Books
I have four books: Properties (Polity Press, 2014), The Metaphysics of Truth (Oxford University Press, 2018), Truth: A Contemporary Reader (Bloomsbury Press, 2019), and Philosophy Smackdown (Polity Press, 2020). More info on each can be found below.
Philosophy Smackdown, Polity Press 2020. A book on pro wrestling and philosophy. Polity's page is here.
This has been reviewed by Nigel Warburton in The Spectator here, and by Jon Lister for Pro Wrestling Books here. I was interviewed by fellow philosopher and pro wrestling fan Rob Gressis about the book for meaningoflife.tv here.
Description
From its carnival origins to its current status as a global phenomenon, pro wrestling has a unique presence in popular culture. Part sport and part theatre, the impressive antics of its larger-than-life characters have captured the imaginations of generations of fans, and prompted endless speculation about behind-the-scenes machinations.
Philosophy Smackdown is a study of pro wrestling as distinctive as pro wrestling itself: it is the first philosophical look at this major cultural spectacle. Philosopher and fan Douglas Edwards takes both philosophy and pro wrestling to parts unknown. With liveliness, humor and insight, he shows that pro wrestling is fertile ground for reflection on fundamental human issues, such as reality, freedom, identity, morality, justice, and meaning. He explores these through pivotal events in pro wrestling, from the eighties heyday of Hulkamania to the recent emergence of AEW.
Philosophy Smackdown is a read that will delight philosophers and pro wrestling fans alike. It’s time to ask yourself: Whatcha gonna do when Philosophy Smackdown runs wild on you?
More info at philosophysmackdown.com
The Metaphysics of Truth, a monograph with Oxford University Press. This was published in August 2018. You can view OUP's page for the book here.
This book won the American Philosophical Association's 2019 Sanders Book Prize.
It has been reviewed by Mark Jago in Mind here, by Steven Hales in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews here, and by Aaron Griffith in Analysis Reviews here. I was also interviewed by Nathan Eckstrand for the APA blog about the book here.
Description
What is truth? What role does truth play in the connections between language and the world? What is the relationship between truth and being? The Metaphysics of Truth tackles these fundamental philosophical questions and develops a distinctive metaphysical worldview. Moreover, it does so in a climate where the traditionally central issue of the nature of truth has diminished in significance due to the rise of deflationary and primitivist views, which deny that there are interesting and informative things to say about truth. Douglas Edwards responds to these views, and demonstrates the importance of the metaphysics of truth with regard to both the study of truth itself, and metaphysical debates more generally. He also develops a detailed pluralist metaphysical approach, which starts with the diversity of different subject areas, and holds that there are different relationships between language and the world in different areas, or 'domains'. He develops a pluralist approach which explains what domains are; how different domains are individuated; which metaphysical frameworks apply in different domains; and how truth plays a key role in the picture. The picture is extended to incorporate ontological pluralism - the idea that there are different ways of being - which increases the explanatory power of the view. Edwards gives particular attention to important domains which have not yet received a great deal of attention in debates about truth, namely the institutional and social domains, and thus connects work on the metaphysics of truth and being to key issues in social construction.
Truth: A Contemporary Reader, Bloomsbury Press, 2019. You can view Bloomsbury's page for the book here.
Description
For the first time Truth: A Contemporary Reader brings together essays that have shaped two aspects of a fundamental philosophical topic: the nature of truth and the value of truth.
Featuring 22 essays, this up-to-date reader includes seminal work by leading figures in contemporary analytic philosophy. It charts the development of the central 'grand proposals' about the nature of truth, and subsequently how their influence gradually diminished in face of new theories developed in the 20th and 21st-centuries. The reader also demonstrates how truth is often taken to be valuable in various ways, in particular as the norm of correctness for belief and assertion, and the relationship between truth and other epistemic values.
With introductory overviews to each group of related papers complemented by guides to further reading, this reader introduces the central debates, familiarizes students with the most important work in the field and covers pivotal theories of truth including:
- correspondence theories
- coherentism, pragmatism, verificationism
- deflationary, primitivist, and pluralist theories
Moreover, by showing how thoughts about truth and value bear heavily on one another, Truth: A Contemporary Reader provides new opportunities for understanding and advancing the link between these central topics. This is an essential collection for anyone studying or working in metaphysics, epistemology, and the philosophy of language today.
Cover Reviews
“This collection is the perfect starting point for anyone who wants to familiar with the ongoing philosophical debates about truth. Edwards's section introductions are helpful and clear. The articles collected here illustrate the most important moves in thinking about truth and its value over the past couple of centuries.” – Chase B. Wrenn, Professor of Philosophy, University of Alabama, USA
“The philosophy of truth has become a very complex field of inquiry, especially at a time when disrespect for truth is common. This well-devised anthology brings together both classical sources and more recent work. It gives an excellent image of the present debates, and guidelines to further inquiry.” – Pascal Engel, Director of Studies, Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales, Paris, France
“This great anthology will familiarize readers with core areas and questions in the study of the nature of truth. The general introduction and six more focused introductions by Prof. Edwards will be of incredible value to readers, as they will help them understand the included works and appreciate the richness of the truth debate.” – Nikolaj Jang Lee Linding Pedersen, Associate Professor of Philosophy & founding director, Veritas Research Center, Underwood International College, Yonsei University, South Korea
Properties was published by Polity Press in 2014. You can buy it here and here. It was reviewed in the journals Australasian Journal of Philosophy here and Teaching Philosophy here.
Description
The world is populated with many different objects, to which we often attribute properties: we say, for example, that grass is green, that the earth is spherical, that humans are animals, and that murder is wrong. We also take it that these properties are things in their own right: there is something in which being green, or spherical, or an animal, or wrong, consists, and that certain scientific or normative projects are engaged in uncovering the essences of such properties. In light of this, an important question arises: what kind of things should we take properties themselves to be?
In Properties, Douglas Edwards gives an engaging, accessible, and up-to-date introduction to the many theories of properties available. Edwards charts the central positions in the debate over properties, including the views that properties are universals, that properties are constructed from tropes, and that properties are classes of objects, and assesses the benefits and disadvantages of each. Attempts to deny the existence of properties are also considered, along with ‘pluralist’ proposals, which aim to accommodate the different kinds of properties that are found in various philosophical debates.
Properties is the ideal introduction to this topic and will be an invaluable resource for scholars and students wishing to learn more about the important roles that properties have played, and continue to play, in contemporary philosophy.
Cover Reviews
"Talk of properties is ubiquitous throughout philosophy, but the literature on the subject can be disparate and thorny. Edwards has therefore produced an extremely valuable book – one which not only presents a masterful overview of the current literature on the nature of properties, but, building on earlier work by Lewis, presents a new 'pluralist' view of the subject. A must read for anyone working on properties or metaphysics more generally."
Michael Lynch, University of Connecticut
"A nice introduction to the extremely dense group of issues that surround the metaphysics of properties. The reader-friendly prose and presentation of ideas make this difficult topic accessible to undergraduates and other non-experts."
Paul Audi, University of Nebraska at Omaha