David Papineau (; born 1947) is a British academic philosopher, born in

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps ...

, Italy. He works as Professor of Philosophy of Science at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

and the City University of New York Graduate Center, and previously taught for several years at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where he was a fellow of

Robinson College Robinson College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1977, it is one of the newest Oxbridge colleges and is unique in having been intended, from its inception, for both undergraduate and graduate students of bo ...

Biography

Papineau received a BSc in mathematics from the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

and a BA and PhD in philosophy from the University of Cambridge under the supervision of

Ian Hacking Ian MacDougall Hacking (born February 18, 1936) is a Canadian philosopher specializing in the philosophy of science. Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards, such as the Killam Prize for the Humanities and the Balzan Prize, and been ...

. He has worked in

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Epi ...

, and the philosophies of science,

mind The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...

, and

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

. His overall stance is naturalist and realist. He is one of the originators of the teleosemantic theory of

mental representation A mental representation (or cognitive representation), in philosophy of mind, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive science, is a hypothetical internal cognitive symbol that represents external reality, or else a mental process that ...

, a solution to the problem of

intentionality ''Intentionality'' is the power of minds to be about something: to represent or to stand for things, properties and states of affairs. Intentionality is primarily ascribed to mental states, like perceptions, beliefs or desires, which is why it ha ...

which derives the intentional content of our beliefs from their biological purpose. He is also a defender of the ''

a posteriori ("from the earlier") and ("from the later") are Latin phrases used in philosophy to distinguish types of knowledge, justification, or argument by their reliance on empirical evidence or experience. knowledge is independent from current ex ...

'' physicalist solution to the

mind–body problem The mind–body problem is a philosophical debate concerning the relationship between thought and consciousness in the human mind, and the brain as part of the physical body. The debate goes beyond addressing the mere question of how mind and bo ...

. Papineau was elected president of the British Society for the Philosophy of Science for 1993–1995, of the Mind Association for 2009–2010, and of the

Aristotelian Society The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy, more generally known as the Aristotelian Society, is a philosophical society in London. History Aristotelian Society was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880, at 17 Bloomsbury Squa ...

for 2013–2014. His book ''Knowing the Score'' (2017) is written for a general readership and looks at a number of ways in which sporting issues cast light on long-standing philosophical problems. Papineau lives in London with his wife, Rose Wild.

Publications

* ''For Science in the Social Sciences'' (1978) * ''Theory and Meaning'' (1979) * ''Reality and Representation'' (1987) * ''Philosophical Naturalism'' (1993) * ''Introducing Consciousness'' (2000) * ''

Thinking about Consciousness ''Thinking about Consciousness'' by David Papineau, is a book (published in 2002) about consciousness that describes what Papineau calls the 'Intuition of Distinctness'. He does not so much attempt to prove that materialism is right (although he ...

'' (2002) * ''The Roots of Reason: Philosophical Essays on Rationality, Evolution and Probability'' (2003) * ''Philosophical Devices'' (2012) * ''Knowing the Score'' (2017) * ''The Metaphysics of Sensory Experience'' (2021)

References

External links

*
Podcast interview with David Papineau on Physicalism
on ''

Philosophy Bites ''Philosophy Bites'' is a podcast series featuring philosophers being interviewed for 15–20 minutes on a specific topic. The series, which has been running since 2007, is hosted by Nigel Warburton, freelance lecturer, and David Edmonds, and h ...

'' * University of Natal alumni 20th-century Italian philosophers 20th-century British philosophers 1947 births Living people Philosophers of mind Philosophers of science Fellows of Robinson College, Cambridge Academics of King's College London Alumni of the University of Cambridge People from Como {{UK-philosopher-stub