Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion
You are here: Home >
Dr Brian Garvey

Dr Brian Garvey

Lecturer

County South
Lancaster University
Bailrigg
Lancaster
United Kingdom
LA1 4YL


Tel: +44 1524 594669

Affiliations

Philosophy of Mind and Psychology

My research interests cover areas relating to philosophy of mind and to the theory of evolution, and the interface between the two. I have published papers on the incorrigibility of conscious states, on psychoanalysis understood in the light of analytic philosophy of mind, and on the theoretical underpinnings and implications of Evolutionary Psychology. The last-named is a major focus of my current research, and I see myself as a friendly rather than hostile critic of the project of Evolutionary Psychology. I also have a special interest in the work of the philosophers of mind Gilbert Ryle and Daniel Dennett. I am currently editing a volume on the philosophy of J.L. Austin for Palgrave-Macmillan.

PhD Supervision Interests

Philosophy of science, philosophy of biology, philosophy of mind, psychoanalysis, Ryle, Austin, Dennett

Profile

Career detailsBrian Garvey did a B.A. in philosophy and politics, and an M.A. in philosophy, both at University College Dublin; and a PhD in philosophy at Trinity College Dublin. Following that he held a Government of Ireland Post-doctoral Research Fellowship from the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences. Then he lectured at Trinity College Dublin, until joining the department at Lancaster in 2005.

Research Interests

My current research is focussed in the following areas:

  • Evolutionary Psychology, its strengths and weaknesses, and its implications.
  • The concept of innateness.
  • Philosophical issues relating to psychoanalysis and psychotherapy; in particular, the nature of interpretation, and connections between psychoanalysis, cognitive science, and Evolutionary Psychology.
  • I am especially interested in the work of Gilbert Ryle and J.L. Austin. One of my long-term research ambitions is to prove that all their critics are wrong.

Office Hours

Brian's office hours are Monday 11-1.

2012

Free will, compatibilism, and the human nature wars: should we be worried?

Garvey, B. 2012 Philosophy of Behavioral Biology. Reydon, T. & Plaisance, K. (eds.). Boston, Mass.: Springer, p. 255-274 20 p. (Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science).

Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings › Chapter (peer-reviewed)

2011

Darwinism and environmentalism

Garvey, B. 10/2011 In: Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement. 69, n/a, p. 67-82, 15 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article

2010

Absence of evidence, evidence of absence and the atheist's teapot

Garvey, B. 11/05/2010 In: Ars Disputandi: the Online Journal for Philosophy of Religion . 10, n/a, p. 9-22, 14 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article

2007

Quasi-beliefs and crazy beliefs: subdoxastic states and the "special characteristics" of the unconscious

Garvey, B. 11/2007 Origins and ends of the mind: philosophical essays on psychoanalysis. Kerslake, C. & Brassier, R. (eds.). Leuven, Belgium: Leuven University Press, p. 37-57 21 p.

Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings › Chapter (peer-reviewed)

Philosophy of Biology.

Garvey, B. P. 2007 Acumen. 274 p.

Research output: Book/Report/Proceedings › Book

2005

Nature, nurture and why the pendulum still swings.

Garvey, B. P. 1/06/2005 In: Canadian Journal of Philosophy. 35, 2, p. 309-331, 23 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article

2004

Review of Matthew Elton: Daniel Dennett: reconciling science and our self-conception.

Garvey, B. 03/2004 In: International Journal of Philosophical Studies. 12, 1

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article

Review of Jerry Fodor: Hume variations.

Garvey, B. 12/2004 In: International Journal of Philosophical Studies. 12, 4

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article

2003

Darwinian functions and Freudian motivations.

Garvey, B. P. 1/06/2003 In: Biology and Philosophy. 18, 3, p. 427-444, 18 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article

2001

Simon Browne and the paradox of 'being in denial'.

Garvey, B. P. 1/03/2001 In: Inquiry. 44, 1, p. 3-19, 17 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article

Freudian mental preservation without Lamarck.

Garvey, B. 2001 In: Psychoanalysis and Contemporary Thought. 23, 3

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article

Finally, the big picture (critical notice of Stephen Jay Gould's The structure of evolutionary theory).

Garvey, B. 09/2001 In: International Journal of Philosophical Studies. 11, 3

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article

1999

Download file

Adolph Grunbaum on religious delusions.

Garvey, B. 03/1999 In: Religious Studies. 35, 1, p. 19-35, 17 p.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article
| Home | About | Undergraduate | Postgraduate | Research | Staff | News and Events | Contact Us | Current Students | Schools Outreach |
Department of Politics, Philos ophy and Religion County South, Lancaster University, LA1 4YL, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1524 594260  Fax: +44 (0) 1524 594238 Email: ppr@lancaster.ac.uk

Save this page: delicious logo Del.icio.us Digg It Reddit Reddit Facebook Stumble It Stumble It!