Louis Doulas

I’m currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Extending New Narratives in the History of Philosophy project at McGill University.

My research explores issues in epistemology, methodology, and the philosophy of science through the study of the history of early analytic philosophy, with particular focus on the work of Susan Stebbing, G. E. Moore, and (the later) Ludwig Wittgenstein.

I received my PhD in Philosophy from the University of California, Irvine, in June 2024. Prior to that, I completed an MA in Philosophy at Brandeis University and a BFA in Studio Art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Before finding my way to philosophy, I worked as an editor and writer in New York, mostly writing about art influenced by the internet.

I’m an Editorial Assistant at the Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy and the Project Manager for the New Voices in the History of Philosophy podcast.

Contact

louis.doulas@mcgill.ca
PhilPeople
bsky

Publications

Edited Book

Susan Stebbing: Analysis, Common Sense, and Public Philosophy

Oxford University Press (2025) (co-edited with Annalisa Coliva)

Susan Stebbing (1885–1943) was a pivotal figure in early analytic philosophy. Our volume, the first to be devoted exclusively to Stebbing’s philosophy, aims to bring her back into focus, showing why she mattered then and why she matters now.
Introduction PDF • Purchase on Amazon

Articles and Chapters

Moore’s Fourth Condition

Journal of the History of Philosophy (forthcoming)

I offer a revised philosophical and historical account of Moore’s famous proof of an external world. Drawing on unpublished archival material, I argue that what many see as the proof’s failure—its apparent circularity—stems from unresolved tensions in Moore’s own evolving epistemology of proof.
PDF
Bergmann’s Intuitions

Canadian Journal of Philosophy (forthcoming)
My contribution to a workshop on Michael Bergmann’s Radical Skepticism and Epistemic Intuition held at Arizona State University on December 7, 2024. I raise some worries about Bergmann’s use of intuitions in combating skepticism.
PDF (draft down for revisions)
Philosophical (and Scientific) Progress: A Hinge Account
In S. Goldberg and M. Walker (eds.), Attitude in Philosophy, Oxford University Press (forthcoming) (with Annalisa Coliva)
We argue that philosophy progresses much like science—despite deep disagreements—because many disputes remain evidence-responsive within shared intra-theoretical frameworks.
PDF
Making Sense of Stebbing and Moore on Common Sense
In A. Coliva and L. Doulas (eds.), Susan Stebbing: Analysis, Common Sense, and Public Philosophy, Oxford University Press (2025)

I argue that Stebbing’s account of common sense is both more distinct from and more indebted to Moore than scholars recognize. I then go on to develop what I call Stebbing’s unity thesis: the view that common-sense knowledge and scientific knowledge form a unified whole.
PDF
Philosophical Progress, Skepticism, and Disagreement
In M. Baghramian, J. A. Carter, and R. Rowland (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Disagreement, Routledge (2024) (with Annalisa Coliva)
We distinguish two ways in which one may be led to skepticism about philosophy. We then introduce an alternative, hinge-theoretic account that promises to recover philosophical knowledge while preserving optimism about philosophical progress.
PDF
What Philosophical Disagreement and Philosophical Skepticism Hinge On
Synthese (2022) 200: 1–14 (with Annalisa Coliva)
We argue that pervasive disagreement in philosophy—often taken to motivate skepticism about philosophical knowledge—can be reconciled with the possibility of such knowledge.
PDF
Against Philosophical Proofs Against Common Sense
Analysis (2021) 81: 207–215 (with Evan Welchance)
We argue that Bryan Frances’s argument to the effect that philosophy can overturn common sense fails. We then go on to present Frances with a dilemma.
PDF • YouTube
A Puzzle About Moorean Metaphysics

Philosophical Studies (2021) 178: 493–513
I introduce the idea of negative Moorean facts—negative existentials that have the status of Moorean certainties—and show how they complicate certain approaches to settling existence debates.
PDF

Miscellany

Recovering Mary Evelyn Clarke

N. G. Laskowski’s post on Bluesky sent me on a bit of a detective mission to learn more about the philosopher Mary Evelyn Clarke. This PDF collects everything that I have been able to uncover so far. If you know more about her—or if you spot any errors—I would be very glad to hear from you.
PDF
What Moore’s Hands Mean

I clarify why Moore’s proof invokes two hands, rather than one.
Note: I won’t publish this, though feel free to cite.

PDF

In Progress

A paper on Stebbing’s philosophy of science
(promised to Synthese)
Another paper on Stebbing’s philosophy of science
A paper on Moore’s paradox
A paper on the historiography of Moore’s proof
A paper on Locke and regulative epistemology
(promised to Locke Studies; with Nathan Ballantyne)