Evolutionary Debunking Arguments

Particularly in the past few years, there has been an intense debate about the evolutionary debunking of moral realism. The latest issue of Analysis includes a new contribution to this debate: Andreas Mogensen's "Evolutionary Debunking Arguments and the Proximate/Ultimate Distinction," which can be found here.

Sextus and Politics

The latest issue of the Italian journal Elenchos (35/2, 2014) contains Stéphane Marchand's "Sextus Empiricus: les effets politiques de la suspension du jugement." It will soon be available on this site; in the meantime here is the abstract: "The aim of this paper is to examine the political implications of Sextus Empiricus’ neo-Pyrrhonism by considering two fundamental texts (PH I 23-24; AM XI 162-165). Both texts are usually interpreted as endorsing political conformism insofar as Sextus allegedly claims that one should follow the laws and customs of one's community. But it seems possible to interpret the reference to laws and customs merely as a description of what humans in fact do. What Sextus would therefore recommend is to abandon any theoretical approach to politics in favor of a pragmatic one."

Sextus and Ataraxia

Those interested in Sextus Empiricus's Pyrrhonism might want to read this new paper by Svavar Svavarsson: "The Skeptic's Luck: On Fortuitous Tranquillity." In E. K. Emilsson, A. Maravela, and M. Skoie (eds.), Paradeigmata: Studies in Honour of Øivind Andersen, 177-186. Athens: Norwegian Institute at Athens, 2014.

IJSS in Philosopher's Index

The International Journal for the Study of Skepticism is now indexed in the Philosopher's Index. It could already be found on PhilPapers and SCOPUS.

Etiology, Debunking, and Religious Epistemology

On March 16-17, the New Insights and Directions for Religious Epistemology project at Oxford University will host the workshop, "Etiology, Debunking, and Religious Epistemology," focusing on the etiology of belief and debunking arguments and their relevance to questions in the philosophy of religion or analytic theology. To register, please send an email to insights@philosophy.ox.ac.uk. Further information can be found here.

Skepticism and Political Thought

I've just come across this book edited by Chris Laursen and Gianni Paganini: Skepticism and Political Thought in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (University of Toronto Press, 2015). Complete information can be found here.

Online-First Articles at IJSS

A bunch of new online-first articles and reviews are available at the International Journal for the Study of Skepticism.

Rationalist Responses to Skeptical Hypotheses

Among the latest articles published in Philosophers' Imprint (vol. 15, February 2015), we find Tim Willenken's "Rationalist Responses to Skepticism: A New Puzzle." You can access it for free here.

Evolutionary Ethics

On March 27-28, 2015, Florida State University will hold a conference on evolutionary ethics, including evolutionary debunking arguments of morality. Some of the speakers are among the best specialists in this field. Complete information can be found here.

Call for Applications: Universität Hamburg

There's a call for applications for a professor position in the history of early modern philosophy at the Universität Hamburg. The main area of research and teaching is skepticism. Full information can be found here.

New Paper on Arcesilaus

The latest issue of Ancient Philosophy includes Charles Snyder's "The Socratic Benevolence of Arcesilaus' Dialectic." The paper can be found here.

Epistemological Skepticism

Most of the essays in the volume Current Controversies in Epistemology (Routledge, 2014), edited by Ram Neta, discuss a number of epistemological problems raised by skepticism. 

Issue 5.1 of IJSS

Volume 5, issue 1 of the International Journal for the Study of Skepticism is now out. It contains a symposium on Stanley Cavell's The Claim of Reason (featuring papers by Peter Fosl, Andrea Kern, and Stephen Mulhall), followed by a discussion co-authored by the late Tony Brueckner and two book reviews. To access the contents, click here.

Jewish Skepticism

From October 2015, and for a period of eight years, there will be a new research center at Hamburg University: Humanities Centre for Advanced Studies – Jewish Scepticism (HCAS–JS). The center's director will be Giuseppe Veltri. More information can be found here.