University of Leeds
School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of Science
PhD, 1994
Areas of Interest
Metaphysics
  •  693
    This paper argues that the technical notion of conditional probability, as given by the ratio analysis, is unsuitable for dealing with our pretheoretical and intuitive understanding of both conditionality and probability. This is an ontological account of conditionals that include an irreducible dispositional connection between the antecedent and consequent conditions and where the conditional has to be treated as an indivisible whole rather than compositional. The relevant type of conditionalit…Read more
  •  20
    Forum: what’s the point of sport?
    The Philosophers' Magazine 58 71-76. 2012.
  •  229
    Part I will deal with the central system of metaphysics that Armstrong developed between 1978 and 1997. This will concern, in turn, the major topics of universals, laws, modality, facts or states of affairs, and dispositions. It will be demonstrated how Armstrong’s distinct contributions to these separate problems came together in a unified and systematic account such that he could be judged as holding a single, very appealing, metaphysical theory.
  •  60
    Emotions and aesthetics: An inevitable trade‐off
    Journal of the Philosophy of Sport 39 (2): 267-279. 2012.
    Sport is a producer of both emotional and aesthetic experiences. But how do these relate? Does a spectator’s emotional engagement in sport enhance or hinder it as an aesthetic experience? And does the aesthetic perception of sport enhance or hinder the emotional experiences? These questions will be addressed with particular reference to the distinction that can be drawn between partisan and purist watchers of sport, and making use of thinking in contemporary aesthetics and philosophy of emotion.…Read more
  •  70
    No power in Unger's world (review)
    Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 80 (2): 476-483. 2010.
  •  1
    Causal Powers and Capacities
    In Helen Beebee, Christopher Hitchcock & Peter Menzies (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Causation, Oxford University Press Uk. 2009.
  •  25
    Laws of Nature Outlawed
    Dialectica 52 (2): 83-101. 1998.
    SummaryThere are two rival ways in which events in the world can be explained: the covering law way and the dispositionalist way. The covering law model, which takes the law of nature as its fundamental explanatory unit, faces a number of renown difficulties. Rather than attempt to patch up this approach, the alternative dispositionalist strategy is recommended. On this view, general facts are dependent upon particular facts about what things do, rather than vice versa. This way of viewing the w…Read more
  •  42
    Intentionality and the Physical: A New Theory of Disposition Ascription
    Philosophical Quarterly 49 (195): 215-225. 1999.
    This paper has three aims. First, I aim to stress the importance of the issue of the dispositional/categorical distinction in the light of the evident failure of the traditional formulation, which is in terms of conditional entailment. Second, I consider one radical new alternative on offer from Ullin Place: intentionality as the mark of the dispositional. I explain the appeal of physical intentionality, but show it ultimately to be unacceptable. Finally, I suggest what would be a better theory.…Read more
  •  5
  •  183
    At the borders of medical reasoning: aetiological and ontological challenges of medically unexplained symptoms
    with Thor Eirik Eriksen, Roger Kerry, Svein Anders Noer Lie, and Rani Lill Anjum
    Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine 8 11. 2013.
    Medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) remain recalcitrant to the medical profession, proving less suitable for homogenic treatment with respect to their aetiology, taxonomy and diagnosis. While the majority of existing medical research methods are designed for large scale population data and sufficiently homogenous groups, MUS are characterised by their heterogenic and complex nature. As a result, MUS seem to resist medical scrutiny in a way that other conditions do not. This paper approaches the…Read more
  •  1
    Filled in space
    In B. Gnassounou & M. Kistler (eds.), Dispositions Et Pouvoirs Causaux, Vrin. 2004.
  •  11
    Powers: A Study in Metaphysics (edited book)
    Clarendon Press. 2003.
    George Molnar came to see that the solution to a number of the problems of contemporary philosophy lay in the development of an alternative to Hume's metaphysics, with real causal powers at its centre. Molnar's eagerly anticipated book setting out his theory of powers was almost complete when he died, and has been prepared for publication by Stephen Mumford, who provides a context-setting introduction.
  •  1700
    There has been much discussion of powers or real dispositions in the past decade, but there remains an issue that has been inadequately treated. This concerns the precise modal value that comes with dispositionality. We contend in this paper that dispositionality involves a non-alethic, sui generis, irreducible modality. Dispositions only tend towards their manifestations; they do not necessitate them. Tendency is, of course, a dispositional term itself, so this last statement offers little by w…Read more