Introduction

This special issue is the outcome of a workshop entitled, “Thought Experiments in Science: Four Blind Spots,” held at the University of Toronto, March 23rd, 2012. The recent revival in philosophical study of thought experiments has mostly been limited to fields like epistemology, science studies, and metaphilosophy. With this issue we hope to facilitate a discussion about how some other disciplinary perspectives might bear on the subject; specifically, the history of philosophy, literary studies, phenomenology and cognitive science.