Philosophy and Science: A Call for Anti-Exceptionalism

Philosophy should not be considered an exception among the sciences; rather, it shares commonalities with disciplines such as mathematics and history. This perspective, termed anti-exceptionalism, posits that methodologies and insights from the scientific realm can be beneficially applied to philosophical inquiry. In the podcast, Timothy Williamson emphasizes that philosophers often overlook intellectual pathologies that scientists confront, such as overfitting—where theories become overly complicated to accommodate new data. By adopting a more straightforward approach akin to scientific practices, philosophers can enhance the clarity and predictability of their theories.