David Sosa
Encyclopedia
David Sosa is an American philosopher. He received his undergraduate degree
from Brown University
and a doctorate in philosophy from Princeton University
. His PhD
dissertation, completed in 1996 under the supervision of Mark Johnston, was titled "Representing Thoughts and Language". Before moving to Texas
, Sosa was a post-doctoral fellow at U.C. Berkeley and an assistant professor of philosophy at Dartmouth College
. He is the son of the philosopher Ernest Sosa
.
Sosa appeared in Richard Linklater
's film Waking Life
, in which he performed a short monologue on the implications of discoveries in physics
on the problem of free will
. He explained the view, often called hard determinism, which holds that there is no place for free action in a world governed by physical laws since human beings, like everything else in the physical world, are physical things and are thus subject to these same laws.
Undergraduate degree
An undergraduate degree is a colloquial term for an academic degree taken by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. It is usually offered at an institution of higher education, such as a university...
from Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
and a doctorate in philosophy from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. His PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
dissertation, completed in 1996 under the supervision of Mark Johnston, was titled "Representing Thoughts and Language". Before moving to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Sosa was a post-doctoral fellow at U.C. Berkeley and an assistant professor of philosophy at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
. He is the son of the philosopher Ernest Sosa
Ernest Sosa
Ernest Sosa is an American philosopher primarily interested in epistemology. He is currently Board of Governors Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University. He has been at Rutgers full-time since January, 2007; previously, he had been at Brown University since 1964...
.
Sosa appeared in Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater
-Early life:Linklater was born in Houston, Texas. He studied at Sam Houston State University and left midway through his stint in college to work on an off-shore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. While working on the rig he read a lot of literature, but on land he developed a love of film through...
's film Waking Life
Waking Life
Waking Life is an American animated film , directed by Richard Linklater and released in 2001. The entire film was shot using digital video and then a team of artists using computers drew stylized lines and colors over each frame.The film focuses on the nature of dreams, consciousness, and...
, in which he performed a short monologue on the implications of discoveries in physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
on the problem of free will
Free will
"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
. He explained the view, often called hard determinism, which holds that there is no place for free action in a world governed by physical laws since human beings, like everything else in the physical world, are physical things and are thus subject to these same laws.
Authored
- 'Consequences of Consequentialism' (MindMind (journal)Mind is a British journal, currently published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Mind Association, which deals with philosophy in the analytic tradition...
, 1993) - 'Reference from a Perspective versus Reference' (Philosophical Issues, 1995)
- 'The Import of the Puzzle About Belief' (Philosophical Review, 1996)
- 'Meaningful Explanation' (Philosophical Issues, 1997)
- 'Perception and Reason' (Philosophical Review, 1998)
- 'Getting Clear on the Concept' (Philosophical Issues, 1998)
- 'Pathetic Ethics' (Objectivity in Law and Morals, 2000)
- 'Rigidity in the Scope of Russell's Theory' (NoûsNoûsNoûs is a philosophy journal published four times per year by Blackwell Publishing. It was founded by Hector-Neri Castañeda and is currently edited by Ernest Sosa...
, 2001) - 'A Big, Good Thing' (NoûsNoûsNoûs is a philosophy journal published four times per year by Blackwell Publishing. It was founded by Hector-Neri Castañeda and is currently edited by Ernest Sosa...
, 2004) - 'Skepticism about Intuition' (Philosophy, 2006)
- 'Scenes Seen' (Philosophical Books, 2006)
- 'The Conditional Fallacy' (Philosophical Review, 2006) with D. Bonevac and J. Dever
- 'Rigidity' (The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Language, 2006)
Edited
- A Companion to Analytic Philosophy (Blackwell, 2001) with A.P. Martinich
- Analytic Philosophy: An Anthology (Blackwell, 2001)
- Philosophy for the 21st Century (OxfordOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 2002)