Dr. Marion Ledwig

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University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Department of Philosophy
4505 Maryland Parkway
Box 455028
Las Vegas, Nevada 89154-5028
U.S.A.

E-mail: marion.ledwig@unlv.edu
Phone: (702) 895-3462 (work)
Fax: (702) 895-1279

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Table of Contents:

Chapter One: The Rationality of Faith

Chapter Two: The Undecidability of Pascal’s Wager

Chapter Three: Is it Rational to Believe in Miracles?

Chapter Four: Inconsistencies in the Christian Tradition I: an Omnibenevolent God who Allows Evil

Chapter Five: Inconsistencies in the Christian Tradition II: the Paradoxes of Omnipotence and Omniscience

Common Sense: It's History, Method and Applicability

This book stands in the tradition of past and current common sense philosophers, like Reid, Berkeley, Sidgwick, Moore, Conant, Slote, Bogdan, and Lemos, who defend common sense, yet it goes beyond their accounts by not only defending common sense but also considering what common sense means. Besides giving a historical exegesis of common sense in Thomas Reid and showing parallels in Austin, Searle, Moore, and Wittgenstein, common sense is also discovered in Hume’s An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals and in Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. It is made clear how far common sense generalizes, whether proverbs are a form of common sense, and whether common sense can be found in the common knowledge assumption in game theory. Also, folk psychology as a common sense psychology is discussed. In its account of common sense, this book draws on research from history of philosophy, philosophy of mind, and science, linguistics, and game theory to substantiate its position.

- reviewed in International Review of Biblical Studies 53, 2006/2007

 

Emotions: Their Rationality & Consistency Emotions: Their Rationality & Consistency stands in the tradition of current emotion theorists, such as Elster, Damasio, de Sousa, Greenspan, Nussbaum, and Solomon, who advance the rationality of the emotions. Yet this book goes beyond their accounts, for it not only defends the view that emotions can be termed rational, but also considers in which different senses emotions can be termed rational. Besides discussing whether emotional intelligence and emotional consistency are forms of emotional rationality, this book makes clear how far this view on the rationality of the emotions can be generalized: whether it can, for instance, be generalized to computers having rational emotions and whether emotional responses to art can be considered to be rational. This book draws not only on knowledge from neuroscience, cognitive science, and philosophy of mind, but also on evolutionary theory and developmental psychology, to substantiate its position.
Reid's Philosophy of Psychology

Thomas Reid's philosophy of psychology is remarkably up to date. Surprisingly, Reid's account of instincts doesn't diverge greatly from Tinbergen's more contemporary account. Reid's claims with regard to appetites and desires can be made relevant to current insights. Moreover, his theory of emotions can be related to current theories of the emotions, like Damasio's somatic marker hypothesis and Griffiths' distinction between basic and higher cognitive emotions. Reid's theory of causation has central features in common with Price's contemporary manipulability theory of causation. His rational principles of action seem to be rather out of date, yet, they can be made intelligible as part of a certain kind of protestant ethics. And Reid's account of freedom of action one could claim that it is common sense, which had its resurrection in Moore's philosophy. Chapters are: 1. Instincts, Habits, and Consciousness; 2. Appetites and Desires; 3. Emotions; 4. Rational Principles of Action; 5. Human Motivation; 6. Freedom of Action; 7. Causation.

Edited Books

Current Issues in Causation

This book is intended to give an overview of the state of the art in the philosophy of causation. It intends to represent all the aspects that are treated in the philosophy of causation: some contributions consider a specific framework for a metaphysics of causation (such as a probabilistic view in terms of causes raising chances for certain effects or a regularity theory); others treat the relevance of physics (especially quantum physics), and particular problems to which an adequate theory of causation has to pay attention. The contributors: Thomas Breuer, Phil Dowe, Michael Esfeld, Gerd Graßhoff, Marion Ledwig, Michael May, Hugh Mellor, Eberhard Müller, Gerhard Schulz, Wolfgang Spohn, Max Urchs.

- reviewed by Peter Menzies in Australasian Journal of Philosophy 81, 2003, p. 302.
- reviewed by Tomasz Placek in Dialectica: International Journal of Philosophy of Knowledge 57, 2003, pp. 337-341.

Edited Journals (Associate Editor)

Articles

Congress Publications

Reviews

Presentations

  1. "Common Sense and Folk Psychology", 6th Quadrennial Fellows Conference, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, 07/20-07/24/2008.
  2. "Repression in Ang Lee's Movies", The Sixth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities, Fatih University, Istanbul, Turkey, 07/15-07/18/2008.
  3. "Reid and Modern Theories of Emotion", Workshop on Thomas Reid on Ethics, Delft University of Technology, Philosophy Department, Delft, The Netherlands, 06/23/2008.
  4. "What Is an Argument? (What Is Not an Argument?)", National University of Ireland, Department of Philosophy, Galway, Ireland, 06/09/2008.
  5. "Emotional Consistency, Conflict, and the Stockholm Syndrome", James Madison University, Department of Philosophy and Religion, 04/03/2008.
  6. "Why Should One Study Philosophy of Science?", James Madison University, Department of Philosophy and Religion, 04/03/2008.
  7. "Comments on Northcott's Paper 'Apportioning Explanatory Responsibility'", American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division Meeting, Pasadena, 03/18/-03/23/2008.
  8. "Repression in Ang Lee’s Movies", 20th Annual Meeting of the Far West Popular and American Culture Associations, Las Vegas (speaker and chairperson), 01/26/2008.
  9. "Emotional Consistency, Conflict, and the Stockholm Syndrome", University of Pittsburgh, Center for Philosophy of Science, 10/26/2007.
  10. "The Undecidability of Pascal's Wager", Creighton University, Department of Philosophy (invited speaker), 10/04/2007.
  11. "Hope in Gustav Mahler's Kindertotenlieder", The 2nd International Conference on the Arts in Society, University of Kassel and Dokumenta 12, Germany, 08/21-08/24/2007.
  12. "Emotions in Thomas Reid", The 5th International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities, American University of Paris, France, 07/17-07/20/2007.
  13. "How One Should Understand a Dead Philosopher: Experimental Psychology Applied to the History of Philosophy", The 2nd International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, University of Granada, Spain, 07/10-07/13/2007.
  14. "Decision Theory and Pascal's Wager", The 4th International Conference: Human Being in Contemporary Philosophical Conceptions, Volgograd State University (speaker, chair, and moderator of the round table "Human Being and Philosophy of Diversity"), 05/28-05/31/2007.
  15. Rational Emotional Responses to Art", Conference "Rationality in Drama and Fiction", University College London (invited speaker), 05/04/2007.
  16. "Are Emotions Rational?", University Forum Lecture Series, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 04/27/2007.
  17. "Rational Emotional Responses to Art", 19th Annual Meeting of the Far West Popular and American Culture Associations, Las Vegas (speaker and chair), 01/27/2007.
  18. "In the Mood", University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Department of Philosophy, 12/08/2006
  19. "The Undecidability of Pascal's Wager", Phi Sigma Tau, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 10/04/2006
  20. "Comments on Pouivet's Paper 'Thomas Reid on Testimony and Virtue Epistmology'", Conference "Reid and Contemporary Philosophy of Mind" at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden (commentator, chair, and organizer), 08/19-08/20/2006
  21. "Folk Psychology and Proverb Knowledge as Common Knowledge in Decision-Making", 29th International Wittgenstein Symposium in Kirchberg at Wechsel (invited speaker and chair), 8/06-8/12/2006
  22. "Common Knowledge in Game Theory", The Sixth International Conference on Knowledge, Culture and Change in Organisations, Monash University Centre, Prato, Italy, 07/11-07/14/2006.
  23. "Emotional Consistency, Conflict, and the Stockholm Syndrome", Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, Department of Philosophy and the History of Technology, 06/07/2006
  24. "Moods", Filstokk 2006, Filosofiska Föreningen, Stockholm University, Sweden, 06/02-06/03/2006
  25. "How One Should Understand a Dead Philosopher: Experimental Psychology Applied to the History of Philosophy", British Society for the History of Philosophy Conference on Philosophy and Historiography, Robinson College, Cambridge, 04/03-04/05/2006
  26. "Emotions, AI, and Consciousness", Workshop on "Emotions and Self-awareness", Stockholm University, Sweden, 03/09-03/10/2006
  27. "The Rationality of the Emotions", Rhodes University, South Africa, The Annual Conference of the Philosophical Society of Southern Africa, 01/16/-01/18/2006
  28. "The Rationality of the Emotions", The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, Department of Philosophy, 12/06/2005
  29. "Freedom of Action in Thomas Reid", Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden, Department of Philosophy, 10/05/2005
  30. "The Rationality of the Emotions", Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, Department of Philosophy, 08/26/2005
  31. "The Rationality of Belief", University of Melbourne, Australia, Logic Colloquium, 07/29/2005
  32. "Causation in Thomas Reid", Filosofidagarna i Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden, 06/09/-06/11/2005
  33. "Comments on Hansson's 'Hypothetical Retrospection'", Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, Department of Philosophy and the History of Technology, The Danish-Swedish Risk Meeting, 05/11/2005
  34. "Thomas Reid – The Scottish Common Sense Philosopher", Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden, 04/13/2005
  35. "The Rationality of the Emotions", Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden, Department of Languages and Culture, 04/12/2005
  36. "Common Knowledge in Game Theory", Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, Philosophy Unit, 04/06/2005
  37. "Common Sense Philosophy in Reid, Austin, Searle, Moore, and Wittgenstein", British Society for the History of Philosophy Conference on the Varieties of Analysis, St. Catherine's College, Oxford, 03/30-04/01/2005
  38. "The Rationality of Belief", Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, Philosophy Unit, 11/22/2004
  39. "Risk and Pascal's Wager", The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen, Denmark, Danish Research Institute of Food Economics, The Danish-Swedish Risk Meeting, 11/12/2004
  40. "The Rationality of the Emotions", Lund University, Lund, Sweden, Department of Philosophy, 10/27/2004
  41. "The Irrationality of Faith", Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, 9/29/2004
  42. "Instincts and Consciousness in Reid", 27th International Wittgenstein Symposium in Kirchberg at Wechsel (speaker and chair), 8/08-8/14/2004
  43. "Comments on Vandenberg's Paper 'Relationships and the Development of Humanity and Moral Sentiments in Hume'", 3rd International Reid Symposium on Scottish Philosophy, University of Aberdeen, King's College (commentator and chair), 07/12-07/14/2004
  44. "Comments on Salerno's Paper "Truth-Tracking and the Problem of Reflective Knowledge", Inland Northwest Philosophy Conference, University of Idaho and Washington State University, 04/30/-05/02/2004
  45. "Comments on Copenhaver's Paper 'Is Reid a Mysterian?'", American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division Meeting, Pasadena, 03/24/-03/28/2004
  46. "The Rationality of the Emotions", Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, Philosophy Unit, 03/22/2004
  47. "The Rationality of the Emotions", University of Warwick, Coventry, England, Department of Philosophy, 03/01/2004
  48. "The Rationality of the Emotions", Philosophy Colloquium, University of California, Santa Cruz, Department of Philosophy, 01/16/2004
  49. "The Rationality of the Emotions", 21st World Congress of Philosophy in Istanbul, Turkey (speaker and chairperson), 8/10-8/17/2003
  50. "The Rationality of Faith", 26th International Wittgenstein Symposium in Kirchberg at Wechsel, Austria, 8/3-8/9/2003
  51. "Comments on Copenhaver's Account of Causation and Explanation in the Philosophy of Mind of Thomas Reid", Inland Northwest Philosophy Conference, University of Idaho and Washington State University, 5/2-5/4/2003
  52. "The Rationality of the Emotions", Philosophy Colloquium, Tel-Aviv University, Department of Philosophy, 04/30/2003
  53. "The Rationality of the Emotions", Philosophy Colloquium, Ben-Gurion University, Department of Philosophy, 03/25/2003
  54. "The Rationality of the Emotions", 6th Annual Conference of the New Israel Philosophical Association, Tel-Aviv University, 02/13/2003
  55. "The Rationality of the Emotions", Philosophy Colloquium, University of Haifa, Department of Philosophy, 11/25/2002
  56. "Some Elaborations on Spohn's Principle", 4th In-House Conference, University of Pittsburgh, Center for Philosophy of Science (speaker and chairperson), 10/26-10/28/2001
  57. "Does Deliberation Crowd Out Prediction?", Lunch Time Talk, University of Pittsburgh, Center for Philosophy of Science, 10/02/2001
  58. "Skyrms' K-Utility", 23rd International Wittgenstein Symposium in Kirchberg at Wechsel, Austria, 8/13-8/19/2000
  59. "A Defense of Künne's Non-Epistemic Theory of Truth", 6th Congress of the Austrian Society of Philosophy in Linz, Austria, 6/1-6/4/2000
  60. "Newcomb's Problem and Backwards Causation", Conference "Current Issues in Causation" at the University of Konstanz (speaker and organizer), 12/10-12/12/1998
  61. "The Rationality of Probabilities for Actions in Decision Theory", 20th World Congress of Philosophy in Boston, MA, U.S.A., 8/10-8/16/1998
  62. "Newcomb's Problem - a Gedankenexperiment of Probabilistic Dependence!?", 5th Congress of the Austrian Society of Philosophy in Innsbruck, Austria, 2/1-2/4/1998
  63. "The Rationality of Probabilities for Actions in Decision Theory", 3rd International Congress of the Gesellschaft für Analytische Philosophie in Munich, Germany, 9/15-9/18/1997
  64. "Does Newcomb's Problem Provide a Proof for Human Freedom of Will?", 20th International Wittgenstein Symposium in Kirchberg at Wechsel, 8/10-8/16/1997

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Guidelines on how to write a philosophy paper at Jim Prior's website at http://www.jimpryor.net/teaching/guidelines/writing.html

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Last updated 08/22/2008