From Philosophy of Science to Philosophy of Literature (and Back) via Philosophy of Mind: Philip Kitcher's Philosophical Pendulum

Abstract

The recent focus of Philip Kitcher's research has been, somewhat surprisingly in the light of his earlier work, the philosophical analyses of literary works and operas. The aim of this paper is to show that there is no discontinuity between this new direction and Kitcher's earlier work in the philosophy of science: Kitcher's contributions to the philosophy of science and his more recent endeavors into the philosophy of literature and of music (as well as some of his other writings, for example, on the philosophy of religion) are grounded in the same big picture attitude towards the human mind – and attitude that he would undoubtedly call 'pragmatic': one that emphasizes the importance of those mental processes that are not (or not entirely) rational.