ABSTRACT
Scientific naturalism has come under a lot of criticism, primarily because of the placement problems it creates. The placement problems amount to the inability, under the scientific naturalist framework, to find a place within the bounds of nature for phenomena like values, reasons, and norms more broadly, phenomena that seem essential to the human sphere. Scientific naturalism became the dominant ideology in 20th-century Anglo-American philosophy, perhaps most famously espoused by Quine. One of the key claims of scientific naturalism, as formulated by Quine, is that there is no such thing as ‘first philosophy’, and that philosophy must be continuous with the natural sciences. McDowell is a major representative of a current trend to offer a solution to the placement problems created by scientific naturalism, by arguing for a broader, more liberal version of naturalism. McDowell’s flavour of liberal naturalism is premised on arguing for a broader, more liberal conception of nature than that offered by scientific naturalism.
