I’m the author of the article on “Defeasible Reasoning” in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. In revising my entry this month, I came across a fascinating idea proposed in 1991 by Sten Lindström (in an article first published in Theoria in 2022). As I argue in my article, the best approach to formalizing a defeasibleContinue reading “Social Choice and Defeasible Reasoning”
Tag Archives: science
Causal Powers and Natural Teleology
This is second in a series of posts on teleology and the natural law. In my previous post, I sketched the difference between the new natural law and classical Aristotelian-Thomist natural law. Once one has causal power in one’s ontology, one also has teleology. Each causal power is essentially forward-looking: it refers to a possibleContinue reading “Causal Powers and Natural Teleology”
Defending Universal Causation
The argument for an uncausable First Cause sketched in earlier posts relies on a principle of Universal Causation. The principle of Universal Causation is a fundamental principle of reason. As such, its truth cannot be demonstrated from more fundamental principles. However, I can argue for the principle dialectically, pointing out the unacceptably high price ofContinue reading “Defending Universal Causation”
Infinite Regresses: The Unsatisfiable Pair Diagnosis
This is a follow-up to a previous post, in which I presented an argument against the conceivability of infinite regresses. Some critics (Schmid and Malpass, forthcoming) have argued that the Patchwork Principle too strong. Perhaps we should add an exception: Revised Patchwork Principle. If (i) a certain causal structure S is conceivable, (ii) a finiteContinue reading “Infinite Regresses: The Unsatisfiable Pair Diagnosis”
Some New Arguments for a First Cause
I’m going to start a new series of posts in which I present some of my most recent thoughts on the classic First Cause arguments. In this post, I will lay out some explications and definitions for some key terms that will appear in my arguments. Some of the terms are so fundamental that theyContinue reading “Some New Arguments for a First Cause”
From Quantum Entanglement to a Cosmic Substance?
Non-Locality: Action vs. Influence at a Distance It is true that, as Bell’s theorem demonstrated, quantum theory is deeply committed to superluminal influence or coordination. But we have to distinguish between violations of Parameter Independence and violations of Outcome Independence (to use Abner Shimony’s distinction, Shimony 1984). Mere violations of Outcome Independence require only aContinue reading “From Quantum Entanglement to a Cosmic Substance?”
The Analytic Thomist 