Research summary
One of philosophy’s main tasks is to illuminate concepts that matter in our everyday lives. Twentieth-century philosophers relied mainly on introspection and social observation to accomplish this. But recent psychological research shows that these techniques have serious limitations. Some philosophers have responded by incorporating more powerful methods from cognitive and social science into their research.
Dr. John Turrin, Canada Research Chair in Philosophy and Cognitive Science, is a leading figure in this movement, which is known as experimental philosophy. He and his research team hope to continue to increase their philosophical and scientific understanding of important social judgments and categories, including knowledge, morality, agency and communication.