, A Map of Metaphysics Zeta. Pittsburgh: Mathesis Publications, 2001. Pp. x, 176. John MacFarlane John MacFarlane Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google The Philosophical Review (2003) 112 (1): 97–99. https://doi.org/10.1215/00318108-112-1-97 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation John MacFarlane; A M…
Future Contingents and Relative Truth
If it is not now determined whether there will be a sea battle tomorrow, can an assertion that there will be one be true? The problem has persisted because there are compelling arguments on both sides. If there are objectively possible futures which would make the prediction true and others which would make it false, symmetry considerations seem to forbid counting it either true or false. Yet if we think about how we would assess the prediction t…
McDowell's Kantianism
In recent work, John McDowell has urged that we resurrect the Kantian thesis that concepts without intuitions are empty. I distinguish two forms of the thesis: a strong form that applies to all concepts and a weak form that is limited to empirical concepts. Because McDowell rejects Kant's philosophy of mathematics, he can accept only the weaker form of the thesis. But this position is unstable. The reasoning behind McDowell's insistence that empi…
Canada, 1900-1950: Un pays prend sa place/A Country Comes of Age
CANADA, 1900-1950 Un pays prend sa place/A Country Cornes of Age Serge Bernier and John MacFarlane, editors Ottawa: Organization for the History of Canada, 2003. 253pp, $15.00 paper (ISBN 0-9733730-0-8)The first half of the 20th century, the editors of this volume tell us, was a transitional period in Canada's history, a time when the country was seeking its own modern identity. The papers published here, originally presented at the sixth confere…
The Assessment Sensitivity of Knowledge Attributions
Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in the semantics of knowledge-attributing sentences, not just among epistemologists but among philosophers of language seeking a general understanding of linguistic context sensitivity. Despite all this critical attention, however, we are as far from consensus as ever. If we have learned anything, it is that each of the standard views—invariantism, contextualism, and sen- sitive invariantism—has its…
Xiv*-Making Sense of Relative Truth
The Things We (Sorta Kinda) Believe
Relativism and disagreement
Sovereignty and Standby: The 1964 Conference on UN Peacekeeping Forces
Since 1945 the idea of some form of permanent UN peacekeeping force has been considered. There have been many suggestions as to how such a force could improve training, reaction time to crises, coordination efficiency and financial stability. The periods 1944–50 and 1990 to the present have been particularly active but the idea was also discussed during the four decades in-between. This article analyses international support for the idea in the m…
The Logic of Confusion
Because I am color blind, I routinely wear mismatched socks and clashing colors (or so I am told). Those who know about my visual deficiencies do not hold me responsible for these fashion mistakes. They may tell me where I've gone wrong, but they do not censure me for sloppiness or lack of a fashion sense, as they might if I had normal color vision. It is tempting to tell a similar story about the charity due those who have taken two things to be…
Paul Triquet et la Croix de Victoria au Québec
Paul Triquet et la Croix de Victoria au Québec. An article from journal Bulletin d'histoire politique (La Commission Tremblay (1953-1956) : cinquante ans de débats sur le déséquilibre fiscal), on Érudit
Les miasmes, les microbes et les médecines. La diffusion des idées anciennes et nouvelles dans l’Union médicale du Canada: Le cas de la fièvre typhoïde (1872-1900)
Les dernières décennies du 19 e siècle sont connues comme une période de transition importante dans le monde médicale. Les nouvelles découvertes ont révolutionné la façon de voir et de combattre les maladies. Les microbes, pas les miasmes, furent la cause des maladies, qui furent contrôlé plus avec les mesures sanitaires pour la prévention, que par les traitements miraculeuses. En dépouillant les articles sur la fièvre typhoïde dans la revue l’ U…
Double vision: Two questions about the neo-Fregean program
Nonindexical contextualism
Ifs and Oughts
What Is Assertion*?
What is it to make an assertion? The literature contains four broad categories of answers: (1) To assert is to express an attitude. (2) To assert is to make a move defined by its constitutive rules. (3) To assert is to propose to add information to the conversational common ground. (4) To assert is to undertake a certain sort of commitment. This chapter discusses the motivations, advantages, and disadvantages of each of these views.
Philosophy (22 works) · Epistemology (17 works) · Computer Science (16 works) · Philosophy and Theoretical Science (16 works) · Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics (14 works) · Political science (9 works) · Citation (6 works) · Linguistics (6 works) · Philosophy (6 works) · Psychology (6 works)