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43A History of Scottish PhilosophyBritish Journal for the History of Philosophy 19 (1): 164-167. 2011.
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33The philosophy of Thomas Reid editorial introductionPhilosophical Quarterly 52 (209): 433-436. 2002.
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58Folk Psychology and the Explanation of Human BehaviourAristotelian Society Supplementary Volume 62 (1): 209-254. 1988.
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77The Individual, The State, and The Common GoodSocial Philosophy and Policy 13 (1): 59. 1996.Let me begin with what should be a reassuring thought, and one that may serve as a corrective to presumptions that sometimes characterize political philosophy. The possibility, which Aquinas and Madison are both concerned with, of wise and virtuous political deliberation resulting in beneficial and stable civil order, no more depends upon possession of aphilosophical theory of the state and of the virtues proper to it, than does the possibility of making good paintings depend upon possession of …Read more
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32Examining the assumptionHeythrop Journal 43 (4). 2002.Many believe that at the end of her life Mary was assumed bodily ‘into heaven’ where she remains exalted by her divine son. This claim, magisterially entitled The Doctrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, strikes some as absurd. Even many traditional Christians are opposed to, or have doubts about this aspect of Catholic doctrine of the Theotokos[the one who ‘gave birth to’ God]).Typically critics regard the doctrine as being at best a sentimental piety and at worst a neo–Pagan accr…Read more
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12Thomas Reid By Keith Lehrer London: Routledge, 1989, xii + 311 pp., £35.00 (review)Philosophy 66 (256): 252-. 1991.
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15Medical ethics today: its practice and philosophyJournal of Medical Ethics 21 (2): 120-120. 1995.
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28Some Recent Work in Environmental Aesthetics (review)Environmental Values 3 (2). 1994.In recent years there has been a dramatic expansion of the range of studies, policy directives and initiatives concerned with the environment. For the most part these are unphilosophical, pragmatic responses to perceived threats of pollution and other forms of environmental degradation. However, they invariably presuppose certain conceptual and normative commitments, and the examination and evaluation of these has been a major concern of environmental philosophy. To date the primary focus of int…Read more
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58Common Sense, Metaphysics, and the Existence of GodAmerican Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 77 (3): 381-398. 2003.Being dedicated to the memory of the great Catholic philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe, who died in the month it was given, this Aquinas lecture begins with some reflections on the relationship between the anti-scientistic, anti-Cartesian position argued for by Anscombe and her teacher Wittgenstein, and the outlook of Thomas Aquinas. It then proceeds to explore the familiar Thomistic idea that philosophical reflection provides the means to establish the existence of God. Drawing in part on Aquinas, …Read more
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21Aquinas on Mind By Anthony Kenny London:Routledge, 1993, viii+182pp., £30.00 (review)Philosophy 69 (268): 242-. 1994.
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40Realism, Mind and EvolutionPhilosophical Investigations 36 (2): 97-113. 2013.Perceptual experience is perspectival, and human minds occupy a variety of “viewpoints.” These considerations provide grounds for both realist and anti-realist philosophies. Each is represented in adjacent areas of thought, and often connects with familiar debates between “conservatives” and “liberals,” which in turn are commonly related to disputes about religious and naturalistic accounts of the world and of the place of human beings within it. These have been joined from an orthogonal directi…Read more
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160Analytical ThomismThe Monist 80 (4): 485-486. 1997.Thomism, conceived of as the set of broad doctrines and style of thought expressed in the works of St. Thomas Aquinas and of those who follow him, first emerged in the thirteenth century. Aquinas himself was born in 1225 into a religious culture in which the dominant tradition of speculative thought was a version of Christian neoplatonism heavily influenced by St. Augustine. Early in his studies as a Dominican, however, Aquinas came under the direction of Albert the Great, who was to exercise an…Read more
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10Twentieth-Century Western Philosophy of Religion 1900–2000 (review)Review of Metaphysics 55 (2): 401-403. 2001.This is the first volume in a series— Handbook [sic.] of Contemporary Philosophy of Religion —of which the author is also editor. Two things strike one immediately: first, it is very impressive in its range and depth of coverage; second, it is outrageously expensive. Kluwer’s pricing policy is a disgrace which reviewers ought not to let pass uncriticized. It is a disservice to individual readers, to institutions, and to writers. The present author has evidently labored long, hard, and fruitfully…Read more
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26Introduction to 'dissolving Hume's Paradox: On Knowledge of Mind and Self' James Frederick Ferrier University of St Andrews (1845–64) (review)Journal of Scottish Philosophy 5 (1): 1-6. 2007.The following essay, whose title has been provided by me for this occasion, is taken from James Ferrier's work The Institutes of Metaphysic where it appears in Section I., the general theme of which is ‘The Epistemology, or Theory of Knowing’. The essay is a statement and elaboration of the ‘ninth proposition’ of the Institutes, and an examination of its implications as these bear upon knowledge of mind and self. The precise source of the text is the 3rd edition of the Institutes of Metaphysic (…Read more
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72Philosophy, the restless heart and the meaning of theismRatio 19 (4). 2006.There is a common philosophical challenge that asks how things would be different if some supposed reality did not exist. Conceived in one way this can amount to trial by sensory verification. Even if that challenge is dismissible, however, the question of the relation of the purported reality to experience remains. Writing here in connection with the central claims, and human significance, of theism; and drawing on ideas suggested by C. S. Pierce, C. S. Lewis, Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aqui…Read more
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1Analytical philosophy and the nature of mind: Time for another rebirth?In Richard Warner & Tadeusz Szubka (eds.), The Mind-Body Problem: A Guide to the Current Debate, Blackwell. 1994.
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20Incarnational AnthropologyIn David Cockburn (ed.), Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement, Cambridge University Press. pp. 191-211. 1991.This essay is concerned with the drift of recent analytical philosophy of mind away from the view of persons as unified subjects of thought and action--human beings as rational animals--towards various forms of dualism (including materialist dualism) and eliminativism. It raises the question what view of persons would be able to accommodate (even if only as a hypothesis) the idea that human beings are images of God and that God took on a human nature in the person of Jesus Christ? The reply is i…Read more
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42Philosophy and Public Affairs (edited book)Cambridge University Press. 2000.This collection of essays derives from a conference sponsored by the Royal Institute of Philosophy and the Centre of Philosophy and Public Affairs at the University of St Andrews. It brings together a number of prominent academics from the fields of philosophy and political theory along with politicians and social commentators. The subjects covered include liberalism, education, welfare policy, religion, art and culture, and cloning. The mix of contributors and the topicality of the subject matt…Read more
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48The Metaphysics of Intellect(ion)Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association 80 39-55. 2006.In the heyday of conceptual analysis philosophical psychology was practised without regard to the ontology of mind as that was associated with disputes between materialism and non-materialism. The rise of functionalism, however, led philosophical psychology in the direction of materialism, though with a residue deriving from phenomenal consciousness. This is now widely viewed as ‘the hard problem’ for physicalism and probably an insuperable one for it, raising the spectre of epiphenomenalism. I …Read more
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31The Examined Death and the Hope of the FutureProceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association 74 245-257. 2000.
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24Editorial introduction: Scholasticism--old and newPhilosophical Quarterly 44 (173): 403-411. 1994.
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18Political theory and the nature of persons: An ineliminable metaphysical presuppositionPhilosophical Papers 20 (2): 77-95. 1991.No abstract
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10Sentiments of Reason and Aspiration of the SoulLogos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture 7 (3): 31-46. 2004.