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Single Idea 3509

[filed under theme 7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 5. Naturalism ]

Full Idea

Some people view an externalist approach to epistemology as the essence of philosophical naturalism.

Gist of Idea

Externalism may be the key idea in philosophical naturalism

Source

David Papineau (Philosophical Naturalism [1993], Intro)

Book Ref

Papineau,David: 'Philosophical Naturalism' [Blackwell 1993], p.1

A Reaction

I suspect philosophers avoid psychology and mental events, simply because they are elusive. Externalism is a theory about justification, and independent of naturalism as a metaphysic.

The 6 ideas with the same theme [there is nothing beyond what we call 'nature']:

21268 Non-human things are explicable naturally, and voluntary things by the will, so God is not needed [Aquinas]
20127 Laws of nature are universal, so everything must be understood through those laws [Spinoza]
24151 I only want thinking that is anchored in body, senses and earth [Nietzsche]
20123 First see nature as non-human, then fit ourselves into this view of nature [Nietzsche]
18391 'Naturalism' says only the world of space-time exists [Armstrong]
3509 Externalism may be the key idea in philosophical naturalism [Papineau]