The Natural Method

Prominent philosophers explore themes in the work of Owen Flanagan, focusing on debates about the nature of mind, the self, and morality.

Owen Flanagan's work offers a model for how to be a naturalistic and scientifically informed philosopher who writes beautifully and deeply about topics as varied as consciousness and Buddhism, moral psychology and dreaming, identity and addiction, literature and neuroscience. In this volume, leading philosophers—Flanagan's friends, colleagues, and former students—explore themes in his work, focusing on debates over the nature of mind, the self, and morality. Some contributors address Flanagan's work directly; others are inspired by his work or methodology. Their essays are variously penetrating and synoptic, cautious and speculative.

The contributors offer proposals for productive interdisciplinary research exploring consciousness, personhood, religious cognition, mental disorders, addiction, the narrative self, virtue, the social sciences, forgiveness, and comparative philosophy. The authors share a commitment to virtues exemplified in Flanagan's work—interdisciplinary inquiry, an optimistic temperament, and a willingness to change one's mind.

Contributors

Jack Bauer, Patricia S. Churchland, Peggy DesAutels, George Graham, Philip J. Ivanhoe, Alasdair MacIntyre, Robert N. McCauley, Eddy Nahmias, Thomas W. Polger, Galen Strawson, Şerife Tekin, Robert Van Gulick, David B. Wong, Wenqing Zhao

Foreword
Patricia Churchland
Introduction
Eddy Nahmias, Tom Polger, and Wenqing Zhao
1. Consciousness Reconsidered Reconsidered
Robert Van Gulick
2. Domesticating Scrupulosity
Robert McCauley and George Graham
3. Patients as Experienced-Based Experts in Psychiatry: Insights from the Natural Method
Serife Tekin
4. Addiction and Ultimate Concern: Flanagan Paired
George Graham
5. On the use of the notion of narrative in ethics and psychology
Galen Strawson
6. Virtuous Women
Peggy DesAutels and Jack Bauer
7. Since Morgenbesser: The Continuing Messiness of the Social Sciences and Some Related Incoherences
Alasdair MacIntyre
8. Why Forgiveness Is So Elusive
David Wong
9. Wagging Tails and Riding Elephants: Why Study Non-Western Philosophy?
P. J. IvanhoeEddy Nahmias is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at Georgia State University.

Thomas W. Polger is Professor and Department Head in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Cincinnati.

Wenqing Zhao is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Whitman College.