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This book presents
a persuasive argument in favour of evolutionary naturalism and outlines what
such a stance means for our capacity of observation and understanding reality.
The author discusses how our capacity of knowledge is adapted to handle
sensory information about the environment in the light of Charles Darwin´s
theory of evolution. The implication of this is that much of our thinking in
science and philosophy that goes beyond our immediate experience rests on
abstractions and hypostatization. This book rejects the possibility of having
any knowledge of reality as it is in itself, while not denying that our
capacity of conceptual abstractions is of great benefit for our survival.

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On Evolutionary Naturalism

Contents

Preface

1 Evolutionary Naturalism

The manifest image

The scientific image

Kant´s metaphysical dualism

Evolutionary epistemology
2 Evolution and Human Cognition

The Darwinian legacy

Setting the legacy straight

A fallacy of naturalization

Intention and innate dispositions

3 Sensation, Perception, and Observation

Perception as belief acquisition

From perception to observation
Theory-ladenness

Instrumental observation

Observability

4 Theory and Reality

Forms of realism

Conceptual frameworks and external commitments

Scientific realism

The success argument

Constructive empiricism

Structural realism

The failure of representationalism

5 Truth, Language, and Objectivity

What is truth?

Truth and meaning

Non-realism concerning Truth

A naturalized notion of truth

Semantics and ontology
6 Abstraction and Reification

Common sense and externality

What makes an entity abstract?

Abstract objects and abstracted concepts

Why did abstracted concepts evolve?

7 In Defence of Nominalism

Concrete, artificial, and nominal particulars

Universals or particulars

Conceptualism
8 Space, Time, and Space-time

Kant on space and time

The existence of space

The existence of time

Space-time substantivalism

Space-time relationism 279

Space-time as an abstracted concept

Are space and time invented or discovered?

9 Causality and Contrafactuality

The concept

Regularity
Modality

10 Human Evolution and Mathematical Physics

Mathematics and representational knowledge

Mathematics - the language of quantities

Possible worlds, many worlds and multiverses

The Copenhagen interpretation: instrumentalism versus
representationalism

11 Conclusion

Bibliography

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Jan Faye teaches epistemology, metaphysics, and philosophy of science at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. He has published extensively within these areas in Danish as well as English. Some of his latest books include After Postmodernism (2012) and The Nature of Scientific Thinking (2014).

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