Olaf Müller (philosopher)
Olaf L. Müller (born March 23, 1966 ) is a German philosopher and professor at the Humboldt University in Berlin .
Life
Müller studied philosophy and mathematics at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen and the University of California, Los Angeles . After research stays in Kraków and at Harvard University , he has been Professor of Philosophy of Science in Berlin since 2003 .
Müller received his doctorate in 1996 with a thesis on Willard Van Orman Quine . Against Quine, he argues that the terms “ synonymy ” and “ analyticity ” can certainly have a philosophical sense. This result leads Müller to a criticism of Quine's semantic skepticism, i.e. the naturalistic-eliminative thesis that semantics have no place in a true description of the world.
Müller also developed a general critique of epistemological skepticism . Building on Hilary Putnam's brain-in-tank thought experiment , he tries to show that a general skepticism can be refuted with a priori arguments. Furthermore, he investigates " Aesthetics as a guideline for physical research ".
In ethics, Müller criticizes utilitarianism and strives for a theory of pacifism .
Fonts
- Moral observation and other forms of ethical knowledge. Plea for respect for morals. (Paderborn: Mentis, 2008; 381 pp). pdf
- Metaphysics and semantic stability or what it means to ask about higher realities. Reality without Illusions, Volume 2. (Paderborn: Mentis, 2003, xxxi + 276 pp). pdf
- Hilary Putnam and saying goodbye to skepticism or why the world is not a computer simulation. Reality without Illusions, Volume 1. (Paderborn: Mentis, 2003, xxxii + 241 pp). pdf
- Synonymy and analyticity: two useful terms. An examination of WVO Quine's skepticism of meaning. (Dissertation. Paderborn: Schöningh, 1998, 362 pp). Chapters 6-12 as pdf
- "More light". Goethe and Newton in a dispute over colors . S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2015, ISBN 978-3-10-403071-5
- Too good to be wrong: About aesthetics in science . S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2019, ISBN 978-3-10-050709-9
Web links
- Olaf Müller's page on the color dispute between Newton and Goethe
- Müller's homepage at the HU Berlin
- Olaf Müller's profile on academia
- Olaf Müller's profile at researchGate
- Olaf Müller's profile at Philpapers
- Antiskeptic writings ("Brain in the Tank" systematics) by Müller as pdf
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Müller, Olaf |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Müller, Olaf L. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German philosopher and university professor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 23, 1966 |