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Department of Philosophy College of Arts and Sciences

Kevin McCain

Kevin McCain

Professor This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
University Hall 5012
(205) 934-4805

Pronouns: he/him

Research and Teaching Interests:  Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Science

Office Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 1:15-1:45 p.m., or by appointment

Education:

    • BA, Southeast Missouri State University, Philosophy
    • MA, University of Missouri — Columbia, Philosophy
    • PhD, University of Rochester, Philosophy

    I grew up in southern Illinois (about as far away from Chicago as you can be while remaining in the state). When I was growing up I was convinced that I was going to be a lawyer; however, as a junior in college I decided that I was more interested in philosophy than law. So, I added a philosophy major and decided to pursue a graduate education with the hopes of becoming a philosophy professor. I find many areas of philosophy to be extremely exciting and worthwhile, but my primary philosophical interests remain within the realm of epistemology (the branch of philosophy that deals with knowledge and rational belief).

    In addition to my philosophical interests I am also a fan of science fiction and fantasy (Yoda and Darth Vader can both be found in my office along with Han Solo’s alter-ego, Indiana Jones). I have been able to combine my interests in philosophy and sci-fi/fantasy by writing articles for philosophy and pop culture books — including Philosophy and Dungeons and Dragons and Philosophy and Doctor Who. If I were to sum up the way that I approach teaching philosophy in a pithy phrase it would be something like this: “philosophy is fun, so learning it should be too.”


    Scholars @ UAB Profile

    • Recent Courses
      • Introduction to Philosophy
      • Epistemology
      • Knowing in a Social World: Sex, Lies, and Irrationality
      • Philosophy of Religion
      • Meaning of Life: Perspectives
    • Select Publications
      • The Nature of Scientific Knowledge: An Explanatory Approach (Switzerland: Springer, 2016).
      • Evidentialism and Epistemic Justification (New York: Routledge, 2014).
      • Believing in Accordance with the Evidence: New Essays on Evidentialism (edited collection, under contract, Springer).
      • Kevin McCain and Ted Poston, eds., Best Explanations: New Essays on Inference to the Best Explanation (under contract, Oxford University Press).
      • Kevin McCain and Ted Poston, eds., The Mystery of Skepticism: New Explorations (under contract, Brill).
      Articles:
      • “Is Forgotten Evidence a Problem for Evidentialism?” Southern Journal of Philosophy (forthcoming).
      • Kevin McCain and Ted Poston, “Why Explanatoriness is Evidentially Relevant,” Thought 3 (No. 2, 2014):145-53.
      • “Two Skeptical Arguments or Only One?,” Philosophical Studies 164 (No. 2, 2013):289-300.
      • “A Predictivist Argument Against Scepticism,” Analysis 72 (No. 4, 2012):660-65.
      • “The Interventionist Account of Causation and the Basing Relation,” Philosophical Studies 159 (No. 3, 2012):357-82.
    • Awards
      • 2016 EMSAP (Early Medical School Acceptance Program) Award For Teaching
    • Student Groups