•  100
    Learning from the Past to the Future in Metaphysics
    In Jani Sinokki & Eero Kaila (eds.), Acta Philosophica Fennica XCVIII, Finnish Philosophical Society. pp. 125-141. 2023.
    I propose that metaphysical study is initially indifferent to the truth of Metaphysical Realism about Metaphysics (MRM) and Metaphysical Realism and does not presuppose them. Metaphysical Realism is a metaphysical doctrine the truth of which cannot be settled logically prior to metaphysical investigation. MRM presupposes Metaphysical Realism and therefore, one should not hold MRM uncritically. An epistemological consequence of this is that arguments against the possibility of cognition about met…Read more
  •  77
    Hume as a Trope Nominalist
    Canadian Journal of Philosophy 42 (S1): 55-66. 2012.
    In this paper, I argue that Hume's solution to a problem that contemporary metaphysicians call “the problem of universals” would be rather trope-theoretical than some other type of nominalism. The basic idea in different trope theories is that particular properties, i.e., tropes are postulated to account for the fact that there are particular beings resembling each other. I show that Hume's simple sensible perceptions are tropes: simple qualities. Accordingly, their similarities are explained by…Read more
  •  73
    In this article, I make a philosophical comparison between Hobbes' and Hume's s conceptions of imagination. The article should not be taken as an examination of Hobbes' real effect on Hume's thinking. That is a historical problem I do not address. In addition to being philosophically comparative, the article is expli- cative. Since the subject matter is so broad, I have been compelled to confine myself to the explicative level in my examination. I unfold Hume's conception of imagination, take Ju…Read more
  •  65
    The main problem of this study is David Hume’s (1711-76) view on Metaphysical Realism (there are mind-independent, external, and continuous entities). This specific problem is part of two more general questions in Hume scholarship: his attitude to scepticism and the relation between naturalism and skepticism in his thinking. A novel interpretation of these problems is defended in this work. The chief thesis is that Hume is both a sceptic and a Metaphysical Realist. His philosophical attitude is …Read more
  •  45
    In this paper, I argue that Hume has an insight into the heart of most of “new philosophy” when he claims that according to it, proper sensibles are not Real properties of material substance and Real bodies. I call this tenet “the Proper Sensibles Principle” (PSP). In the second part of the paper, I defend the interpretation - mainly against Don Garrett’s doubts - that the PSP is a rational tenet in Hume’s view and he thus endorses it. Its rationality means that the PSP has a firm foundation in …Read more
  •  31
    Ontologiset Kategoriateoriat
    Ensyklopedia Logos. forthcoming.
    Ontologiset kategoriateoriat pyrkivät vastaamaan metafysiikan klassiseen ongelmaan: kysymykseen siitä, mihin eri kategorioihin oliot eli entiteetit jakaantuvat. Olioilla tarkoitetaan tässä mitä tahansa, joka on olemassa. Olevan kategoriat eli ontologiset kategoriat (lyhyesti kategoriat) ovat alustavasti olioiden hyvin yleisiä lajeja. Jäsenyys olioiden kategoriassa ei niinkään kerro sitä, mitä piirteitä oliolla on, vaan sen olemisen tavan ¬– miten se esimerkiksi on tai voi olla maailman rakenneos…Read more
  •  23
    Away with Dispositional Essences in Trope Theory
    with Markku Keinänen
    In Ludger Jansen & Petter Sandstad (eds.), Neo-Aristotelian Perspectives on Formal Causation, Routledge. pp. 106-123. 2021.
    A specific variety of formal causation is dispositional essentialism. This chapter argues that dispositional essentialism is incompatible with any trope bundle theory committed to the primitive identity of tropes, such as Keith Campbell’s account and the authors’ own Strong Nuclear Theory. Dispositional essentialism would render at least some tropes identity-dependent on other tropes, while all tropes must be considered identity-independent existents in these trope theories. Furthermore, disposi…Read more
  •  16
    Hume on Time and Steadfast Unchanging Objects
    with Todd Ryan
    History of Philosophy Quarterly 40 (1): 3-24. 2023.
    In this paper we consider a puzzle concerning Hume's account of time and what he calls “steadfast unchanging objects”—that is, unchanging objects coexisting with temporal successions. On the one hand, Hume maintains that steadfast unchanging objects are temporally indivisible. On the other, he allows that such unchanging objects are capable of undergoing a determinate number of alterations in a given length of time, which seems to imply that they are at least potentially temporally divisible. Af…Read more
  •  1
    In this paper, I propose a solution to an almost ignored problem in metaphysics and metametaphysics: what is categorial fundamentality and non-fundamentality? My proposal builds on E. J. Lowe’s view on the issue. By means of the newcomer notion of generic identity, I can give an account of something that Lowe did not explicate: the constitution of formal ontolog- ical relations. Formal ontological relations (e.g. instantiation) are internal relations that deter- mine ontological form and categor…Read more
  •  1
    Scepticism as epochê
    In Luoma Kaisa, Oesch Erna & Vilkko Risto (eds.), Philosophical Studies in honorem Leila Haaparanta, Tampereen Yliopistopaino. pp. 233-242. 2004.
  • David Humen Of Essay Writing
    In Lauri Mehtonen & Kari Väyrynen (eds.), Järjen todellisuus Juhlakirja Markku Mäelle, Oulun Yliopistopaino. pp. 69-83. 2002.
  • David Hume: Esseitä (edited book)
    with Juha Koivisto and Lauri Mehtonen
    Vastapaino. 2006.
  • Trope Bundle Theories of Substance
    In A. R. J. Fisher & Anna-Sofia Maurin (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Properties, Routledge. pp. 239-249. 2023.
    In this chapter, we provide an opinionated introduction to contemporary trope bundle theories of substance. We assess different trope bundle theories on the grounds of their two main aims: to provide an adequate account of substances or objects by means of tropes and a reductive analysis of inherence, that is, object's having tropes as their properties. Our discussion begins by a presentation of Donald C. Williams’ and Keith Campbell's paradigmatic trope theories, which maintain that tropes are …Read more
  • Toimittajien esipuhe
    with Juha Koivisto and Lauri Mehtonen
    In Jani Hakkarainen, Juha Koivisto & Lauri Mehtonen (eds.), David Hume: Esseitä, Vastapaino. pp. 7-9. 2006.
  • Skottilainen valistus - David Hume
    In Petri Koikkalainen and Paul-Erik Korvela (ed.), Klassiset poliittiset ajattelijat, Vastapaino. pp. 299-339. 2012.
    The title in English: Scottish Enlightenment - David Hume. This is a chapter on Hume's political philosophy that I wrote to a Finnish textbook of the history of political thought.