Lynch, Michael P. 1966–

views updated

Lynch, Michael P. 1966–

(Michael Patrick Lynch)

PERSONAL: Born 1966, in IL; married Mary T. Berthelot, August 12, 2001. Education: State University of New York—Albany, B.A. (summa cum laude), 1990; Syracuse University, M.A., 1992, Ph.D., 1995.

ADDRESSES: Office—Department of Philosophy, U-54, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-2054. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: University of Mississippi, University, assistant professor, 1995–2000; Connecticut College, New London, CT, assistant professor, 2000–01, associate professor of philosophy, 2002–04, chair of the department of philosophy, 2003–04; University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, associate professor, 2004–. Visiting scholar, St. Edmund's College, Cambridge University, 1999; University of St. Andrews, Scotland, Conference on Truth and Realism, co-organizer, 2004.

Worked as a manuscript referee for Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, Westview Press, the American Philosophical Association, and the Society for Philosophy and Psychology. Also worked as an editorial referee for periodicals, including Philosophical Studies, Mind, Philosophical Quarterly, and the Australasian Journal of Philosophy.

MEMBER: American Philosophical Association (member of program committee for central division, 2002), Hume Society, Society for Philosophy and Psychology (program chair, 2002), Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology, Phi Beta Kappa.

AWARDS, HONORS: Undergraduate Award for distinguished work in philosophy, State University of New York—Albany, 1990; Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, Syracuse University, 1994; Certificate of University Teaching, Syracuse University, 1995; summer grant, University of Mississippi Office of Research, 1996, 1997, and 1999; Cora L. Graham Outstanding Teacher of Freshmen Award, University of Mississippi, 1998; Griffin Award, Southern Society of Philosophy and Psychology, 1998; Outstanding Book of the Year in Philosophy citation, Choice, 1999, for Truth in Context: An Essay on Pluralism and Objectivity; visiting fellowship, Arché Centre for the Philosophy of Logic, Language, Metaphysics, and Mind, University of St. Andrews (Scotland), 2002; Bogliasco fellowship, Liguria Study Center (Bogliasco, Italy), 2003.

WRITINGS:

Truth in Context: An Essay on Pluralism and Objectivity, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press (Cambridge, MA), 1998.

(Editor) The Nature of Truth: Classic and Contemporary Perspectives, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press (Cambridge, MA), 2001.

True to Life: Why Truth Matters, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, (Cambridge, MA), 2004.

(Editor, with Heather D. Battaly) Perspectives on the Philosophy of William P. Alston, Rowman & Little-field (Lanham, MD), 2005.

Contributor to periodicals, including Hume Studies, Philosophia, Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophical Psychology, Inquiry, Teaching Philosophy, and the Chronicle Review. Guest edited the journal Social Epistemology. Has also contributed chapters to books about realism, philosophy, and language, including Realism and Antirealism, edited by W.P. Alston, Cornell University Press (Ithaca, NY), 2002; Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, Elsevier (Boston, MA), 2005; and the Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Routledge (New York, NY), 2006.

WORK IN PROGRESS: (Editor, with Patrick Greenough) Truth and Realism, Oxford University Press.

SIDELIGHTS: Philosophy professor Michael P. Lynch once told CA: "My work centers around the core issues of epistemology and metaphysics, but ranges widely over philosophy in general." According to the author's biography on the University of Connecticut's Web site, other interests include exploring ideas about political liberalism and rational thought, and examining the nature of truth.

Lynch investigated concepts of truth in his 1998 publication Truth in Context: An Essay on Pluralism and Objectivity. The book argues that metaphysical pluralism—the idea that there can be more than one true description of the nature of ultimate reality—is actually compatible with the thought that truth is objective. While most philosophers argue these views cannot be combined, Lynch claims that once both views are understood, they are not in opposition. In an article in the Journal of Religion, reviewer Terry F. Godlove pointed out several problems with Lynch's theory, but noted that "Lynch is aiming to advance the discussion" of this topic and thought that many readers would agree that he accomplished this task. Kevin Kennedy, a contributor to the Review of Metaphysics, also acknowledged some flaws in Lynch's model, but felt that his "attempt to articulate a pluralism which is realistic is admirable" and that his explanation of other philosophical arguments is "concise and clear."

The notion of truth once again takes center stage in Lynch's 2004 work True to Life: Why Truth Matters. The book is split into three sections: the first examines what Lynch calls "truisms about truth," the second discusses mental blocks that keep people from accepting truth; and the third and final section explains that truth is necessary to human happiness. The crux of Lynch's argument is that in a world where politicians, business executives, and average citizens contort, spin, and warp reality, truth actually matters and is worthy of investigation. In the Review of Metaphysics, critic Kevin G. Rickert called Lynch's work on truth and its importance "a significant contribution." A reviewer for the Skeptical Inquirer felt that the book was "an insightful and timely examination."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Lynch, Michael P., True to Life: Why Truth Matters, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, (Cambridge, MA), 2004.

PERIODICALS

Journal of Religion, October, 2000, Terry F. Godlove, review of Truth in Context: An Essay on Pluralism and Objectivity, p. 694.

Review of Metaphysics, December, 2000, Kevin Kennedy, review of Truth in Context, p. 455; June, 2005, Kevin G. Rickert, review of True to Life: Why Truth Matters, p. 903.

Skeptical Inquirer, January-February, 2005, review of True to Life, p. 54.