Date Thesis Awarded
5-2024
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Open Access
Degree Name
Bachelors of Arts (BA)
Department
Philosophy
Advisor
Aaron Griffith
Committee Members
Laura Ekstrom
Robert Barnet
Abstract
This thesis applies Hans Vaihinger’s Philosophy of ‘As If’, published originally in 1924, onto contemporary philosophical debate. Section 1 develops Vaihinger’s axiom of the evolutionary mind and his conception of logic and fiction. Section 2 further examines Vaihinger’s system of fictions and its metaphysical and epistemological implications. Sections 3-5 apply Vaihinger’s Philosophy of ‘As If’ towards the contemporary debate surrounding ethics. In sections 3-5 I point towards the presence, and use, of fictions within contemporary accounts of God, causation, free will, the self, and morality. Finally, in section 6 I raise potential objections to Vaihinger’s view and attempt to defend it.
Recommended Citation
Kopelman, Ryan, "Philosophy of 'As If': Contemporary Applications and Defense" (2024). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 2101.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/2101
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Included in
Epistemology Commons, Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, Metaphysics Commons, Philosophy of Mind Commons, Philosophy of Science Commons
