Justin P. Holder

Summary of doctoral thesis: My thesis has two guiding principles. The first is that the unique metaphysical perspective of the 2nd century Indian Buddhist philosopher Nāgārjuna is basically correct and has much to offer to contemporary metaphysics. The second is that any metaphysical perspective which is to be taken seriously should have an informed and sophisticated treatment of the nature and incredible successes of the natural sciences. The project accordingly has two major goals corresponding to these principles. The first is to introduce readers to (my interpretation of) Nāgārjuna’s thought through a systematic overview and limited defence of the overarching argument and conclusions of his masterpiece, the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. The second is to explain the success of science in a way that is consistent with Nāgārjuna’s perspective, which, due to its radical nature, is not obviously compatible with any existing position in the contemporary philosophy of science literature. The end result will both be a unique contribution to our understanding of Nāgārjuna’s philosophical project and a novel position in and critical perspective on the scientific realism/antirealism debate (i.e., the debate over whether or not mature scientific theories are approximately true).

Other research interests: Philosophy of Science.