List criticizes the "causal exclusion" argument, which is a recent formulation of the case for epiphenomenalism in mind-body relations. By usual definition,"epiphenomenalism" is the view that though there is an intangible mind distinct from the body (there are such things as "intentions" for example, which may not be reducible to any physical sort of fact), this mind, these intentions DO NO WORK. They do not function as causes, just as the steam coming out of a train does nothing to move the train. The causal exclusion argument works from two premises: 1) the premise of the causal closure of the world. Any physically realized event has a sufficient physical cause. 2) the premise of causal exclusion. If an event has a sufficient cause, then it has no other distinct cause at the same time. I'm standing outside on the street and a cab comes by. I raise my arm in a familiar gesture. Why did I raise my arm? The first premise tells me that there ...
Posts
Brian Leiter's blog informs me that the American Academy of Arts and Sciences recently elevated seven philosophers to the elite honor of membership in said Academy. Sadly, I only recognized one of the seven names on the list. With all due respect to the other six (my ignorance is my problem, after all, not theirs), I will say a few words now about that one, Robert Audi, a professor at Notre Dame (go Irish). Not only does Audi teach philosophy there, he formerly held a chair in the Notre Dame Business School. Audi, whose image you see here, has distinguished himself in epistemology as an advocate of fallibilistic foundationalism. He developed this view in response to the epistemic regress argument. What is all that? Glad you asked, dear reader. We typically seek to defend and justify our beliefs by reference to other beliefs. I believe that the sun will rise in the east in the morning because I believe that the earth will continue to rotate in the same direction that it al...
And how is that surname pronounced? This seems like someone I should have on my radar. An important philosopher. Taken quite seriously in Europe (on the continent, though news of his significance hasn't crossed the channel). Anti-welfare state, ambivalent about globalization, given to hyperbole and to the celebration of hyperbole, and a transhumanist. All that I get from in-depth research, i.e. skimming the wikipedia article for him. From the profile pic above, looks old school.
https://philpapers.org/surveys/results.pl That is the cliched "School of Athens" image for a discussion of philosophers, followed by a link to the complete set of questions and data of the survey I excerpted from yesterday. What strikes me is that there are some questions on which nothing remotely approaching consensus exists -- there are almost as many "nominalists" (or those leaning that way) as there are "Platonists," and a sizeable though smaller proportion of "other." Likewise on normative ethics "other" is dominant, yet even that catch-all category is a minority. The Big Two -- deontology and teleology -- are closely split for second/third. Personal identity, too, is a matter of very sharp split, and a matter where "other" wins. Fortunately, the results page (link above) lets one get more granular on "other" when one has a mind to. The most popular "other" answer for Personal Identity is ...
According to Leiter Reports, the most important English-language world epistemologists since 1945 have been: . W.V.O. Quine (Condorcet winner: wins contests with all other choices) 2. Alvin Goldman loses to W.V.O. Quine by 131–100 3. Roderick Chisholm loses to W.V.O. Quine by 145–90 , loses to Alvin Goldman by 117–90 4. Wilfrid Sellars loses to W.V.O. Quine by 142–80 , loses to Roderick Chisholm by 110–106 5. Timothy Williamson loses to W.V.O. Quine by 148–100 , loses to Wilfrid Sellars by 122–118 6. Ernest Sosa loses to W.V.O. Quine by 152–95 , loses to Timothy Williamson by 123–107 7. Tied : Fred Dretske loses to W.V.O. Quine by 156–78 , loses to Ernest Sosa by 121–90 Edmund Gettier loses to W.V.O. Quine by 160–78 , loses to Ernest Sosa by 114–105 9. Donald Davidson loses to W.V.O. Quine by 158–53 , loses to Fred Dretske by 120–93 10. William Alston ...