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The Münsterschen Vorlesungen zur Philosophie, die seit 1997 jährlich stattfinden, bringen viele namhafte Philosophen zusammen. Der jeweilige Gastredner hält einen öffentlichen Vortrag und nimmt im Anschluss an einem Kolloquium mit Mitarbeitern und Studierenden der Universität Münster teil. Die Vorträge und Diskussionsbeiträge werden in dieser Reihe veröffentlicht.

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The annual Münster Lectures in Philosophy, which started in 1997, have evolved as a highly renowned get-together of philosophers. The invited guest for the respective lecture gives a public talk and participates in a one- to two-day-colloquium with members of the Philosophical Seminar (staff and students) of the University of Münster. Lectures, contributions of participants and replies of the guest philosophers are published in this series.

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Philip Kitcher has deeply influenced many of the current debates in the philosophy of biology. He has also made groundbreaking contributions to the philosophy of science, to ethics, the philosophy of religion, the philosophy of mathematics, and, most recently, to pragmatism. This volume results from the 15th Münster Lectures in Philosophy. It contains an original article by Kitcher andeight critical papers on a wide range of topics.

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Marie I. Kaiser, University of Geneva, Switzerland; Ansgar Seide, University of Münster, Germany.

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