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Frank Jackson

Frank Jackson

Frank Jackson is a fractional professor of philosophy at The Australian National University and a visiting professor at Princeton University. He is the author of books and papers in analytical philosophy, including From Metaphysics to Ethics (1998) and Language, Names, and Information (2010), and is a Corresponding Fellow of The British Academy.



Frank Jackson reviews 'The Assault on Reason' by Al Gore

September 2007, no. 294 01 September 2007
When the United States invaded Iraq, it invaded a country that posed no immediate threat to it. It did so at a time when the issue about weapons of mass destruction was in the process of being resolved by the United Nations’ investigations. It invaded a country that was not a major locus of al Qaeda activity (not then) and had played no role in 9/11. The invasion diverted America’s attention a ... (read more)

Frank Jackson reviews 'Essays and Reviews 1959-2002' by Bernard Williams

March 2015, no. 369 02 March 2015
Philosophers fear many things, as do economists, lawyers, politicians, and electricians. But there is one thing philosophers fear which is special to their profession. It is the question, asked as it might be at a dinner party or in a taxi on the way to the airport, ‘What is it that you do, exactly?’ with perhaps a somewhat intimidating emphasis on the word ‘exactly’. Often – too often ... (read more)

Frank Jackson reviews 'Introspection and Consciousness' by Declan Smithies and Daniel Stoljar

March 2013, no. 349 08 March 2013
I have beliefs about what you believe. I also have beliefs about what I myself believe. The big difference between the two cases is how I come by these beliefs. By and large, my beliefs about what you believe come from observations of your behaviour (understood in a wide sense, which includes the environment in which your behaviour is located). Here are two illustrations. You sell all your shares ... (read more)

Frank Jackson reviews 'The Poor Relation: A History of Social Sciences in Australia' by Stuart Macintyre

October 2010, no. 325 01 October 2010
During the lead-up to the last United States presidential election, I found myself waiting for a train at the Princeton railway station with nothing to read. I picked up a copy of the student newspaper. Much of it was standard Bush bashing, intermingled with unrealistic expectations of what Obama might achieve. But one sentence in an editorial caught my eye: ‘It is time to end amateur hour at th ... (read more)