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Truth, Intuition, and RationalityDissertation, University of Virginia. 1995.This dissertation is an examination of the role of intuition and truth in the development of theories of rationality. Reliance on intuitions in the formation of such theories has been criticized. In an effort to determine whether these criticisms are valid, I devote the first chapter to an examination of the concept of intuition. I discuss the historical background of the modern concept of intuition. I then discuss the account of intuition offered by L. Jonathan Cohen. After showing how Cohen's …Read more
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74Stoic theology: Proofs for the existence of the cosmic God and of the traditional Gods (review)Journal of the History of Philosophy 47 (3). 2009.Meijer's book, a comprehensive study of Stoic theological arguments, defends the thesis that the Stoics were not narrowly interested in proving the existence of a god. The theology of the Stoa began with its founder, Zeno of Citium, presenting arguments that the cosmos is an intelligent being, though Zeno himself seems not to have explicitly identified that intelligent being as god. A clear statement equating the cosmos with god had to wait until the rise of the third head of the school, Chrysip…Read more
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67Chrysippus Confronts the Liar: The Case for Stoic CassationismHistory and Philosophy of Logic 33 (3): 197-214. 2012.The Stoic philosopher Chrysippus wrote extensively on the liar paradox, but unfortunately the extant testimony on his response to the paradox is meager and mainly hostile. Modern scholars, beginning with Alexander Rüstow in the first decade of the twentieth century, have attempted to reconstruct Chrysippus? solution. Rüstow argued that Chrysippus advanced a cassationist solution, that is, one in which sentences such as ?I am speaking falsely? do not express propositions. Two more recent scholars…Read more
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60The Ontological Argument of Diogenes of BabylonPhronesis 52 (2): 188-209. 2007.An argument for the existence of gods given by the Stoic Diogenes of Babylon and reported by Sextus Empiricus appears to be an ancient version of the ontological argument. In this paper I present a new reconstruction of Diogenes' argument that differs in certain important respects from the reconstruction presented by Jacques Brunschwig. I argue that my reconstruction makes better sense of how Diogenes' argument emerged as a response to an attack on an earlier Stoic argument presented by Zeno of …Read more
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Gods and fossils: inference and scientific method in Xenophanes' philosophyIn Davide Tanasi Heather Reid (ed.), Philosopher Kings and Tragic Heroes, Parnassos Press. pp. 61-78. 2016.
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22Late Neoplatonic Discourses on Suicide and the Question of Christian Philosophy Professors at AlexandriaJournal of Hellenic Studies 135 95-109. 2015.
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36Chrysippus and the destruction of propositions: a defence of the standard interpretationHistory and Philosophy of Logic 22 (1): 1-12. 2001.One of the most intriguing claims of Stoic logic is Chrysippus's denial of the modal principle that the impossible does not follow from the possible. Chrysippus's argument against this principle involves the idea that some propositions are ?destroyed? or ?perish?. According to the standard interpretation of Chrysippus's argument, propositions cease to exist when they are destroyed. Ide has presented an alternative interpretation according to which destroyed propositions persist after destruction…Read more
Areas of Specialization
Logic and Philosophy of Logic |
Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy |
Philosophy of Law |