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228Metaphysical Nihilism and Necessary BeingPhilosophia 40 (4): 799-820. 2012.This paper addresses the most fundamental question in metaphysics, Why is there something rather than nothing? The question is framed as a question about concrete entities, Why does a possible world containing concrete entities obtain rather than one containing no concrete entities? Traditional answers are in terms of there necessarily being some concrete entities, and include the possibility of a necessary being. But such answers are threatened by metaphysical nihilism, the thesis that there be…Read more
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15The Meaning of Meaning: Comments on Metz's Meaning in LifeEuropean Journal for Philosophy of Religion 8 (2): 19-25. 2016.
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51Existence Puzzles and Probabilistic ExplanationJournal of the American Philosophical Association 2 (3): 469-482. 2016.
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34Shifting the Focus While Conserving Commitments in Research EthicsJournal of Medicine and Philosophy 42 (2): 103-113. 2017.The papers in this volume are largely about research ethics and cover questions of consent, reproduction, pediatric research, ethical codes, and clinical relationships. Half the papers have this common aspect: they are conservative—in the sense of supporting the standard, prevailing, or popular view—but they shift the focus—supporting the standard views in terms of moral factors generally neglected by the literature. The volume provides a diverse set of papers for the reader: variously addressin…Read more
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85The Rainbow of Experiences, Critical Trust and God: A Defense of Holistic Empiricism. By Kai-man Kwan (review)Faith and Philosophy 29 (4): 472-478. 2012.
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864Judaism, Reincarnation, and TheodicyFaith and Philosophy 30 (4): 393-417. 2013.The doctrine of reincarnation is usually associated with Buddhism, Hinduism and other Eastern religions. But it has also been developed in Druzism and Judaism. The doctrine has been used by these traditions to explain the existence of evil within a moral order. Traversing the boundaries between East and West, we explore how Jewish mysticism has employed the doctrine to help answer the problem of evil. We explore the doctrine particularly as we respond to objections against employing it in a theo…Read more
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304The New Cosmological Argument: O’Connor on Ultimate ExplanationPhilosophia 39 (2): 267-288. 2011.Timothy O’Connor presents a novel and powerful version of the cosmological argument from contingency. What distinguishes his argument is that it does not depend on the Principle of Sufficient Reason. This version thus avoids powerful objections facing the Principle. We present and develop the argument, strengthening it in various ways. We fill in big gaps in the argument and answer criticisms. These include the criticisms that O’Connor considers as well as new criticisms. We explain how his repl…Read more
Rochester, New York, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
1 more
Metaphysics |
Philosophy of Religion |
17th/18th Century Philosophy |
Applied Ethics |
Jewish Philosophy |
Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy |
Areas of Interest
Philosophy of Mind |
Meta-Ethics |
Normative Ethics |