David Matheson
Philosophy of Life; Epistemology
| Degrees: | B.A. (New Brunswick), M.A. (Carleton), Ph.D. (Brown) |
| Phone: | 613-520-2600 x 1928 |
| Email: | david.matheson@carleton.ca |
| Office: | 3A49 Paterson Hall |
Associate Professor
Office Hours:
Email for appointment.
Courses for 2021-22:
- PHIL 1200: Meaning of Life
- PHIL 2003: Critical Thinking
- PHIL 3104: The Roots of Analytical Philosophy
- PHIL 5850: Proseminar
Research Interests
My research interests lie in two broad areas: the philosophy of life and epistemology.
My interests in the philosophy of life are focused on meaning as a basic or “final” value in life, the importance of creativity for meaning in life, the relationship between a meaningful life and a life worth living, and how we should respond to philosophical views according to which no lives are ultimately meaningful or worthwhile.
In epistemology, I’m interested in testimony as a source of knowledge and reasonable belief, what’s involved in knowing another person as contrasted with merely knowing about another person, the nature of knowledge-related values, and moral considerations relevant to both knowledge and ignorance.
Some Recent Publications
- Creativity and meaning in life. Ratio: An International Journal of Analytic Philosophy, 31 (2018): 73-87
- Review of D. Benatar, The human predicament: A candid guide to life’s biggest questions. The Philosophical Quarterly (advance article online, 2018), doi.org/10.1093/pq/pqx045
- An obligation to forget. In S. Bernecker & K. Michaelian, eds., The Routledge handbook of philosophy of memory (London: Routledge, 2017), pp. 364-72
- The incoherence of soft nihilism. Think: Philosophy for Everyone (A Journal of the Royal Institute of Philosophy), 16 (2017): 127-35
- Testimonial reasons. Erkenntnis: An International Journal of Scientific Philosophy, 81 (2016): 757-74
- Fundamentality and extradimensional final value. Journal of Philosophy of Life, 5 (2015): 19-32
- A duty of ignorance. Episteme: A Journal of Individual and Social Epistemology, 10 (2013): 193-205
- How to be an epistemic value pluralist. Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review, 50 (2011): 391-405
- Knowing persons. Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review, 49 (2010): 435-53