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45The fundamental problem on which Ilya Prigogine and the Brussels-Austin Group have focused can be stated briefly as follows. Our observations indicate that there is an arrow of time in our experience of the world (e.g., decay of unstable radioactive atoms like Uranium, or the mixing of cream in coffee). Most of the fundamental equations of physics are time reversible, however, presenting an apparent conflict between our theoretical descriptions and experimental observations. Many have thought th…Read more
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43Fluid Convection, Constraint and CausationInterface Focus 2 4-12. 2012.Complexity–nonlinear dynamics for my purposes in this essay–is rich with metaphysical and epistemological implications but is only recently receiving sustained philosophical analysis. I will explore some of the subtleties of causation and constraint in Rayleigh-Bénard convection as an example of a complex phenomenon, and extract some lessons for further philosophical reflection on top-down constraint and causation particularly with respect to causal foundationalism.
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40What Could Be Worse than the Butterfly Effect?Canadian Journal of Philosophy 38 (4): 519-547. 2008.The discovery of sensitive dependence on initial conditions (SDIC) in nonlinear models runs counter to the textbook vision of CM, a vision guided by an almost exclusive focus on linear systems. Therefore, it is important to clearly distinguish between linear and nonlinear systems along with establishing some basic terminology (§I). The notions of SDIC and chaos also need clarification, since they play crucial roles in sensitive dependence (SD) arguments. This will require some discussion of Lyap…Read more
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37Varieties of Causation in Consciousness StudiesJournal of Consciousness Studies 19 (5-6): 5-6. 2012.In cognitive neuroscience and in philosophy of mind, causation is a notion that is immensely important but usually not defined precisely enough to afford careful application. A widespread basic flaw is the confusion of causation with correlation. All empirical knowledge in the sciences is based on observing correlations; assigning causal relations to them or interpreting them causally always requires a theoretical background that is implicitly or (better) explicitly stated. This entails that dif…Read more
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36Varieties of Causation in Consciousness StudiesJournal of Consciousness Studies 19 (5-6): 7-11. 2012.In cognitive neuroscience and in philosophy of mind, causation is a notion that is immensely important but usually not defined precisely enough to afford careful application. A widespread basic flaw is the confusion of causation with correlation. All empirical knowledge in the sciences is based on observing correlations; assigning causal relations to them or interpreting them causally always requires a theoretical background that is implicitly or (better) explicitly stated. This entails that dif…Read more
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35Is chaos indeterministic?In Maria Luisa Dalla Chiara (ed.), Language, Quantum, Music, . pp. 129--141. 1999.An examination of determinism in the context of chaotic dynamics.
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33Rethinking determinism in social scienceIn Harald Atmanspacher & Robert C. Bishop (eds.), Between Chance and Choice: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Determinism, Thorverton Uk: Imprint Academic. pp. 425--446. 2002.A re-examination of determinism and compatibilism and incompatibilism in free will debates.
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33This volume introduces the methodological value of hermeneutic dialogue in the field of theoretical and philosophical psychology. It reflects on the works of Frank Richardson, who has made, and continues to make, seminal contributions to the field, as well as having influenced the work of many of the practitioners engaged in this field today. Each chapter explores a major topic of hermeneutic dialogue and is authored by a scholar whose work has been directly impacted by Richardson's life and res…Read more
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33Emergence in context: a treatise in twenty-first century natural philosophyOxford University Press. 2022.Science, philosophy of science, and metaphysics have long been concerned with the question of how novel things emerge. How can order come out of disorder? This book introduces a new account, contextual emergence, seeking to answer such questions."--Back cover.
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28Practices, Power, and Cultural IdealsJournal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology 24 (2): 179-195. 2004.This article and the following ones by Slife and Westerman represent a coordinated effort on the authors' part to begin to mine the resources of what has been termed the "practice turn in contemporary theory" for psychology. The liberal approach tends to focus on a fear of power and how it can corrupt our best ideals, while the postmodernist tends to focus on a fascination with power flowing through the social and institutional expressions of these very ideals. Given modern Western culture's dee…Read more
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20Review of The evolution of ethics: Human sociality and the emergence of ethical mindedness (review)Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology 36 (3): 190-197. 2016.
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19Book Review: Recasting Reality with Wolfgang Pauli (review)Mind and Matter 7 (2): 249-251. 2009.
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17Niels Bohr’s Philosophy of Quantum Physics in the Light of the Helmholtzian Tradition of Theoretical Physics (review)Isis 95 334-335. 2004.A review of *Niels Bohr’s Philosophy of Quantum Physics in the Light of the Helmholtzian Tradition of Theoretical Physics *
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12Jaki, Stanley L. Science and Creation (review)Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies 2 (1-2): 195-196. 1990.
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9Review of After Physicalism, ed. Benedikt Göcke (review)Essays in Philosophy 14 (2): 269-290. 2013.
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8Science and TheologyJournal of Interdisciplinary Studies 5 (1-2): 141-162. 1993.The scientific and theological enterprises share many fundamental assumptions and have methodological similarities, though the two disciplines often have different focuses of investigation. Science seeks to unravel the detailed workings of nature by focusing on the quantitative aspects discemable in the universe. Theology strives to understand the essence, activity, and purposes of God in the universe. These two enterprises are partial views of the multi-faceted reality we call the world that oc…Read more
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Chaotic Dynamics, Indeterminacy and Free WillDissertation, The University of Texas at Austin. 1999.I give a philosophical assessment of developments in modern physics such as chaos, quantum mechanics and nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. My thesis combines knowledge and expertise from both physics and philosophy in an attempt to assess the consequences of these modern developments for determinism, indeterminism and free will. I have developed some now and important insights particularly with respect to the limited applicability of determinism to physics and with regard to systematic defec…Read more
Wheaton, Illinois, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Philosophy of Physical Science |
Philosophy of Social Science |
Philosophy of Mind |
Areas of Interest
Epistemology |
Metaphysics |
17th/18th Century Philosophy |