-
452Immortality and BoredomThe Journal of Ethics 18 (4): 353-372. 2014.In this paper, we aim to clarify and evaluate the contention that immortality would be necessarily boring . It will emerge that, just as there are various importantly different kinds of immortality, there are various distinct kinds of boredom. To evaluate the Necessary Boredom Thesis, we need to specify the kind of immortality and the kind of boredom. We argue against the thesis, on various specifications of “immortality” and “boredom.”
-
45Exploring Evil and Philosophical FailureFaith and Philosophy 24 (4): 458-474. 2007.In his recent book on the problem of evil, Peter van Inwagen argues that both the global and local arguments from evil are failures. In this paper, we engagevan Inwagen’s book at two main points. First, we consider his understanding of what it takes for a philosophical argument to succeed. We argue that whilehis criterion for success is interesting and helpful, there is good reason to think it is too stringent. Second, we consider his responses to the global andlocal arguments from evil. We argu…Read more
-
195Exploring evil and philosophical failure: A critical notice of Peter Van inwagen’s the problem of evilFaith and Philosophy 24 (4): 458-474. 2007.In his recent book on the problem of evil, Peter van Inwagen argues that both the global and local arguments from evil are failures. In this paper, we engagevan Inwagen’s book at two main points. First, we consider his understanding of what it takes for a philosophical argument to succeed. We argue that while his criterion for success is interesting and helpful, there is good reason to think it is too stringent. Second, we consider his responses to the global and local arguments from evil. We ar…Read more
-
13Cultural Workers and Struggles for Social JusticeInquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines 23 (4): 55-60. 2004.
-
121Blame and Avoidability: A Reply to OtsukaThe Journal of Ethics 14 (1). 2010.In a fascinating recent article, Michael Otsuka seeks to bypass the debates about the Principle of Alternative Possibilities by presenting and defending a different, but related, principle, which he calls the “Principle of Avoidable Blame.” According to this principle, one is blameworthy for performing an act only if one could instead have behaved in an entirely blameless manner. Otsuka claims that although Frankfurt-cases do undermine the Principle of Alternative Possibilities, they do not unde…Read more
-
12The Non-Reality of Free Will, by Richard Double (review)Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 52 (4): 1004-1007. 1992.
-
23The papers in this volume are a selection of the papers presented at the American Philosophical Association Pacific Division Meeting of 1994. The papers were selected by the 1993-1994 Pacific Division Program Committee, whose members include: Jean Hampton (Chair) (review)Philosophical Studies 77 (193)
-
7Harm to Self: The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law (review)Philosophical Review 98 (1): 129-135. 1989.
-
25Naturalism and the Beauty of Near-Death Experiences: Replies to CommentatorsJournal of Consciousness Studies 27 (11-12): 244-263. 2020.
-
101Near-Death Experiences: To the Edge of the UniverseJournal of Consciousness Studies 27 (11-12): 166-191. 2020.Most discussions of near-death experiences (NDEs) in both the academic and popular literature contend that they establish ('prove') supernaturalism (about NDEs): they show that the mind is not the brain (and can continue after the brain stops functioning), and they bring us into contact with non-physical realms. I believe that the evidence provided by NDEs for supernaturalism is not persuasive, but I offer an alternative, naturalistic interpretation of these phenomena. On this interpretation, ND…Read more
-
536Libertarianism and the Problem of Flip-floppingIn Kevin Timpe & Daniel Speak (eds.), Free Will and Theism: Connections, Contingencies, and Concerns, Oxford University Press Uk. pp. 48-61. 2016.I am going to argue that it is a cost of libertarianism that it holds our status as agents hostage to theoretical physics, but that claim has met with disagreement. Some libertarians regard it as the cost of doing business, not a philosophical liability. By contrast, Peter van Inwagen has addressed the worry head on. He says that if he were to become convinced that causal determinism were true, he would not change his view that humans are free and morally responsible. Rather, he would give up at…Read more
-
1314. Responsibility for ConsequencesIn John Martin Fischer & Mark Ravizza (eds.), Perspectives on moral responsibility, Cornell University Press. pp. 322-348. 1993.
-
261Death, Immortality, and Meaning in LifeOxford University Press. 2019."There are seven chapters, addressing philosophical issues pertaining to death, the badness of death, time and death, ideas on immortality, near death experiences, and extending life through medical technology. The book is shorter, and less elaborate, than Kagan's Death. And it goes into more depth about a selection of central issues related to death and immortality than May's book. It gives an original take on various basic puzzles pertaining to death, and integrates a discussion of these philo…Read more
-
17Freedom from Necessity: The Metaphysical Basis of ResponsibilityPhilosophical Review 99 (4): 649. 1990.
-
12On Divine Foreknowledge (Part IV of the Concordia) (review)Philosophical Review 101 (2): 387-391. 1992.
-
14Metaphilosophy and Free WillPhilosophical and Phenomenological Research 59 (4): 1083-1086. 1996.
-
7Review of F. M. Kamm: Morality, Mortality: Volume 1: Death and Whom to Save It From (review)Ethics 105 (4): 933-938. 1995.
-
11IntroductionIn John Martin Fischer & Mark Ravizza (eds.), Perspectives on moral responsibility, Cornell University Press. pp. 1-42. 1993.
-
138. Freedom and ActualityIn Thomas V. Morris (ed.), Divine and Human Action: Essays in the Metaphysics of Theism, Cornell University Press. pp. 236-254. 1988.
-
1Free Will: Critical Concepts in Philosophy (edited book)Routledge. 2005.Over the last three decades there has been a tremendous amount of philosophical work in the Anglo-American tradition on the cluster of topics pertaining to Free Will. Contemporary work has in some instances been in the form of lively debates between proponents of different viewpoints, and literature surrounding the area is therefore characterized by a genuine vitality. This collection selects the very best of this material and presents it in a single, accessible set of volumes.
Areas of Specialization
Metaphysics and Epistemology |
Value Theory |
Areas of Interest
Metaphysics and Epistemology |
Value Theory |