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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
      • Explanatory Solutions to Skeptical Problems (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2025)
      • Understanding How Science Explains the World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022)
      • Kevin McCain and Luca Moretti, Appearance and Explanation: Phenomenal Explanationism in Epistemology (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021)
      • Epistemology: Fifty Puzzles, Paradoxes, and Thought Experiments (New York: Routledge, 2021)
      • Kevin McCain and Kostas Kampourakis, Uncertainty: How It Makes Science Advance (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019)
      • The Nature of Scientific Knowledge: An Explanatory Approach (Switzerland: Springer, 2016)
      • Evidentialism and Epistemic Justification (New York: Routledge, 2014)
    • Awards
      • 2016 EMSAP (Early Medical School Acceptance Program) Award For Teaching
    • Student Groups