Smart

Who is he?

Smart is a contemporary Australian Philosopher who has written extensively about the nature of the mind, whether or not scientific theories are literally true, and whether or not there are ethical facts.

What is Philosophy for Smart?

Smart tells us, p. 6, that he views philosophy as "...an attempt to think clearly and comprehensively about (a) the nature of the universe, and (b) the principles of conduct. In short, philosophy is primarily concerned with what there is in the world and with what we ought to do about it."

To what does this amount? Smart thinks of philosophy as pondering fundamental questions that form the basis of our world view. Clearly conceived answers to these questions form a comprehensive basis for considering all other questions regarding the nature of the universe and our principles of conduct. That is, using our answers to such deep and comprehensive questions we can then choose clearly answers to more concrete questions.

How does Philosophy Address Such Questions?

-Eliminating nonsense

For smart nonsense is any seeming proposition that says either something that cannot be true or to which truth simply does not apply. Nonsense can creep into our thought and result in our reasoning going deeply astray. The only way to rid oneself of nonsense on his view is to recognize it as such and reject it.

-Rationally selecting among competing hypotheses

For smart some hypotheses or some contexts in which there is no legitimate means of choosing a hypothesis by experimentation and observation (ex. The world came into existence just as it is ten minutes ago.) For Smart in these circumstances, and/or with respect to these hypotheses, philosophy can guide theory choice by ruling out nonsense and revealing the simplest and least arbitrary choice. The resultant choice is not certain, but plausible and tentative.