- John Hawthorne
Infobox_Philosopher
region = Western Philosophy
era =20th-century philosophy
color = #B0C4DEimage_caption =
name = Hawthorne, John
birth =
death =
school_tradition =analytic philosophy
main_interests =metaphysics ,philosophy of language ,epistemology
influences =William Alston , Jonathan Bennett,Stewart Cohen , David Lewis, Peter van Inwagen,Timothy Williamson
influenced =
notable_ideas = |John Hawthorne is the Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy atOxford University , though he continues to teach on a visiting basis at Rutgers University at New Brunswick. He is primarily known for his work in metaphysics and epistemology; his 2006 collection "Metaphysical Essays" offers original treatments of fundamental topics in philosophy, including identity, ontology, vagueness, and causation.In his book "Knowledge and Lotteries", Hawthorne defends a view in
epistemology according to which the presence of knowledge is dependent on the subject's interests. (He terms the view 'Subject-Sensitive Invariantism'). Unlikecontextualism , Hawthorne's view does not require that the meaning of the word "know" changes from one context of ascription to another. His view is thus a variety of invariantism. However, whether a subject has knowledge depends to a surprising extent on features of the "subject's" context, including practical concerns. This position can be classed as a form ofpragmatism (Hawthorne, 2004: p. 180). SeeJason Stanley for a similar view.Hawthorne has also written on philosophy of language and philosophical logic, philosophy of religion, philosophy of mind, and on
Leibniz .Hawthorne earned his Ph.D. from
Syracuse University , where he studied withWilliam Alston andJonathan F. Bennett . He taught previously at New South Wales, Arizona State, Syracuse, and Rutgers.External links
* [http://www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/members/john_hawthorne Oxford University Website]
* [http://philosophy.rutgers.edu/FACSTAFF/BIOS/hawthorne.html Rutgers University Website]
*worldcat id|lccn-n94-81968
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