Michael Huemer (philosopher)

Michael Huemer answers questions at NYC Junto, October 1, 2015

Michael Huemer (born December 27, 1969 ) is an American philosopher . He is a professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder .

Life

Huemer studied philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley ( BA , 1992) and received his PhD from Rutgers University in 1998 . He has been at the University of Colorado Boulder since 1998 .

job

Huemer represents direct realism in epistemology and intuitionism (in a special form, called: rationalistic intuitionism) and realism in ethics . His approach is phenomenal conservatism , which assumes that our perception and our moral convictions are, so to speak, innocent until proven otherwise. Huemer has published on philosophical skepticism , the induction problem , free will and deontological ethics , among other things .

He defends philosophical and political anarchism . He starts from moral premises which , according to Bryan Caplan , most non-libertarians already accept. In particular, he avoids the pitfalls of approaches that are purely consequentialist or purely rights-based.

criticism

The publicist Michael von Prollius wrote a detailed review of the book Against the presumption of politics on the Internet platform Forum Freie Gesellschaft . He doesn’t skimp on critical remarks - for example, it seems “bizarre to want to weigh the recreational value of firearms in relation to a human life” - and concludes his observations with the words: “ Politics is a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it. "Mindful of the approving commentators," Huemer's connection between moral philosophy and social science does not work "for von Prollius.

Publications

Skepticism and the Veil of Perception . Rowman & Littlefield, 2001, ISBN 0742512533 .
Epistemology: Contemporary Readings (Ed. With Robert Audi). Routledge, 2002, ISBN 0415259215 .
Ethical Intuitionism . Palgrave Macmillan, 2006, ISBN 9781403989680 .
The Problem of Political Authority: An Examination of the Right to Coerce and the Duty to Obey . Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, ISBN 9781137281647 .
Approaching Infinity . Palgrave Macmillan, 2016, ISBN 9781137560865 .
Phenomenal Conservatism , 2019. In: Grajner M., Melchior G. (Ed.) Handbook Epistemology . JB Metzler, Stuttgart, DOI 10.1007 / 978-3-476-04632-1_24
- Template: "Phenomenal conservatism" . Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Web links

Huemer's personal website
Huemer at the University of Colorado
Andreas Müller: Against the presumption of politics . In: Novo . March 9, 2016
Michael von Prollius : Politics or no politics - is that the question? Critical comments on Michael Huemer "Against the presumption of politics" . Forum Free Society . 2015 (discussion of The Problem of Political Authority and Against the Arrogance of Politics )
- also published in Mythos Anarchokapitalismus , Edition Forum Freie Gesellschaft Vol. 6, Fürstenberg 2015, Helmut Krebs and Michael von Prollius, ISBN 9783739217741 ; on pages 61–77

Individual evidence

^ Skepticism and the Veil of Perception. Huemer does not differentiate between direct and naive realism , but prefers the former term (see page xix).
↑ "A Liberal Realist Answer to Debunking Skepticism: The Empirical Case for Realism" , 2016, Philosophical Studies, p. 4
↑ Ethical Intuitionism
↑ Phenomenal Conservatism
^ The Problem of Political Authority , p. 137; Philosophical anarchism is the view that there are no political obligations. Political anarchism is the view that the state should be abolished.
↑ Bryan Caplan: Plausible Libertarianism: Philosophy, Social Science, and Huemer , Response Essays, March 6, 2013
↑ This coincides with Huemer's self-assessment within libertarian theorists: Some Opening Replies: Coordination, Intuition, and Positive Rights , The Conversation, March 14, 2013. Quote: “Can the idea of starting from obvious, uncontroversial premises really be a new idea ? Bizarrely enough, yes. "
↑ Michael von Prollius : Politics or no politics - is that the question? Critical comments on Michael Huemer "Against the presumption of politics" . In: Forum Free Society . ( forum-frei-gesellschaft.de [accessed on June 14, 2020]).

personal data
SURNAME	Huemer, Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH	December 27, 1969

[1] Skepticism and the Veil of Perception. Huemer does not differentiate between direct and naive realism , but prefers the former term (see page xix).

[2] "A Liberal Realist Answer to Debunking Skepticism: The Empirical Case for Realism" , 2016, Philosophical Studies, p. 4

[3] Ethical Intuitionism

[4] Phenomenal Conservatism

[5] The Problem of Political Authority , p. 137; Philosophical anarchism is the view that there are no political obligations. Political anarchism is the view that the state should be abolished.

[6] Bryan Caplan: Plausible Libertarianism: Philosophy, Social Science, and Huemer , Response Essays, March 6, 2013

[7] This coincides with Huemer's self-assessment within libertarian theorists: Some Opening Replies: Coordination, Intuition, and Positive Rights , The Conversation, March 14, 2013. Quote: “Can the idea of starting from obvious, uncontroversial premises really be a new idea ? Bizarrely enough, yes. "

[8] Michael von Prollius : Politics or no politics - is that the question? Critical comments on Michael Huemer "Against the presumption of politics" . In: Forum Free Society . ( forum-frei-gesellschaft.de [accessed on June 14, 2020]).