Rate My Professor Mark Kaplan

Kaplan's scholarly work centers on epistemology, exploring what epistemologists can learn from Bayesian decision theory—stemming from Frank P. Ramsey's 1926 paper "Truth and Probability"—and advocating for the value of J.L. Austin's ordinary language philosophy in addressing skepticism and the nature of knowledge and justified belief. In his book Decision Theory as Philosophy (Cambridge University Press, 1996), he argues that Ramsey's claims constitute essential contributions to epistemology. This theme is developed through a series of papers, including "Epistemology on Holiday" (The Journal of Philosophy, 1991), "Bayesianism Without the Black Box" (Philosophy of Science, 1989), and "Believing the Improbable" (Philosophical Studies, 1995). His second monograph, Austin’s Way with Skepticism: An Essay on Philosophical Method (Oxford University Press, 2018), defends Austin's approach as a valid method for advancing epistemological debates, countering longstanding objections. Other notable publications include contributions to The Oxford Handbook of Epistemology (2002) and chapters in edited volumes such as Knowledge and Inquiry (2006). Kaplan has been recognized with the American Council of Learned Societies Senior Fellowship (2000-2001), a Philosophy Programme Fellowship at the University of London School of Advanced Study (2000-2001), a National Science Foundation Research Grant (1990-1991), and a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Graduate School Research Grant (1983). He has presented his work at numerous institutions, including the University of Michigan, University of Stirling, University of London, and APA meetings.