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82Beauty and Being: Thomistic Perspectives. By Piotr Jaroszyński. Translated by Hugh McDonald (review)American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 87 (4): 786-788. 2013.
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87The prayer of the molinistHeythrop Journal 49 (6): 940-947. 2008.According to the ‘Power of Prayer’ objection to Molinism, the insights of the Church's great saints and spiritual directors regarding how best to grow in the spiritual life conflict with Molinism: spiritual growth is best achieved by praying from a Thomistic attitude towards Providence. Thomas Flint has recently replied to this objection as it was raised by Fr. Reginald Garrigou‐Lagrange. In this paper, I respond on behalf of Garrigou‐Lagrange.
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93Rejoinder to Adam Reed, "Not Even False: A Commentary on Parrish and Toner" (Spring 2008): God-Talk and the ArbitraryJournal of Ayn Rand Studies 9 (2). 2008.In this brief note, Toner discusses Adam Reed's reply ("Not Even False," The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies, Spring 2008) to his earlier paper, "Objectivist Atheology" (The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies, Spring 2007). He argues that Reed's criticisms do not hold up under scrutiny
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125On Departing HominizationAmerican Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 89 (2): 175-194. 2015.It is a matter of dispute whether St. Thomas Aquinas accepted the doctrine of “departing hominization.” Departing hominization is the view that in the process of human death, the rational soul departs first, leaving a mere animal ensouled by a sensitive soul, and then the sensitive soul departs, leaving a corpse. This would be a surprising thing for St. Thomas to believe, but he does appear to endorse the view in at least one place. I argue that he does not, in fact, accept departing hominizatio…Read more
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190St. Thomas Aquinas on the Problem of Too Many ThinkersModern Schoolman 89 (3-4): 209-222. 2012.It has been argued that St. Thomas Aquinas’s anthropological views fall prey to the problem of “Too Many Thinkers.” The worry, roughly, is that his views entail that I—a human person—am able to think, but that my soul—which is not a human person—is also able to think. Hence, too many thinkers: there are too many ofus having my thoughts. In this paper, I show why this is not a problem for St. Thomas. Along the way, I also address Peter Unger’s argument for substance dualism.
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152Meta-ontology and accidental unityPhilosophical Quarterly 56 (225). 2006.My wife and I and our three children may stand in various relations: being a family, being a basketball team, and so on. I show that Frege's doctrine of existence, when coupled with this simple point, easily solves the problem of material constitution and blocks the overdetermination argument for eliminativism. It does all this work while providing a plausible and clear reductionistic account of material objects. These seem to be very good reasons for accepting Frege's doctrine of existence
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162Contingently Existing Propositions?Philosophical Studies 129 (3): 421-434. 2006.It is fairly common, among those who think propositions exist, to think they exist necessarily. Here, I consider three arguments in support of that conclusion. What I hope to show is not that that claim is false, but, rather, that the arguments used in its defense tend to presuppose a certain kind of approach to modality: a roughly Plantingian view. What the arguments show, then, is that one cannot accept that approach to modality and accept contingently existing propositions. But there are othe…Read more
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93Scholastic Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction. By Edward Feser (review)American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 89 (2): 340-342. 2015.
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312On Hylemorphism and Personal IdentityEuropean Journal of Philosophy 19 (3): 454-473. 2009.Abstract: There is no such thing as ‘the’ hylemorphic account of personal identity. There are several views that count as hylemorphic, and these views can be grouped into two main families—the corruptionist view, and the survivalist view. The differentiating factor is that the corruptionist view holds that the persistence of the soul is not sufficient for the persistence of the person, while the survivalist view holds that the persistence of the soul is sufficient for the persistence of the pers…Read more
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384Hylemorphic animalismPhilosophical Studies 155 (1). 2011.Roughly, animalism is the doctrine that each of us is identical with an organism. This paper explains and defends a hylemorphic version of animalism. I show how hylemorphic animalism handles standard objections to animalism in compelling ways. I also show what the costs of endorsing hylemorphic animalism are. The paper's contention is that despite the costs, the view is worth taking seriously
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
| Metaphysics |
| Philosophy of Religion |
| Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy |
Areas of Interest
| Aesthetics |