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25Experimental Thoughts and Thought ExperimentsPhilosophia Christi 14 (1): 193-207. 2012.Parfit’s new two-volume book, On What Matters, is used to make three points about the use of thought experiments in philosophy: thought experiments must be relevantly focused, finely-grained in descriptive force, and, when they meet these conditions, a thought experiment can overturn a substantial philosophical position, namely Parfit’s rejection of libertarian freedom. While principally a contribution to philosophical methodology, along the way this paper defends moral realism, Parfit’s rejecti…Read more
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12Review of Paul Janz, God, the Mind's Desire: Reference, Reason and Christian Thinking (review)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2004 (10). 2004.
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22A companion to philosophy of religionIn Dennis M. Patterson (ed.), International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, Blackwell. pp. 53-63. 1996.In 85 new and updated essays, this comprehensive volume provides an authoritative guide to the philosophy of religion. Includes contributions from established philosophers and rising stars 22 new entries have now been added, and all material from the previous edition has been updated and reorganized Broad coverage spans the areas of world religions, theism, atheism,, the problem of evil, science and religion, and ethics
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140Possibilities in the philosophy of mindPhilosophy and Phenomenological Research 57 (1): 127-37. 1997.This paper seeks to overturn the claim that Cartesian arguments for dualism based on the conceivable separation of person and body lack warrant, since it is just as conceivable that persons are identical with their bodies as it is that persons and their bodies are distinct. If the thesis of the paper is cogent, then it is not as easy to imagine person-body identity as many anti-Cartesians suppose
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87Consciousness and the Mind of GodCambridge University Press. 1994.This work addresses the challenge of contemporary materialism for thinking about God. The book examines contemporary theories of consciousness and defends a non-materialist theory of persons, subjectivity and God. A version of dualism is articulated that seeks to avoid the fragmented outlook of most dualist theories. Dualism is often considered to be inadequate both philosophically and ethically, and is seen as a chief cause of denigrating the body and of promoting individualism and scepticism. …Read more
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725Animals, Brains, and SpiritsFaith and Philosophy 12 (4): 567-581. 1995.This paper contains an overview of the significance of dualism for theism and a modal argument for dualism. It concludes with remarks on the relevance of the modal case on behalf of dualism for an intramural materialist quarrel between animalists and brain-identity theorists.
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33Events of Grace (review)Review of Metaphysics 52 (2): 449-451. 1998.Is Christian faith compatible with a thoroughgoing naturalist view of the cosmos? Hardwick thinks so, and in this book he articulates and defends a naturalist form of Christianity. Hardwick argues that Christianity is not committed to the truth of theism, nor to any view that there is a God who created and redeems the cosmos through an incarnation. Instead, Christian faith witnesses to “events of grace” in which believers develop an “openness to being”. “To live a life of faith is to live with a…Read more
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33Divine activities: Three views (review)Philosophical Quarterly 59 (237): 724-729. 2009.No Abstract
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135A Brief History of the Soul (edited book)Wiley-Blackwell. 2011.This book is a clear and concise history of the soul in western philosophy, from Plato to cutting-edge contemporary work in philosophy of mind. Packed with arguments for and against a range of different, historically significant philosophies of the soul Addresses the essential issues, including mind-body interaction, the causal closure of the physical world, and the philosophical implications of the brain sciences for the soul's existence Includes coverage of theories from key figures, such as P…Read more
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62The Vanity of GodFaith and Philosophy 6 (2): 140-154. 1989.Christian theism gives rise to what may be termed the problem of Divine vanity. The God of Christianity seems to be vain with respect to matters of creation, worship, and redemption. God’s creating beings in His own image is akin to an artist creating self-portraits. The Divine command (or invitation) that these image-bearers worship Him seems to be the height of egotism. In matters of redemption, God still insists upon being in the limelight, the talk of the town. This prima donna God does not …Read more
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3Cartesian DualismDissertation, Brown University. 1984."Cartesian Dualism" is a systematic examination of a version of mind-body dualism in light of recent work in the philosophy of mind and the theory of reference. I analyze Descartes' modal argument for dualism and argue that some of the principal objections against dualism are not decisive. The thesis is divided into five sections. ;The first section sets forth the main features of Descartes' ontology and his theory of mind. I defend Descartes' theory of individuation and discuss recent conceptio…Read more
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29Morality; Does “God” Make a Difference? (review)Review of Metaphysics 59 (3): 650-651. 2006.Chapter 1, “A Theory About Moral Theories,” sets forth Johnson’s central theme: “Normative ethical systems are best understood as attempts to seek out and justify ways of living a fulfilled human life in terms of the kind of fulfillment one believes to be possible given one’s beliefs about human nature and the ultimate nature of all things. Furthermore, any normative ethical system must also indicate just how one’s own quest for fulfillment is related to the experiences of other people and senti…Read more
Northfield, Minnesota, United States of America
Areas of Interest
Philosophy of Mind |
Philosophy of Religion |