Dan Baras
Areas of Specialty: epistemology, metaethics, philosophy of religion
Areas of Competence: ethics, logic, philosophy of science
Curriculum Vitae
Education
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Ph.D. Philosophy: Ben Gurion University (2011–2016)
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Visiting Student (fall 2013; fall 2014)
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M.A. Philosophy: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2005-2009)
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B.Ed. Jewish Studies: Herzog College (2002–2005)
Post Doctoral Research
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Harvard University, Associate of the Department of Philosophy (Aug-Dec 2019)
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The Martin Buber Society of Fellows, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Post-Doctoral Fellow (2017–present)
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The Center for Moral and Political Philosophy, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Post-Doctoral Fellow (2016–2017)
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Visiting Scholar at New York University, department of philosophy (Sep–Oct 2016)
Publications
Peer Reviewed Journals:
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‘Calling for Explanation: The Case of the Thermodynamic Past State’ (with Orly Shenker), European Journal for Philosophy of Science (forthcoming)
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‘No Need to Get Up from the Armchair (If You Are Interested in Debunking Arguments in Metaethics)’, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice (forthcoming)
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‘Modal Security’ (with Justin Clarke-Doane), Philosophy and Phenomenological Research (forthcoming)
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‘A Moral Argument against Absolute Authority of the Torah’, Sophia (forthcoming)
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‘A Strike against a Striking Principle’, Philosophical Studies 177:6 (2020), 1501–1514.
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‘How Close Are Impossible Worlds? : A Critique of Brogaard and Salerno’s Account of Counterpossibles’, dialectica 73:3 (2019), pp. 315–329
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‘Why Do Certain States of Affairs Call for Explanation? A Critique of Two Horwichian Accounts’, Philosophia 47:5 (2019), pp. 1405–1419
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‘The Explanatory Challenge: Moral Realism Is No Better Than Theism’, European Journal of Philosophy 26:1 (2018), pp. 368–389
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‘A Reliability Challenge to Theistic Platonism’, Analysis 77:3 (2017), pp. 479–487
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‘Our Reliability is in Principle Explainable’, Episteme 14:2 (2017), pp. 197–211
Under Review:
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‘How Can Necessary Facts Call for Explanation?’ (R&R Synthese)
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‘Do Extraordinary Types Call for Explanation?’
Book Project (in progress, draft available): Calling for Explanation
This book is the first comprehensive treatment of the idea that some facts call for explanation. I argue that if calling for explanation is thought of as a fixed property of facts that justifies explanatory inferences, as many believe it to be, this leads to a futile philosophical project and confusions in reasoning. I develop the view that calling for explanation is merely a figurative form of speech without a fixed meaning. This sheds new light on influential debates in metaphysics, philosophy of mathematics, metaethics, cosmology and philosophy of physics among others.
Articles in Progress:
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‘What Is Surprising? On the Normativity of Surprise’ (with Oded Na’aman) (draft available)
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‘Explaining Away a Purported Disanalogy between Practical and Epistemic Reasons: Response to Selim Berker’ (draft available)
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‘There is no genuine distinction between undercutting and rebutting defeaters’ (with Justin Clarke-Doane)
Book Reviews:
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‘Graham Oppy. 2018. Atheism and Agnosticism’, Reading Religion (2019)
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‘Russ Shafer-Landau (ed.). 2012. Oxford Studies in Metaethics Volume 7’, The Journal of Moral Philosophy 12/3 (2015), pp. 359 – 362.
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‘Jill Graper Hernandez (ed.). 2011. The New Intuitionism’, Metapsychology Online Reviews 16/49 (2012)
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‘Norman Solomon. 2012. Torah from Heaven’, Center for Jewish Law and Contemporary Civilization blog (2012)
Academic Presentations
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‘Do Some Facts Call for Explanation? What Does That Even Mean?’
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Princeton Department of Psychology, Tania Lombrozo’s Concepts and Cognition Lab (2019)
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University of Maryland, Department of Philosophy (2019)
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Harvard Department of Philosophy, Talk-Shop Series (2019)
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Haifa University, Philosophy Department Colloquium (2019)
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The Martin Buber Society of Fellows Colloquium, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2019)
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‘What Is Surprising? On the Rationality of Surprise’
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Hebrew University, Interdisciplinary Workshop on Surprise (2020)
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23rd Meeting of the New Israeli Philosophy Association, Tel Aviv (2020)
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M.I.T. Department of Cognitive Science, Josh Tenenbaum’s Computational Cognitive Science Group (2019)
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'A Strike Against A Striking Principle'
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Eastern APA, Philadelphia (2020)
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M.I.T. Epistemology Reading Group (2019)
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International Conference on Explanation in Philosophy, Wuhan University (2019)
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The Haifa Conference on the Philosophy of Religion, Haifa University (2018)
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Tel Hai College, Philosophy Dep. Colloquium (2017)
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‘A Moral Argument against Absolute Authority of the Torah’
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Association for Jewish Philosophy, online symposium (2019)
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‘How Can Necessary Facts Call for Explanation?’
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93rd Joint Session of the Aristotelean Society and the Mind Association, Durham (2019)
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22nd Meeting of the New Israeli Philosophy Association, Bar-Ilan University (2019)
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‘Modal Security’
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Cyprus MetaEthics workshop, University of Cyprus (2019)
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‘Does the Past Low Entropy of Our Universe Call for Explanation?’
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The 21st Meeting of the New Israeli Philosophy Association, Haifa University (2018)
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‘No Need to Get Up from The Armchair’
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Biology and Ethics: Prospects and Challenges, The Hebrew University (2017)
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‘Extraordinary Types: Schlesinger’s Theory of Strikingness’
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Edelstein Center for the History and Philosophy of Science, the Hebrew University (2017)
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Philosophy Department Colloquium, the Hebrew University (2016)
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‘Strikingness: Why Do Certain States Of Affairs Call For Explanation?’
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Explanatory Reasoning in the Sciences, 2nd Jerusalem-MCMP Workshop in the Philosophy of Science, Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (2017)
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Society of Christian Philosophers Eastern Regional Meeting, Rutgers (2016)
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Philosophy Department Colloquium, Ben Gurion University (2016)
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‘Our Reliability is Explainable: Responding to the Benacerraf-Field Challenge’
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The 18th Meeting of the New Israeli Philosophy Association, the Open University of Israel (2015)
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M.A.T.T.I., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2014)
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The Underground Workshop, the Hebrew University (2014)
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‘Causal Debunking: Can the Causal History of a Belief Give One Reason to Drop the Belief?’
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The 16th Meeting of the New Israeli Philosophy Association, Bar Ilan University (2013)
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The 2nd HUJI Graduate Conference in Philosophy, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2013)
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Epistemology Reading Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2013)
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‘Darwinian Challenges to Realism in Morality and Religion’
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Knowledge, Reality and Value: East and West, the Society for Indian Philosophy and Religion, Kolkata, India (2013)
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HUJI Graduate Conference in Philosophy, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2012)
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‘The Prophecy of the Jurist: Moral, Jurisprudential and Halakhic Intuitionism’
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Philosophical Investigation of the Hebrew Scriptures, Talmud and Midrash, Shalem Center, Jerusalem (2012)
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Legal Theory and Jewish Studies, Van Leer Institute, Jerusalem (2012)
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‘The Explanatory Challenge to Moral and Theistic Realism’
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The 15th Meeting of the New Israeli Philosophy Association, University of Haifa (2012)
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‘The Problem of Disagreement in Ethics and Religion’
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The Phenomenology of Faith, graduate workshop, Van Leer Institute, Jerusalem (2010)
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‘Moral Supervenience Arguments’
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The 14th Meeting of the New Israeli Philosophy Association, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2011)
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Practical Ethics in Question, graduate workshop, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2010)