H.İlhan İNAN
(Professor of Philosophy)
Address
Boğaziçi University,
Department of Philosophy,
Bebek, 34342 Istanbul, Turkey
Telephones
Office: (+90) 212 3596558
Home:
(+90) 212 2319589
E-Mail
inanilha@boun.edu.tr
|
- Professor
(2011- cont.) Bogazici University, Dept of Philosophy
- Associate
Professor (2005-2011) Bogazici University, Dept of Philosophy
- Visiting
Research Fellow (2009) University of Barcelona, Dept of Philosophy, LOGOS
Research Center
- Visiting
Scholar (2008) University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Dept of Philosophy
- Assistant
Professor (1999-2005) Bogazici University, Dept of Philosophy
- Lecturer
(1997-1999) Bogazici University, Dept of Philosophy
- Teaching
Assistant and Associate (1992-1997) University of California, Santa
Barbara, Dept of Philosophy
Ph.D.
1997
University of California, Santa Barbara,
Department of Philosophy
- Dissertation
Title: Inostensible Terms:
Epistemological and Semantical Issues in the
Theory of Reference
- Advisor:
Nathan Salmon
- Committee:
N. Salmon, A. C. Anderson, A. Brueckner
C.Phil
1994
University of California, Santa Barbara, Department
of Philosophy
- Qualifying
Paper: The Referential/Attributive Distinction and Proper Names
M.S.
1990
Middle
East Technical University, Department of
Philosophy
- Thesis
Title: Facts and Theories: An Indispensable But a Misleading
Distinction
- Advisor:
Ahmet İnam
- Committee:
A. İnam, T. Grünberg, C. Akdoğan
B.S. 1986
Middle
East Technical University, Department of
Civil Engineering
- Areas of Specialization:
Philosophy of Language
Philosophy of
Curiosity
Epistemology
Metaphysics
Philosophical Logic
Philosophy of Logic
Logic
Philosophy of Mind
Philosophy of Science
Free Will and Determinism
Cognitive Science
Boğaziçi University Press
Editor
(2001-2005)
Co-editor (with Murat Bac) (2006-2010.)
- Arda
Denkel’in Ardından: anılar, düşünceler,
tartışmalar
Co-editor
(with Gürol Irzık), Boğaziçi University Press (2005).
- Felsefe
Ansiklopedisi,
Turkish Encyclopedia of Philosophy (editor; Ahmet Cevizci)
Etik Yayınları, Istanbul.
(To read
or download some of the publications go to http://boun.academia.edu/ilhaninan)
BOOKS
The
Philosophy of Curiosity,
New York, London: Routledge, 2012
(http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415500135/)
ABSTRACT
This
book deals with certain philosophical issues concerning the notion of curiosity
in an area in which philosophy of language and epistemology overlap. Its main
goal is to establish a link between our ability to become aware of our
ignorance that motivates us to be curious, with our linguistic aptitude to
construct terms that refer to things unknown to us. Little work has been done
on curiosity in epistemology, which has concentrated primarily on the issue of
whether curiosity is an epistemic virtue. To motivate the discussion the book
starts off with a discussion of the famous riddle in Plato’s Meno concerning
the impossibility of inquiry. This chapter contains a discussion of how this
riddle indirectly highlights the issue of what makes curiosity possible, why
the standards solutions offered in the literature fail, and introduces the
notion of inostensible reference (or reference to the unknown). Though there is
a significant amount of contemporary literature in the field of logic of
questions and answers, the issue of how curiosity relates to the asking of a
question has not been addressed. This is what the following chapter does. The
main thesis here is that curiosity that is expressed in terms of a question
always corresponds to a term which attempts to refer to something unknown for
the curious being. A lot has been said about the notion of reference in the
philosophy of language literature, but there is no exclusive discussion of the
issue of whether inostensible reference is possible, and if so how. There are
certain distinctions that have widely been utilized by philosophers of language
that indirectly relate to this issue. The most important one of all is
Russell’s famous distinction between knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by
description, which constitutes the basic motivation for his Theory of
Denotation. The philosophy of language literature on Donnellan’s classical
distinction between the referential and the attributive uses of definite
descriptions, on the time honored de re/de dicto distinction, and on Kripke’s
more recent distinction between rigid and accidental designators all contain
useful ideas that relate to the notion of inostensible reference in different
ways. Each one of these is discussed in a separate chapter. These discussions
reveal different aspects of inostensible reference and how it relates to our
aptitude for curiosity. With this background, the classical definition of
curiosity as a desire to know is then questioned. The book then concentrates on
certain issues concerning the satisfaction of curiosity arguing that learning
process that starts off with curiosity and ends in knowledge is always an
effort to transform our inostensible terms into ostensible ones. The main claim
here is that there are no universal standards to do this, and a certain kind of
a subjective/contextual account is adopted. After a brief discussion of how the
literature on presuppositions of assertions and questions relate to certain issues
concerning curiosity, the final part of the book contains a discussion of the
limits of curiosity and its satisfaction, addressing the questions of whether
there are things of which we cannot be curious, and whether there are instances
of curiosity that cannot be satisfied. The main conclusion here is that the
limits of curiosity are set by the limits of inostensible reference.
ARTICLES
- “Unanswerable
Questions for Millians”, Philosophical Studies, 154:279-283, 2011.
- “Inostensible
Reference and Conceptual Curiosity”, Croatian Journal of Philosophy,
Vol.X, No.28, 21-41, 2010.
- “How
Often Do We Use a Definite Description to Talk About its Semantic
Referent?”, Kriterion: Journal of
Philosophy,
No.22, 2009.
- “Rigid
General Terms and Essential Predicates”, Philosophical Studies, 140:213–228,
2008.
- “Humor
at the Limits of Thought”, Septet, http://septet.yeditepe.edu.tr/,
Volume 1, September, 2008.
- ‘The
Referential’ and ‘the Attributive’: Two Distinctions for the Price of One”,
Organon F, Vol.XIII (2), 137-160, 2006.
- “Are
“Attributive” Uses of Definite Descriptions Really Attributive?”, Kriterion:
Journal of Philosophy, No.20, 7-13, 2006.
- “Kant
on the Notion of 'Being'”, Immanuel Kant: Essays Presented at the
Muğla University International Kant Symposium, Vadi
Yayınları, 2006.
- “Discovery
and Inostensible De Re Knowledge”, in Turkish Studies in the
History and Philosophy of Science, (editors; Irzık, G., ve
Guzeldere, G., Chief Editor; Cohen, R.S.), 153-162, Springer, Dordrecht; Boston, 2005.
- “How
to Predict Future Contingencies”, Yeditepe’de Felsefe, Vol. 4, 152-158, 2005.
- “A
Defense of the Indiscernibility of Identicals”, Revue Roumaine de
Philosophie, Vol.48,
61-72, 2004.
(To read or download some of the publications go to http://boun.academia.edu/ilhaninan)
- “Bilinmeyenin
Kavramlaştırılması ve Yaratıcılık”
(Conceptualizing the Unknown and Creativity)in Felsefe
Açısından Kültür, Sanat ve Dil, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar
Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2011.
- “Kavramsal Relativizm,
Çeviri ve Düşünsel Asimilasyon” (Conceptual Relativism,
Translation, and the Assimilation of Thought), Kavramlar Çevrildikçe:
Çeviri Düşüncemizi Biçimlendiriyor mu? Sempozyumu, Proceedings
Book, Boğaziçi University Press, forthcoming.
- “Bilgi
ve Yanılabilirlik”,(Knowledge and Fallibilism), in Teo Grünberg
Armağan Kitabı, Uludağ University, forthcoming.
- “Dil
Felsefesi”, (Philosophy of Language) Felsefe Ansiklopedisi, editor:
Cevizci, A., Vol. 4, 2006.
- “Dile
Dönüş”, co-authored by Erhan Demircioglu, (Linguistic Turn) Felsefe
Ansiklopedisi, editor: Cevizci, A., Vol. 4, 2006.
- “Hacıkadiroğlu’nun
Özgürlük Anlayışı Üzerine Düşünceler”, (Thoughts on
Hacikadiroğlu's Understanding of Freedom), (reprint) in Vehbi
Hacıkdiroğlu Çalıştayı Bildirileri,,
İstanbul Technical University, 2006.
- “Kültürlerüstü
bir Felsefe Dili Mümkün mü?”, (Is a Supra-cultural Language of Philosophy
Possible?) in Us Atolyesi Dergisi, 2006.
- “Kant'ın
Varlık Kavramı Uzerine” (Kant's Notion of Being), in Cogito(Sonsuzluğun
Sınırında: Immanuel Kant), 2005.
- “Arda
Denkel’in Ardından: Anilar ve Dil Felsefesi Üzerine Bir
Tartışma”, (Remembering Arda Denkel: Memories and a Discussion
in the Philosophy of Language) in Arda Denkel’in Ardından,
editors: Irzık, G., Inan, I., Boğaziçi University Press, 2005.
- “Analitik
Felsefe”, (Analytic Philosophy) Felsefe Ansiklopedisi, editor:
Cevizci, A., Vol. 1, 336-342, Etik Yayınları; Istanbul, 2004.
- “Anlam
Kuramları”, (Theories of Meaning) Felsefe Ansiklopedisi,
editor: Cevizci, A., Vol. 1, 402-414, Etik Yayınları; Istanbul, 2004.
- “Matrix’in
Mesajı Ne?”, (What is the Message in Matrix?) Mithat Alam Film
Merkezi Söyleşi ve Panel Yıllığı,
Boğaziçi University Press, 2004.
- “Matrix’te
Özgürlük ve Gerçeklik Temaları”, (Themes of Freedom and Reality in
Matrix) Mithat Alam Film Merkezi Söyleşi ve Panel Yıllığı,
Boğaziçi University Press, 2004.
- “Hacıkadiroğlu’nun
Özgürlük Anlayışı Üzerine Düşünceler”, (Thoughts on
Hacikadiroğlu's Understanding of Freedom), editors: Ozlem, D.,
Okcesiz, H., Argın, Ş., Vehbi Hacıkadiroğlu
Armağanı: Felsefe Tartışmaları, 69-78,
Everest Yayınları; İstanbul, 2002.
- “Küreselleşme
Özgürlük Getiriyor mu?”, (Does Globalization Bring Freedom?)Felsefe
Tartışmaları, Vol. 28, 115-119, Boğaziçi University Press, 2001.
- “Aynıların
Ayırdedilemezliği”, (The Indiscernibility of Identicals) Felsefe
Tartışmaları, Vol. 26, 15-19, Panorama, 2000.
- “İnsan
Ussallığının Sınırları”, (Limits of
Human Rationality) Felsefe Tartışmaları, Vol. 23,
12-19, Panorama, 1998.
- “Denkel
ve Beyazyürek’e Yanıt”, (Response to Denkel and Beyazyurek) Felsefe
Tartışmaları, Vol. 23, 23-25, Panorama, 1998.
- “Kavram
ve Nesne Üzerine”, translated together with Bahadır Turan, (On
Concept and Object, Gottlob Frege), forthcoming in Felsefe
Tartısmaları, Boğaziçi University Press.
- “Suvar
Koseraif ile Tartısma”, (Discussion with Suvar Koseraif) Stephen Voss,
Felsefe Tartısmaları, 29-34, Vol. 23 Panorama, 1998.
- “The
Philosophy of Curiosity”, St Andrews Philosophy Society, 2011.
- “Truth
Is Reference”, Philosophy of Language Workshop, ARCHE, St Andrews
University, 2011.
- “Truth
Is Reference”, European Congress for Analytic Philosophy-7, Milan,
Italy, 2011.
- “Truth
Is Reference”, University of Virginia, 3rd International
Philosophy Symposium, Charlottesville, 2011.
- “Creativity,
Curiosity, and Language”, International Conference on Cognition,
Experience and Creativity, IIT, Gandhinagar, India, 2010.
- “Unanswerable
Questions for Millians”, Bilkent University, Philosophy Department
Colloquium, Ankara, 2010.
- “Inostensible
Reference and Conceptual Curiosity”, LOGOS Philosophy Seminar, University of Barcelona, 2009.
- “The
Context-dependency of ‘Context’”, Philosophy Colloquium, Lehigh University, 2008.
- “Rigid
General Terms and Essential Predicates”, Joint Session of the Aristotelian
Society and the Mind Association, Bristol, 2007; Bilkent University,
Philosophy Department Colloquium, Ankara, 2008; University of Virginia,
Philosophy Department Annual Blendy Farm Meetings, Charlottesville, 2008.
- “How
to be Open-minded without Being a Skeptic”, American Philosophical
Association, Pacific Division Meetings, San Francisco, 2007.
- “How
To Be Open-minded Without Being a Skeptic: Prospects for Fallible
Knowledge”, Philosophy Colloquium, Boğaziçi University, 2006.
- “Are
“Attributive” Uses of Definite Descriptions Really Attributive?”, Things
and Thoughts Seminar, Boğaziçi University, 2006.
- "On
Existence: Kant's Anticipation of Frege and Russell", European
Congress for Analytic Philosophy-5, Lisbon, Portugal, 2005.
- “Kant
on What Existence is Not”, Kant Symposium, Yeditepe University, 2004.
- "Kant
on the Notion of 'Being'", International Kant Symposium, Mugla University, 2004.
- "The
Map and the Treasure: Reflections on Meno's Paradox", Philosophy
Colloquium, Bilkent University, 2004.
- “Conceptual
Relativism”, Philosophy, History and Philosophy of Science at the
Periphery, University of Athens, 2003.
- “What
Makes Questions Possible?”, European Congress for Analytic Philosophy-4, Lund, Sweden, 2002.
- “Are
Humans Deterministic Systems?”, Cognitive Science Seminars, Boğaziç i University, 2002.
- “Freedom
and Language”, Philosophy Colloquium, Boğaziçi University, 2001.
- “Leibniz’
Law and Intensional Predicates”, Philosophy Colloquium, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2000.
- “Contingent
A Priori and Informativeness”, American Philosophical Association,
Pacific Division Meetings, New Mexico, 2000.
- “Leibniz’
Law and Intensional Predicates”, The 11th European Summer
School in Logic,
Language and Information, Utrecht, 1999.
- “Leibniz’
Law and Intensional Predicates”, The 11th International
Congress of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science, Krakow, Poland, 1999.
- “Naming,
Discovery and Inostensible Knowledge”, Science: Its History and its
Philosophy, University of Athens, 1998.
- “Semantic
and Epistemic Problems on Definitions” (together with Gurol Irzık)
Philosophy Colloquium, Boğaziçi University, 1998.
- “The Two-Envelope Paradox and
Infinite Sums”, Eastern Division Meetings of the American Philosophical
Association, Atlanta, 1996.
- “The Two-Envelope Paradox and
Infinite Sums”, Philosophy Colloquium, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1996.
- “What
is So Puzzling about the Contingent A Priori?”, Philosophy
Colloquium, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1995.
- “Var
Olmanın Olumsallığı”, (The Contingency of Existence),
Muğla Üniversitesi, 2012.
- “Felsefe
ve Merak”, (Philosophy and Curiosity), Çağdaş Yaşamı
Destekleme Derneği, Bodrum, 2011.
- “Bir
şeyin Var Olmadığını Söylemek Nasıl Mümkün
Oluyor? Dil Felsefesinde Bir Problem”, (How is it Possible to Say that
something does not exist? A Problem in the Philosophy of Language),
Anadolu Üniversitesi, 2010.
- “Bilinmeyenin
Kavramlaştırılması ve Yaratıcılık”,
(Conceptualization of the Unknown and Creativity), Mimar Sinan
Üniversitesi, 2008.
- “Felsefe
ve Merak”, (Philosophy and Curiosity), Anadolu Üniversitesi, 2007.
- “Felsefe
ve Merak”, (Philosophy and Curiosity), Muğla Üniversitesi, 2007.
- “İnsan,
Doğa ve Özgürlük”, (Human, Nature, and Freedom), İstanbul
Liseleri Felsefe Kulüpleri Platformu, Dame de Sion Lisesi, 2006.
- “Harita
ve Hazine: Menon’un Paradoksu Üzerine Düşünceler” (The Map and the
Treasure: Reflections on Meno's Paradox), Insancil Felsefe, 2006.
- “Özgürlük
Paradoksu”, (The Freedom Paradox), Us Atölyesi, 2006.
- “Kültürlerüstü
bir Felsefe Dili Mümkün mü?” (Is a Supra-cultural Philosophical Language
Possible?), Us Atölyesi, 2005.
- “Matrix’te
Özgürlük ve Gerçeklik Temaları”, (Themes of Freedom and Reality in
Matrix) Mithat Alam Film Center, 2003.
- “Matrix’in
Mesajı Ne?", (What is the Message in Matrix?) Mithat Alam Film Center, 2003.
- “Özgürlük
ve Dil”, (Freedom and Language) Philosophy Seminar, Yeditepe University, 2001.
- “Kuresellesme
Ozgurluk Getiriyor mu?”, (Does Globalization Bring Freedom?) TUYAP, Book Fair
Panel, 2000.
- “Dostoyevski’nin
Yeraltından Notlar’ı Uzerine”, (On Dostoevsky's Notes
from Underground), Yapı ve Kredi Philosophy Seminars, 1999.
- “Camus’nun
Sisfos Söyleni Üzerine”, (On Camus' The Myth of Sysph),
Yapı ve Kredi Philosophy Seminars, 1999.
- “Suvar
Koseraif’in Ardından”, (Remembering Suvar Koseraif), Boğaziçi University, 1997.
University of California
- Siff Award, Best Graduate Student Essay , 1995.
- Ralph
W. Church, University Tuition Waiver, 1993-1997.
- Graduate
Division Post-candidacy Award, 1995.
- Graduate Division University Fee Waiver, 1993-1997.
- Graduate
Division Dissertation Scholarship, 1997.
American
Philosophical Association
- Eastern
Division, Graduate Student Travel Stipend, (“The Two-Envelope
Paradox and Infinite Sums”), 1996.
European
Summer School in Logic, Language and Information
- Presentation
Scholarship (“Leibniz’ Law and Intensional Predicates”), 1999.
Boğaziçi University
- Scientific
Research Fund, 1999-2002, 2007-cont.
- Arts
and Sciences Travel Grant, 2002-2008.
- Arts
and Sciences Research and Publication Award, 2003-2008.
- Rector’s
Academic Promotion Grant, 2004-2009.
- Conference
Presentation Grant, 1997-2008.
- TUBITAK (Turkish Scientific and
Technical Research Institute), Research Grant for 2009-2010 academic year,
24,000 USD.
University of California, Santa Barbara, Department
of Philosophy (1992-1997).
Teaching
Associate
- Introduction
to Philosophy
- Critical
Thinking
Teaching
Assistant
- Critical
Thinking
- Introduction
to Symbolic Logic
- Introduction
to Philosophy
- History
of Western Civilization
Boğaziçi University, Department of Philosophy (1997-cont.)
Undergraduate
Courses
- Introduction
to Logic I -II
- Introduction
to Philosophy
- Free
Will and Determinism
- Philosophy
of Science
- Concepts
- Epistemology
- Language
and Reality
- Ontology
- Philosophy
in Cinema
- Introduction
to Cognitive Science
- Translation
of Philosophical Texts
- Curiosity,
Certainty, and Dogmatism
- Wonder
and Language
- Philosophy
of Curiosity
Graduate
Seminars
- Philosophy
of Language
- Reference
- Language
and Knowledge
- Freewill
and Determinism
- Reference
to Future Objects
- Epistemics
and Semantics of Questions
- Foundations
of Language
- Seminar
in Cognitive Science
- Curiosity
- Philosophical
Logic
- Fallibilism
- Reference
and Existence
- Truth
and Reference
Istanbul Technical University
Science,
Technology, and Society Master’s Program (2001-2004).
Virginia University, Department of Philosophy (2008)
- Philosophy
of Language (Graduate Seminar)
- Curiosity,
Certainty, and Dogmatism
Boğaziçi University, Department of Philosophy
M.A. Thesis
Advisor:
- Itır
Beyazyurek, “Existence of Two Things at the Same Place at the Same Time”,
1999.
- Elena
Natalina, “Reference to Future Objects”, 2004.
- Ayca
Boylu, “Surpassing Wantonness by Appealing to Emotions: A neo-Frankfurtian
Approach to Freedom of the Will”, 2004.
- Burcu
Erciyes, “Context-Sensitivity of Knowledge Ascriptions”, 2005.
- Erhan
Demircioglu, "Russellianism: The Impossibility of Intensional
Semantics and Belief Reports", 2005.
- Nazif
Muhtaroglu, “The Contingent A Priori and Performatives”, 2007.
- Ahmet
Subaşi, “Cognitive Dynamics Of Scientific Curiosity”, 2008.
- Dilek
Arlı, “The Concept Of Certainty And The Implications Of The View
That Knowledge Does Not
Require Certainty”, 2009.
- Berrak
Buhara, “Semantics of Empty Names:Could Vulcan Have Existed?”, 2009.
- Safiye
Yiğit, “Curiosity as an Intellectual and Ethical Virtue”, 2011.
- Pelin
Ataman, “Do Incomplete Definite Descriptions Refute Russell’ Semantic
Theory of Descriptions”, 2011.
- Alper
Yavuz, “On the Rigidity of General Terms”, 2010-
Ph.D.
Dissertation Advisor:
- Uygar
Abacı, “Kant on the Notion of ‘Being’” (discontinued)
- Onat
Isık, “Presuppositions”, (discontinued)
- Cem
Şişkolar, “Study Of The Semantics Of General Terms With A View
On Their Role In Modal Statements” , 2009-
M.A. Thesis
Committee Member:
- Irem
Kurtsal, “The Flow of Time”, 1999.
- Hale
Fakioglu, “Philosophical Method: Ancient and Modern”, 2000.
- Gulberk
Koc, “Bertrand Russell’s Multiple Theory of Belief”, 2002.
- Demet
Ozonur, “Skepticism, Its Sources and Possible Solutions:
A Comparison of Wittgenstein and Quine”, 2003
- Fatih Ogun, “Design and
Impementation of an Improved Conversational Agent Infrastructure for Turkish”,
Computer Science, 2003.
- Melis
Erdur, “A Priority in Science”, 2004.
- Uyanık
Yıldırım, “Against Multiple Realizability and
Functionalism”, 2005.
- Deniz
Durmuş, “Epistemic Truth versus non-epistemic Truth”, 2007.
Ph.D.
Dissertation Committee Member:
·
Itır
Beyazyurek, “On Personal Identity”, 2006.
Academic
and Administrative Duties
University of California, Santa Barbara
- Best
Teaching Award Committee, Graduate Student Representative, 1998-1999.
Boğaziçi University, Department of Philosophy
- Chair,
2005-2008.
- Vice-Chair,
1999-2005.
- Computer
Lab, founder and chief, 2000-2008.
- Educational
Amnesty Advisor, 2000-2002.
- Double
Major Program Advisor, 1999-2001.
- Transfer
Student Advisor, 1999-2001.
- Undergraduate
Class Advisor, 1997-2002.
- Master's
Student Advisor, 2002-2005.
- Ph.D.
Student Advisor, 2002-2005.
Boğaziçi University, Cognitive Science Master's
Program
- Chair,
2006-2008.
- Executive
Board Member, 2001-2004.
- Philosophy
Department Representative, 2001-2006.
Boğaziçi University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
- Registration
System Assessment Committee, 2000.
- Student
Council Election Board Member, 2000-2002.
Boğaziçi University
- Vice
Coordinator of Summer School, 2000.
- Institute of Social Sciences Executive Board Member, 1999-2002.
European
Congress for Analytic Philosophy
- Steering
Committee Member, 2007- cont.
- Nathan
Salmon
University
of California, Santa Barbara,
Department of Philosophy
(phone) 1-805-893-4028
(email) nsalmon@philosophy.ucsb.edu
- Gürol Irzık
Boğaziçi University,
Department of Philosophy
(phone) 90-212-359-7210
(email) irzik@boun.edu.tr
- Anthony
C. Anderson
University
of California, Santa Barbara,
Department of Philosophy
(phone) 1-805-893-7530
(email) caanders@philosophy.ucsb.edu
- Anthony
Brueckner
University
of California, Santa Barbara,
Department of Philosophy
(phone) 1-805-893-8497
(email) brueckne@philosophy.ucsb.edu
- Erdinc Sayan
Middle
East
Technical University,
Department of Philosophy
(phone) 90-312-210-5339
(email) esayan@metu.edu.tr