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Department of Philosophy

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Curriculum Vitae

Professor Duncan Pritchard

Personal | Academic | Research | Appointments Held | Other Relevant Information |

PERSONAL

Name:

Duncan Pritchard
   

Marital Status:

Married to Mandi, with two children (twins), Alexander and Ethan
   

Date of Birth:

January 30th, 1974

   

Contact Address:
 
 

Prof. Duncan Pritchard,

Department of Philosophy,
University of Stirling,
Stirling,
FK9 4LA
Scotland, UK

   

Tel:
Fax:

(+44) (0) (1786) 467594
(+44) (0) (1786) 466233

   

E-Mail:

d.h.pritchard@stir.ac.uk

ACADEMIC

2000

PhD, Philosophy, University of St Andrews
Supervisor: Professor Crispin Wright

Thesis: "Hinge" Propositions and the Radical Sceptical Paradox.

External Examiners:
Professor Michael Williams, Johns Hopkins University.
Professor Edward Craig, University of Cambridge.

   

1996

MLitt, Philosophy, University of St Andrews

 

1995

BA (Honours), Philosophy - 1st Class, University of Hull

   

Research Awards and Prizes

  • AHRC Research Leave, 2006.
  • NAMICONA/Danish Academy of Science 2005 Visiting Research Professor (based at the University of Aarhus, Denmark).
  • Leverhulme Trust Two-Year Special Research Fellowship, 2002-2004.

The title of my research project was 'Epistemic Luck', and the purpose of the project was to explore the undoubted tension that exists between knowledge possession and luck. In particular, it looked at the way in which luck can both undermine knowledge (as with the case of lucky guesses) whilst also being an ineliminable feature of all knowledge possession. Topics that I covered include the analogous problem of moral luck, the problem of radical scepticism, the epistemological externalism/internalism distinction, and virtue-theoretic treatments of knowledge. The project resulted in a number of journal articles, many of which are either already accepted for publication or published in journals such as Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Metaphilosophy, Journal of Philosophical Research, and New Ideas in Psychology. It also resulted in a book entitled Epistemic Luck which is published by Oxford University Press.

  • Royal Institute of Philosophy Jacobsen Fellowship, 1999-2000.

The title of this research project was '"Hinge" Propositions and Scepticism about Religious Belief'. This project explored recent movements in the philosophy of religion regarding the epistemology of religious belief and brought to bear current developments from the contemporary epistemological discussion, especially accounts of the Wittgensteinian notion of a "hinge" proposition. The work conducted for this Jacobsen fellowship culminated in a research paper, 'Is "God Exists" a "Hinge" Proposition of Religious Belief?'. This paper was presented at the Gifford Bequest International Conference entitled 'Natural Theology: Problems and Prospects' at the University of Aberdeen in May, 2000, and published in International Journal for Philosophy of Religion later that year. Work on this area has since resulted in a further paper on this topic that was published in International Philosophical Quarterly and reprinted in a volume of articles on basic belief published by Rodopi.

  • University of Stirling Faculty of Arts Travel Scholarship, 2002; 2004; 2005; 2006.
  • University of St. Andrews Postgraduate Scholarship, 1996-1999.
  • Departmental prize for the highest mark in the year, 1995.
     

Areas of Specialisation

Epistemology; Scepticism (Ancient & Modern); Later Wittgenstein; Philosophy of Science.
 

Areas of Competence

Philosophy of Religion; Philosophy of Language; Philosophy of Mind; Truth; Ethics; Value Theory.

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RESEARCH


I.    Publications

For a list of key publications, click here.

II.    Conference Presentations and External Talks

  • 'Epistemic Luck and Epistemic Value'

Due to be presented as an invited speaker as part of the Royal Institute of Philosophy lecture series on Epistemology in London - November 2006.

  • 'Wittgenstein on Scepticism'

Due to be presented as an invited speaker at a conference on Epistemology in the 20th Century: Scepticism at the University of Manchester - May 2006.

  • 'Virtue and Luck.'

Due to be presented at an invited symposium on Intellectual Virtue (other participants include: Michael Stocker, Jay Wood, and James Montmarquet) at the Pacific APA, Portland, Oregon, USA - March 2006

  • 'Anti-Luck Epistemology.'

Due to be presented at a special symposium on New Waves in Epistemology at the Pacific APA, Portland, Oregon, USA - March 2006.

  • 'McDowellian Neo-Mooreanism.'

Due to be presented as an invited talk at the Department of Philosophy, University of Nottingham - February 2006.

  • 'Anti-Luck Epistemology.'
  • 'McDowellian Neo-Mooreanism.'

Presented as invited talks at Brown University, USA - November 2005.

  • 'Anti-Luck Epistemology.'

Presented as an invited speaker at a workshop on Epistemology, University of Roskilde, Denmark - November 2005.

  • 'McDowellian Neo-Mooreanism.'

Presented as an invited keynote speaker at the Disjunctivism conference, University of Glasgow - June 2005.

  • 'How to be a Neo-Moorean.'

Presented as an invited talk at the Department of Philosophy, University of Hull - May 2005.

  • 'Externalism, Scepticism, and Luck.'

Presented as an invited keynote speaker at the Internalism and Externalism in Semantics and Epistemology conference, University of Kentucky, USA - April, 2005.

  • 'How to be a Neo-Moorean.'

Presented as an invited talk at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Rijeka, Croatia - March 2005.

  • 'Precis of Epistemic Luck.'
  • 'Response to Commentators.'

Presented as part of a symposium on my forthcoming book with Oxford University Press, Epistemic Luck (commentators include: Guy Axtell, Sandy Goldberg, John Greco, and Ram Neta), Pacific APA, San Francisco, USA - March, 2005.

  • 'Contrastivism, Evidence, and Scepticism.'

Presented as an invited keynote speaker at the NAMICONA Contrastivism conference, University of Aarhus, Denmark - February, 2005.

  • 'How to be a Neo-Moorean.'

Presented as an invited talk at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Aarhus, Denmark - February 2005.

  • 'How to be a Neo-Moorean.'

Presented as an invited talk at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Copenhagen, Denmark - February 2005.

  • 'Scepticism, Epistemic Luck and Epistemic Angst.'

Presented as an invited talk at the Department of Philosophy, University of Birmingham - January 2005.

  • 'Scepticism, Epistemic Luck and Epistemic Angst.'

Presented as an invited talk at the Department of Philosophy, University of York - December, 2004.

  • 'Greco on Externalism and Epistemic Luck.'

Presented at the Virtue Epistemology conference, University of Stirling - November, 2004.

  • 'How to be a Neo-Moorean (and not a Contextualist).'

Presented as an invited keynote speaker at the Contextualism conference, Free University, Amsterdam, Holland - October, 2004.

  • 'McDowell on Naturalism in the Philosophy of Mind.'

Invited talk at the McDowell on Norms and Values workshop, Copenhagen, Denmark - September 2004.

  • 'Knowledge, Evidence, and Scepticism.'

Presented as an invited keynote speaker at the Annual Bled Philosophy Conference entitled Contextualism, Bled, Slovenia - June, 2004.

  • 'Contextualism, Scepticism, and Warranted Assertibility Manoeuvres.'

Presented at the Annual Inland Northwest Philosophy Conference entitled Knowledge and Skepticism, Moscow, USA - April, 2004.

  • 'Cohen on Attributer Contextualism and Subject-Sensitive Invariantism.'

Presented at the Epistemological Contextualism conference, University of Stirling - March, 2004.

  • 'The Structure of Sceptical Arguments.'

Presented as a keynote speaker at the Contemporary Epistemology workshop, University of Stirling - March, 2004.

  • 'Contemporary Anti-Scepticism.'

Presented as an invited speaker at the University of Edinburgh Philosophy Society - February, 2004.

  • 'McDowell on the Identity Theory of Truth.'

Presented as an invited speaker as part of the McDowell and Experience workshop, University of Warwick - February, 2004.

  • 'Attributer Contextualism, Scepticism, and Warranted Assertibility Manoeuvres.'
  • 'Attributer Contextualism-Problems and Prospects.'

Presented as an invited keynote speaker as part of the Modalism and Mentalism in Contemporary Epistemology NAMICONA conference, Universities of Roskilde & Copenhagen, Denmark - January, 2004.

  • 'Scepticism, Epistemic Luck and Epistemic Angst .'

Presented as an invited keynote speaker as part of the Theories of Knowledge NAMICONA workshop, University of Aarhus, Denmark - December, 2003.

  • 'The Psychology and Philosophy of Luck.'

Invited talk at the Department of Psychology, University of Stirling - September, 2003.

  • 'Testimony (II).'

Presented as an invited speaker as part of an AHRB workshop on The Trial on Trial: Evidence and the Trial , department of philosophy, University of Stirling - June, 2003.

  • 'Scepticism as Epistemic Angst.'

Invited keynote address at the Skepticism conference, Free University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Holland - May, 2003.

  • 'Epistemic Deflationism.'

Invited talk at the Faculty of Philosophy, Amsterdam Free University, Holland - May, 2003.

  • 'Contextualism, Skepticism and Warranted Assertibility Manoeuvres.'

Presented at the Pacific Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association, San Francisco, USA - March, 2003.

  • 'Scepticism as Epistemic Angst.'

Presented at the Society for Skeptical Studies session at the Pacific Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association, San Francisco, USA - March, 2003.

  • 'Epistemic Luck.'

Invited talk at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Leeds - March, 2003.

  • 'Testimony (I).'

Presented as an invited speaker as part of an AHRB workshop on The Trial on Trial: Evidence and the Trial, Faculty of Law, University of Edinburgh - February, 2003.

  • 'Virtue Epistemology and Epistemic Luck.'

Invited talk at the Department of Philosophy, University of Bristol - February, 2003.

  • 'Epistemic Luck.'

Invited address to the Scots Philosophical Club annual conference, University of Stirling - December, 2002.

  • 'Virtue Epistemology and Epistemic Luck.'

Invited talk at the Department of Philosophy, University of Aberdeen - November, 2002.

  • 'Epistemic Deflationism.'

Invited talk at the Department of Philosophy, University of Edinburgh - November, 2002.

  • 'The Source of Scepticism.'

Presented at the Joint Session of the Mind Association and the Aristotelian Society, University of Glasgow - July, 2002.

  • 'The Structure of Skeptical Arguments.'

Presented at the Society for Skeptical Studies session at the 2002 Pacific Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association, Seattle, USA - March, 2002. 

  • 'Resurrecting the Moorean Response to Scepticism.'

Invited talk at the Department of Philosophy, University of Glasgow - January, 2002.

  • 'A Puzzle About Warrant.'

Presented at the British Society for Philosophy of Science annual conference, University of York - July, 2001.

  • 'Reforming Reformed Epistemology.'

Presented at the Epistemology of Basic Belief conference, Amsterdam Free University, Holland - June, 2001.

  • 'Wittgenstein, "Hinge" Propositions, & On Certainty.'

Presented at the 23rd International Symposium of the Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein Society entitled Rationality and Irrationality, Kirchberg, Austria - August, 2000.

  • 'Is "God Exists" a "Hinge" Proposition of Religious Belief?'

Presented at the Gifford bequest international conference entitled Natural Theology: Problems and Prospects, University of Aberdeen - May, 2000.

  • 'Craig and the Sceptic: The Thumbnail Version.'

Presented at the Joint Session of the Mind Association and the Aristotelian Society, University of Nottingham - July, 1999.

  • 'The Sceptical Paradox.'

Presented at the annual national Analytic Philosophy conference, University of Sheffield - June, 1999.

  • 'Wright on Dreaming Scepticism.'

Presented at the annual national Analytic Philosophy conference, Oxford University - February, 1999.

  • 'Non-Epistemic Solutions to Scepticism.'

Presented at the Phenomenology and Mind conference, University of Southampton - January, 1999.

  • 'Subverting the Sceptic.'

Presented at the annual national Analytic Philosophy conference, University of Sheffield - June, 1998.

  • 'Scepticism, Rationality and "Hinge" Propositions.'

Presented at the Scottish Postgraduate Philosophy Association conference entitled Language, Logic and Mind, University of Edinburgh - April, 1998.

  • 'Williams' Contextualism and the Problem of Context-Change.'

Presented at the Mind, World and Knowledge conference, University of Reading - December, 1997.
 

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APPOINTMENTS HELD

  • February 2006-Present

Professor in Philosophy, University of Stirling

  • Sep 2004-January 2006

Reader in Philosophy, University of Stirling

  • May 2002-May 2004

Leverhulme Trust Special Research Fellow, University of Stirling

  • Feb 2000-Sep 2004

Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Stirling

  • Sep 1999-Feb 2000

Lecturer in Philosophy (Temporary), University of St. Andrews

  • Sep 1996-Feb 2000

Tutor in Philosophy, University of St. Andrews

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OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION

I have acted as a referee for the following publishers and academic organisations:

  • Acta Analytica
  • Acumen Press
  • American Philosophical Quarterly
  • Ashgate Press
  • Australasian Journal of Philosophy
  • Blackwell Press
  • British Journal for the History of Philosophy
  • The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science
  • British Society for Ethical Theory
  • Cambridge University Press
  • Dialectica
  • Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review
  • Edinburgh University Press
  • Erkenntnis
  • Ethical Theory and Moral Practice
  • Journal of Applied Philosophy
  • Journal of Moral Philosophy
  • Journal of Philosophical Research
  • Metaphilosophy
  • Mind
  • Oxford University Press
  • Palgrave Macmillan Press
  • The Philosophical Quarterly
  • Philosophy and Phenomenological Research
  • Philosophy at Yeditepe
  • Philosophical Papers
  • Philosophical Studies
  • Routledge Press
  • Synthese
  • Theoria

In addition:

  • Elected Member of the British Philosophical Association Executive Committee.
  • External examiner for the University of Glasgow Philosophy Department and the University of Aberdeen Philosophy Department.
  • Member of the Editorial Board of Philosophy Compass.
  • Consultative editor for Episteme.
  • Leiter Report evaluator (epistemology).

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