Foreign thinker
Eric Schwitzgebel
Eric SchwitzgebelPhilosophy of Mind, Philosophical Psychology, EpistemologyAmerican
We are in a deep and astonishing state of ignorance not only about the external world, but also about the nature of our own inner experiences.
Life and Thought
Eric Schwitzgebel is a contemporary American philosopher and professor of philosophy at the University of California, Riverside. He is known for his innovative research at the intersection of philosophy of mind, epistemology, and empirical psychology, particularly his critique of the reliability of introspection and moral intuitions. His works often challenge the unspoken assumptions of analytic philosophy with a lucid, informal tone and bold thought experiments.
Eric Schwitzgebel completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard University and received his Ph.D. in 1997 from the University of California, Berkeley. After finishing his education, he joined the faculty at the University of California, Riverside, where he has been teaching and conducting research as a professor of philosophy for many years. Schwitzgebel is also widely known among enthusiasts of contemporary philosophy for his popular philosophy blog, "The Splintered Mind."
The main focus of Schwitzgebel's research is on skepticism about introspection, the nature of belief, and the applied ethics of philosophers. One of his most prominent ideas is that, contrary to popular belief, humans are remarkably unaware and unreliable when it comes to accurately describing their own mental states and inner experiences (such as dreaming, sensory experiences, and emotions). Furthermore, his empirical research on the moral behavior of ethicists has shown that studying or teaching ethics does not necessarily lead to better moral behavior in everyday life.
Among his important works and notable books are "Perplexities of Consciousness: Essays on Skepticism about Introspection," "The Weirdness of the World," and "A Theory of Belief." In his projects, Schwitzgebel consistently strives to blur the boundaries between traditional analytic philosophy and the findings of empirical psychology, raising fundamental questions about artificial intelligence, consciousness, and virtual reality.
