David Macarthur

David Macarthur (PhD Harvard, 1999) is a Professor in the Discipline of Philosophy within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney. He adopts a skeptical approach to metaphysics and works primarily on skepticism, metaphysical quietism, liberal naturalism, pragmatism, and philosophy of art, including film, photography, and architecture. His areas of specialization include epistemology, metaphilosophy, aesthetics, 20th century philosophy, general philosophy of science, and philosophy of the Americas. Collaborating extensively with Mario De Caro, Macarthur has developed liberal naturalism as a middle path between scientific naturalism and supernaturalism, defending the viability of non-scientific, non-supernatural forms of understanding related to persons, language, ethics, and artifacts. Influenced by Stanley Cavell, Hilary Putnam, John McDowell, Richard Rorty, and Ludwig Wittgenstein, his scholarship emphasizes metaphysical quietism and the relational nature of art, arguing that artworks intimate meaning without fixed interpretation.

Macarthur joined the University of Sydney Department of Philosophy in 2003, advancing to Professor. He previously held a position at Tufts University and a postdoctoral fellowship at Macquarie University. Key publications feature edited volumes such as Naturalism in Question (Harvard University Press, 2004, with Mario De Caro), Naturalism and Normativity (Columbia University Press, 2010, with Mario De Caro), Pragmatism as a Way of Life: The Lasting Legacy of William James and John Dewey (Harvard University Press, 2017), Living Skepticism: Essays in Epistemology and Beyond (Brill, 2022, with Stephen Hetherington), and The Routledge Handbook of Liberal Naturalism (Routledge, 2022, with Mario De Caro). Selected articles include 'Pragmatism, Metaphysical Quietism and the Problem of Normativity' (Philosophical Topics, 2008), 'Metaphysical Quietism and Everyday Life' (Cambridge Companion to Philosophical Methodology, 2016), and 'Wittgenstein on Art' (Understanding Wittgenstein, Understanding Modernism, 2017). Honors include the Institute of Advanced Studies Fellowship at Durham University (2015-2016), International Research Collaboration Award (2012-2013), and Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences teaching awards. He teaches courses like Contemporary Pragmatism, covering realism, empiricism, naturalism, scientism, and the fact/value distinction, and engages in public philosophy via podcasts.

Professional Email: david.macarthur@sydney.edu.au