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85From Experience to ExperiencerIn Mark C. Baker & Stewart Goetz (eds.), The Soul Hypothesis: Investigations Into the Existence of the Soul, Continuum Press. pp. 168. 2011.
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197Dispatches from the Zombie WarsThe Times Literary Supplement (April 28). forthcoming.Review of Daniel Dennett's *Sweet Dreams* and Gregg Rosenberg's *A Place for Consciousness*
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45Substance: Its Nature and ExistencePhilosophical Review 108 (1): 118. 1999.This book addresses two basic questions: What is the proper philosophical analysis of the concept of substance? and What kinds of compound substances are there? The second question is mainly addressed by asking what relations among objects are necessary and sufficient for their coming to compose a larger whole. The first 72 pages of the book contain a short history of attempts to answer the first question, and a brief presentation of the analysis the authors defend at length in their earlier boo…Read more
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346Could extended objects be made out of simple parts? An argument for "atomless gunk"Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 56 (1): 1-29. 1996.Let us say that an extended object is “composed wholly of simples” just in case it is an aggregate of absolutely unextended parts spread throughout an extended region—that is, just in case there is a set S such that: every member is a point-sized part of the object, and for every x, x is part of the object if and only if it has a part in common with some member of S. Could a truly extended substance be composed entirely of unextended parts? Reflection upon the fact that it must be at least possi…Read more
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287Problems for AnimalismAbstracta 4 (S1): 23-31. 2008.My comments have two parts. I begin by laying out the argument that seems to me to be at the core of Olson’s thinking about human persons; and I suggest a problem with his reasons for accepting one of its premises. The premise is warranted by its platitudinous or commonsensical status; but Olson’s arguments lead him to conclusions that undermine the family of platitudes to which it belongs. Then I’ll raise a question about how Olson should construe the vagueness that would seem to infect the bou…Read more
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28Oxford Studies in Metaphysics I (edited book)Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2004.Oxford Studies in Metaphysics is a major new series dedicated to the timely publication of new work in this highly fertile field of philosophy.
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38Material peopleIn Michael J. Loux & Dean W. Zimmerman (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Metaphysics, Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 491-526. 2003.
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276Theories of masses and problems of constitutionPhilosophical Review 104 (1): 53-110. 1995.The JSTOR Archive is a trusted digital repository providing for long-term preservation and access to leading academic journals and scholarly literature from around the world. The Archive is supported by libraries, scholarly societies, publishers, and foundations. It is an initiative of JSTOR, a not-for-profit organization with a mission to help the scholarly community take advantage of advances in technology. For more information regarding JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
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58Richard Gale and the Free Will DefensePhilo 6 (1): 78-113. 2003.Chapter Four of Richard Gale’s On the Nature and Existence of God constitutes an ambitious 80-page monograph on the “free will defense” (FWD). Much of Gale’s argument is aimed at Plantinga’s FWD, but the scope of his criticism extends, finally, to all versions. Gale’s main contentions are that: (i) no version of the FWD can get off the ground without the substantive, true conditionals often called “counterfactuals of human freedom” by contemporary Molinists; (ii) the best theory of these conditi…Read more
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266A Recent Defense of Monism Based Upon the Internal Relatedness of All ThingsIn Francois Clementz & Jean-Maurice Monnoyer (eds.), The Metaphysics of Relations, Ontos Verlag. forthcoming.
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15Persons and Bodies: Constitution Without Mereology?Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 64 (3): 599-606. 2002.Lynne Rudder Baker and many others think that paradigmatic instances of one object constituting another—a piece of marble constituting a statue, or an aggregate of particles constituting a living body—involve two distinct objects in the same place at the same time. Some who say this believe in the doctrine of temporal parts; but others, like Baker, reject this doctrine. Such philosophers, whom one might call “coincidentalists”, cannot say that these objects manage to share space in virtue of sha…Read more
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11Oxford Studies in Metaphysics Volume 2 (edited book)Oxford University Press UK. 2006.Oxford Studies in Metaphysics is the forum for the best new work in this flourishing field. Much of the most interesting work in philosophy today is metaphysical in character: this new series is a much-needed focus for it. OSM offers a broad view of the subject, featuring not only the traditionally central topics such as existence, identity, modality, time, and causation, but also the rich clusters of metaphysical questions in neighbouring fields, such as philosophy of mind and philosophy of sci…Read more
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22I. The 'bruteness' of CFsIn Ken Perszyk (ed.), Molinism: The Contemporary Debate, Oxford University Press. pp. 163. 2011.
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10God, Evil, and the Contemplation of Infinitely Many OptionsPhilosophic Exchange 36 (1). 2006.This essay examines the problem of evil, and then develops a free will theodicy. Then the paper considers some themes in distinctively Christian theodicy building, in more detail.
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235The A-Theory of Time, Presentism, and Open TheismIn Melville Y. Stewart (ed.), Science and Religion in Dialogue, Wiley-blackwell. pp. 789--809. 2010.This chapter contains sections titled: * I Introduction * II A-Theories and B-Theories * III Competing Versions of the A-Theory * IV Presentism a Trivial Truth? * V Open Theism and the A-Theory of Time * VI The âTruthmakerâ Argument * VII Conclusion * Notes
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59Could Extended Objects Be Made Out of Simple Parts?Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 56 (1): 1-29. 1996.Let us say that an extended object is “composed wholly of simples” just in case it is an aggregate of absolutely unextended parts spread throughout an extended region—that is, just in case there is a set S such that: every member is a point-sized part of the object, and for every x, x is part of the object if and only if it has a part in common with some member of S. Could a truly extended substance be composed entirely of unextended parts? Reflection upon the fact that it must be at least possi…Read more
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143Personal identity and the survival of deathIn Jens Johansson Fred Feldman Ben Bradley (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Death, . pp. 97. 2013.
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13God in an Open Universe (edited book)Pickwick Publications. 2011.Description: Since its inception, the discussion surrounding Open Theism has been dominated by polemics. On crucial philosophical issues, Openness proponents have largely been devoted to explicating the underlying framework and logical arguments supporting their perspective against competing theological and philosophical perspectives. As a result, very little constructive work has been done on the interconnections between Open Theism and the natural sciences. Given the central place of sciences …Read more
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15Oxford Studies in Metaphysics Volume 1 (edited book)Oxford University Press. 2004.Oxford Studies in Metaphysics is the forum for the best new work in this flourishing field. Much of the most interesting work in philosophy today is metaphysical in character: this new series will be a much-needed focus for it. OSM will offer a broad view of the subject, featuring not only the traditionally central topics such as existence, identity, modality, time, and causation, but also the rich clusters of metaphysical questions in neighbouring fields, such as philosophy of mind and philosop…Read more
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16I. Merricks vs. HaskerIn Ken Perszyk (ed.), Molinism: The Contemporary Debate, Oxford University Press. pp. 78. 2011.
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192Temporal parts and supervenient causation: The incompatibility of two Humean doctrinesAustralasian Journal of Philosophy 76 (2). 1998.This Article does not have an abstract
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101Dualism in the Philosophy of MindIn John Corcoran (ed.), Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2nd edition, Macmillan. 2006.
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49Substance (review)Philosophical Review 108 (1): 118-122. 1999.This book addresses two basic questions: What is the proper philosophical analysis of the concept of substance? and What kinds of compound substances are there? The second question is mainly addressed by asking what relations among objects are necessary and sufficient for their coming to compose a larger whole. The first 72 pages of the book contain a short history of attempts to answer the first question, and a brief presentation of the analysis the authors defend at length in their earlier boo…Read more