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Entries “Existence,” “Essence,” “Deduction” and “Common Notions” in The Cambridge Descartes Lexicon (edited book)Cambridge University Press. 2016.
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8The Role of the Imagination in Rationalist Philosophies of MathematicsIn Alan Nelson (ed.), A Companion to Rationalism, Blackwell. 2005.This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Plato's Divided Line and Mathematical Cognition The Cartesians and the Problem of Pure Thought Descartes on the Role of the Imagination in Forming a Distinct Idea of Corporeal Nature Malebranche on the Role of the Imagination in Mathematical Cognition Conclusion.
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15Proofs for the Existence of GodIn Stephen Gaukroger (ed.), The Blackwell Guide to Descartes' Meditations, Blackwell. 2006.This chapter contains section titled: The Simplicity of Descarteś Proofs and the Relation between Them The Causal Argument The Ontological Argument.
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196Descartes's metaphysicsIn Steven Nadler, Tad M. Schmaltz & Delphine Antoine-Mahut (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Descartes and Cartesianism, Oxford University Press. 2019.
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200Descartes on Universal Essences and Divine KnowledgeIn Stefano Di Bella & Tad M. Schmaltz (eds.), The Problem of Universals in Early Modern Philosophy, Oxford University Press. pp. 87-116. 2017.
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Descartes' Theory of EssencesDissertation, University of California, Irvine. 1997.In the Principles of Philosophy, Descartes makes a remarkable claim that has never received the proper recognition it deserves. He asserts that there is merely a "rational distinction" between a substance and each of its attributes. I argue that, properly understood, this claim means that a substance and each of its attributes are numerically identical in reality, and distinguished only within our thought by means of reason. I then use this central insight to resolve a number of apparent inconsi…Read more
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284Descartes on "What we call color"In Primary and secondary qualities: the historical and ongoing debate, Oxford University Press. pp. 81. 2011.
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105Insight and Inference: Descartes’s Founding Principle and Modern PhilosophyPhilosophical Review 111 (1): 105-108. 2002.This long and ambitious work offers a systematic interpretation of Cartesian metaphysics and epistemology from the perspective of Descartes’s so-called founding principle, cogito ergo sum. The book is organized around the three parts of this famous dictum, though its scope is much more encompassing. Part 1 offers a careful analysis of the “formal structure” of Cartesian thought, in an effort to identify what is distinctive about the cogito and to uncover how Descartes’s theory of mind makes this…Read more
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1Cartesian Trialism on Trial: the Conceptualist Account of Descartes’ Human BeingIn Patricia Easton & Kurt Smith (eds.), The Battle of the Gods and Giants Redux, Brill. pp. 137-74. 2015.
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8563The Third Meditation: Causal Arguments for God's ExistenceIn David Cunning (ed.), Cambridge Companion to Descartes' Meditations, Cambridge University Press. pp. 127-48. 2014.
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2To a reader voyaging through the Meditations for the first time, Descartes' proofs for the existence of God can seem daunting, especially the argument of Meditation III, with its appeal to causal principles that seem arcane, and to medieval doctrines about different modes of being and degrees of reality. First-time readers are not alone in feeling bewildered. Many commentators have had the same reaction. In an attempt at charity, some of them have tried to tame the complexity of Descartes' discussion by .. (review)In Stephen Gaukroger (ed.), The Blackwell Guide to Descartes' Meditations, Wiley-blackwell. pp. 2--104. 2006.
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1009Malebranche on Sensory Cognition and "Seeing As"Journal of the History of Philosophy 50 (1): 21-52. 2012.Nicolas Malebranche holds that we see all things in the physical world by means of ideas in God (the doctrine of "vision in God"). In some writings he seems to posit ideas of particular bodies in God, but when pressed by critics he insists that there is only one general idea of extension, which he calls “intelligible extension.” But how can this general and “pure” idea represent particular sensible objects? I develop systematic solutions to this and two other putative difficulties with Malebranc…Read more
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882The Ontological Status of Cartesian NaturesPacific Philosophical Quarterly 78 (2). 1997.In the Fifth Meditation, Descartes makes a remarkable claim about the ontological status of geometrical figures. He asserts that an object such as a triangle has a 'true and immutable nature' that does not depend on the mind, yet has being even if there are no triangles existing in the world. This statement has led many commentators to assume that Descartes is a Platonist regarding essences and in the philosophy of mathematics. One problem with this seemingly natural reading is that it contradic…Read more
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55The Cambridge Descartes Lexicon (edited book)Cambridge University Press. 2016.The Cambridge Descartes Lexicon is the definitive reference source on René Descartes, 'the father of modern philosophy' and arguably among the most important philosophers of all time. Examining the full range of Descartes' achievements and legacy, it includes 256 in-depth entries that explain key concepts relating to his thought. Cumulatively they uncover interpretative disputes, trace his influences, and explain how his work was received by critics and developed by followers. There are entries …Read more
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23Review of W. J. Mander, The Philosophy of John Norris (review)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2009 (3). 2009.
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232The Dustbin Theory of Mind: A Cartesian Legacy?Oxford Studies in Early Modern Philosophy 3 33-55. 2006.
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180Primary and secondary qualities: the historical and ongoing debate (edited book)Oxford University Press. 2011.Fourteen newly commissioned essays trace the historical development of the distinction between primary and secondary qualities, which lies at the intersection of issues in metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of perception. 'Primary and Secondary Qualities' focuses on the age of the Scientific Revolution, the 'locus classicus' of the distinction, but begins with chapters on ancient Greek and Scholastic accounts of qualities in an effort to identify its origins. The remainder of the volume i…Read more
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357Self-knowledge in Descartes and MalebrancheJournal of the History of Philosophy 43 (1): 55-81. 2005.In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Journal of the History of Philosophy 43.1 (2005) 55-81 [Access article in PDF] Self-Knowledge in Descartes and Malebranche Lawrence Nolan John Whipple 1. Introduction Descartes's notorious claim that mind is better known than body has been the target of repeated criticisms, but none appears more challenging than that of his intellectual heir Nicolas Malebranche.1 Whereas other critics—especially twentieth-century philosophers eager t…Read more
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435The Ontological Argument as an Exercise in Cartesian TherapyCanadian Journal of Philosophy 35 (4). 2005.I argue that Descartes intended the so-called ontological "argument" as a self-validating intuition, rather than as a formal proof. The textual evidence for this view is highly compelling, but the strongest support comes from understanding Descartes's diagnosis for why God's existence is not 'immediately' self-evident to everyone and the method of analysis that he develops for making it self-evident. The larger aim of the paper is to use the ontological argument as a case study of Descartes's no…Read more
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178Proofs for the Existence of GodIn Stephen Gaukroger (ed.), The Blackwell to Descartes’ Meditations, Blackwell. pp. 104--121. 2006.We argue that Descartes’s theistic proofs in the ’Meditations’ are much simpler and straightforward than they are traditionally taken to be. In particular, we show how the causal argument of the "Third Meditation" depends on the intuitively innocent principle that nothing comes from nothing, and not on the more controversial principle that the objective reality of an idea must have a cause with at least as much formal reality. We also demonstrate that the so-called ontological "argument" of the …Read more
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Areas of Specialization
Metaphysics and Epistemology |
Philosophy of Religion |
17th/18th Century Philosophy |