The Way Ripe Tomatoes Look: An Argument Against Externalist Representationalism

An Argument against Epiphenomenalism

_________________________________________________ I formulate an argument against epiphenomenalism; the argument shows that epiphenomenalism is extremely improbable. Moreover the argument suggests that qualia not only have causal powers, but have their causal powers necessarily. I address possible objections and then conclude by considering some implications the argument has for dualism.

A New Look at the Cosmological Argument

Almost fifty years later, Russell’s objections seem quite dated, dependent on a form of logical empiricism that has not weathered the intervening years well. The logic and metaphysics of possibility and necessity have proved to be a fruitful and rich area of investigation. Cosmology – the study of the universe as a whole – has matured and gained respectability. The notion of causation has taken...

Against the Vagueness Argument

In this paper I offer a counterexample to the so called vagueness argument against restricted composition. This will be done in the lines of a recent suggestion by Trenton Merricks, namely by challenging the claim that there cannot be a sharp cut-off point in a composition sequence. It will be suggested that causal powers which emerge when composition occurs can serve as an indicator of such sh...

In The Externalist Challenge

In The Externalist Challenge

EXISTENCE PROOF FOR A VIABLE EXTERNALISM Externalism, as I am understanding the term, is a thesis about the nature of thoughts, as distinguished from language. For example, Kripke's suggestion that the referent of a public language proper name is determined by its history is not, just as such, an externalist thesis. On the other hand, Putnam, in "The Meaning of 'Meaning'," did seem pretty clear...