•  251
    Kaye and Prisco draw our attention to one of the more obvious difficulties with all versions of the argument from design.
  •  72
    True friendship and the logic of lying
    Journal of Value Inquiry 39 (3-4): 475-485. 2005.
  •  71
    Evolution and Existentialism
    Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism 22 (2): 159-171. 2014.
    Many philosophers embrace both evolution and existentialism as though these two views provide a mutually supportive foundation for atheism. The story goes that evolution tells us life is meaningless while existentialism tells us what to do about it. In this paper, I aim to debunk this story. I begin by explaining the existentialist quest for the meaning of life. Then I explain why it is inconsistent with the principles of evolution. In the end, I argue that the quest for the meaning of life shou…Read more
  •  60
    Ockham's Razor
    Think 2 (4): 91-95. 2003.
    Ockham's razor is one of the best-known and most useful tools in the philosopher's toolkit. Here Sharon Kaye explains how the razor works, and also how it may have come by its name
  •  51
    Russell, Strawson, and William of Ockham
    The Proceedings of the Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy 2 207-216. 1999.
    Realism and conventionalism generally establish the parameters of debate over universals. Do abstract terms in language refer to abstract things in the world? The realist answers yes, leaving us with an inflated ontology; the conventionalist answers no, leaving us with subjective categories. I want to defend nominalism in its original medieval sense, as one possibility that aims to preserve objectivity while positing nothing more than concrete individuals in the world. First, I will present para…Read more
  •  46
    Passions in William ockham's philosophical psychology
    Journal of the History of Philosophy 45 (2): 330-332. 2007.
    Sharon M. Kaye - Passions in William Ockham's Philosophical Psychology - Journal of the History of Philosophy 45:2 Journal of the History of Philosophy 45.2 330-332 Muse Search Journals This Journal Contents Reviewed by Sharon Kaye John Carroll University Vesa Hirvonen. Passions in William Ockham's Philosophical Psychology. Studies in the History and Philosophy of Mind, 2. Dordrecht: Kluwer, 2004. Pp. ix + 212. Cloth, €96.30. This volume is the second in a series aiming to produce monographs tha…Read more
  •  43
    Q & A
    The Philosophers' Magazine 45 (45): 116-117. 2009.
  •  41
    Buridan’s Ass
    Dialogue and Universalism 15 (3-4): 137-146. 2005.
    This paper discusses Buridan’s Ass as a thought experiment that has been misunderstood. First, the thought experiment is presented in its traditional form and typical objections to it are discussed. Then the author argues that William of Ockham supplies the background necessary for a more meaningful formulation. Buridan’s Ass is designed to show that each individual must choose how to value the value we discover in the world and that, in so doing, we create individual preferences.
  •  41
    Using the Internet Platform Second Life to Teach Social Justice
    Teaching Philosophy 34 (1): 17-32. 2011.
    Second Life, an on-line, interactive environment in which users create avatars through which they have virtual experiences, is a contemporary experiment in utopia. While most often it is used for social networking, it also is used for commercial and educational purposes, as well as for political activism. Here, we share the results from a course that uses Second Life as a tool for examining social justice. We examine the notion of utopia, present the results of a pre- and post-survey designed to…Read more
  •  39
    Book reviews (review)
    with Graham Oppy, Peter Forrest, and Shalom Goldman
    Sophia 43 (1): 125-126. 2004.
    Book Review. . ???aop.label???. doi: 10.1080/00048402.2014.929720
  •  36
    Where is the antichrist?
    Sophia 44 (2): 59-65. 2005.
  •  27
    Take a Stand! (grades 9-12) helps teens develop critical thinking skills by examining debates on issues directly relevant to their lives (that you won't find in most classroom materials). Each chapter: Covers an important topic relating to electronics, sex, mental health, and relationships. Presents a question for debate, such as "Should kids choose their own religion?" and "Is it possible to love more than one person?" Shows how each issue might arise in an ordinary teen conversation. Presents …Read more
  •  26
    William of Ockham and the Unlikely Connection between Transubstantiation and Free Will
    Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association 81 123-132. 2007.
    William of Ockham was tried for heresy due to his assertion that certain qualities can exist independently of substances. Scholars have assumed he made thisstrange assertion in order to account for the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation. I argue, however, that the assertion was philosophically rather than theologically motivated. Ockham develops a nominalist substance ontology, according to which most changes can be explained as the result of local motion. Knowledge and virtue are changes i…Read more
  •  24
    Philosophy is both fun and good for kids’ brains, as it encourages them to think deeply and develop their own solutions to complex problems. With this colorful book about philosophy for kids, they’ll learn all about introductory concepts and important thinkers in a way that’s fun and approachable, but still in-depth and substantial. In this book, your child will explore questions like: “What is real?”, “How do I know something is true?”, “How can I be a good person?”, and “If this is true, what …Read more
  •  24
    William of Ockham on Metaphysics (review)
    British Journal for the History of Philosophy 21 (4): 798-800. 2013.
    No abstract
  •  19
    Was there no evolutionary thought in the middle ages? The case of William of ockham
    British Journal for the History of Philosophy 14 (2). 2006.
    (2006). Was there no evolutionary thought in the middle ages? The case of William of Ockham. British Journal for the History of Philosophy: Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 225-244
  •  18
    Who are you? What is truly real? Is there such a thing as free will? If you have ever considered questions like these, that’s philosophy. The Philosophy Book for Beginners breaks down the core concepts of both Eastern and Western philosophy in clear language that explains the most important people and ideas. You’ll develop an understanding of the basic ideas and see your understanding of the world expand―no dense, academic texts required. The major branches―Explore the central questions of metap…Read more
  •  17
    The Virtue of Playing Along
    Philosophy in the Contemporary World 14 (1): 1-10. 2007.
    Because playing along involves pretence, it is liable to be seen as an objectionable form of deception. In this paper, however, I argue that it is a virtue based on its role in creating and sustaining valuable relationships. According to William of Ockham and Michelle de Montaigne, to love another as a true friend is to will as he or she wills. Given that even the most like-minded individuals often will different things, there is need for a meta-level, at which one can validate the will of the o…Read more
  •  16
    William of ockham (c. 1280 - C. 1349)
    Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2007.
  •  15
    ISBN: 0802839037. Henriksen, Jan-Olav. The Reconstruction of Religion: Lessing, Kierkegaard,. and Nietzsche. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001. Pp. 208. Paper $22.00, ISBN: 080284927X (review)
    with Robert A. Herrera, Robert M. Martin, C. A. Belmont, Martin Beck Matustik, and Bernard McGinn
    American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 75 (4). 2001.
  •  12
    John Dewey was the greatest American philosopher of the twentieth century, and this novel traces a fictionalized version of his intellectual development. Although the plot is invented, the concepts and ideas that the story explores are the ones that Dewey was primarily concerned with, and the novel brings together the thinkers who most influenced him. John Dewey was raised by a strict, puritanical mother who believed that he was his deceased brother reincarnated. The first John Dewey inexplicabl…Read more
  •  11
    Q & A
    The Philosophers' Magazine 45 116-117. 2009.
  •  10
    Critical thinking shows people how to analyze arguments, speeches, and newspaper articles to see which faults the authors are making in their reasoning. It looks at the structure of language to demonstrate rules by which you can identify good analytical thinking and helps people to formulate clear defensible arguments themselves. As people are always trying to put a certain point/opinion across in a variety of arenas in our lives, this is a very useful skill. With real life newspaper extracts, a…Read more