Howat, Andrew W.
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Philosophy
Biography:
Andrew Howat obtained an M.A. (Hons) in philosophy from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2001, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Sheffield, England, in 2008, where his advisers were Professors Chris Hookway (Sheffield) and Rob Hopkins (NYU); his topic was Charles Sanders Peirce’s pragmatism, with a particular focus on issues to do with truth, realism and response-dependence. He then taught at the universities of Sheffield, Nottingham and Hull in England, before joining the Philosophy Department at California State University, Fullerton in July 2011 as an assistant professor.
His research focuses on the process of inquiry -- our understanding of, and ability to discover, the truth. His research has recently turned towards assessing the impact of social science research suggesting that we are far less adept at logical reasoning than we typically like to think, and far more influenced by emotion and by social/group dynamics when we inquire than most philosophers prefer to assume. He has thus become interested in exploring what it takes for a community to be epistemically virtuous -- that is, to have a set of linguistic and epistemic practices conducive to genuine knowledge and sound reasoning, and which reduce or eliminate the various forms of conscious or unconscious bias that represent a threat to objectivity and fairness.
Areas of Knowledge:
- Truth
- Knowledge
- Reality
- Public/Political Discourse & Debate
- Reason vs. Emotion
- Logic & Critical Thinking
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