After rejecting substance dualism, some naturalists embrace patternism. It states that persons are bodies and that bodies are material machines running abstract person programs. Following Aristotle, these person programs are souls. Patternists adopt four-dimensionalist theories of persistence: Bodies are 3D stages of 4D lives. Patternism permits at least six types of life after death. It permits quantum immortality, teleportation, salvation through advanced technology, promotion out of a simulated reality, computational monadology, and the revision theory of resurrection.

A god is a cosmic designer-creator. Atheism says the number of gods is 0. But it is hard to defeat the minimal thesis that some possible universe is actualized by some possible god. Monotheists say the number of gods is 1. Yet no degree of perfection can be coherently assigned to any unique god. Lewis says the number of gods is at least the second beth number. Yet polytheists cannot defend an arbitrary plural number of gods. An alternative is that, (...) for every ordinal, there is a god whose perfection is proportional to it. The n -th god actualizes the best universe(s) in the n -th level of an axiological hierarchy of possible universes. Despite its unorthodoxy, ordinal polytheism has many metaphysically attractive features and merits more serious study. (shrink)

If the computational theory of mind is right, then minds are realized by machines. There is an ordered complexity hierarchy of machines. Some finite machines realize finitely complex minds; some Turing machines realize potentially infinitely complex minds. There are many logically possible machines whose powers exceed the Church–Turing limit (e.g. accelerating Turing machines). Some of these supermachines realize superminds. Superminds perform cognitive supertasks. Their thoughts are formed in infinitary languages. They perceive and manipulate the infinite detail of fractal objects. They (...) have infinitely complex bodies. Transfinite games anchor their social relations. (shrink)

I provide an argument from consciousness for God’s existence. I first consider a version of the argument which is ultimately difficult to evaluate. I then consider a stronger argument, on which consciousness, given our worldly laws of nature, is rather substantial evidence for God’s existence. It is this latter argument the paper largely focuses on, both in setting it out and defending it from various objections.

This paper explores the practice of explanation by status, in which a truth with a certain status is supposed to be explained by its having that status. It first investigates whether such explanations are possible. Having found existing accounts of the practice wanting, it then argues for a novel account of explanation by status as empty-base explanation. The latter notion captures a certain limiting case of ordinary explanation so that according to the empty-base account, explanation by status can be fruitfully (...) understood as a corresponding limiting case of ordinary explanation. One way in which the empty-base account is argued to be superior to other treatments of explanation by status is that it allows for a principled assessment of the possibility of particular kinds of explanation by status. Thus, one result of the present discussion is that explanation by essential status and status as a law are possible, while explanation by merely necessary status is not. (shrink)

It is sometimes supposed that, in principle, we cannot offer an explanation for why there is something rather than nothing. I argue that this supposition is a mistake, and stems from a needlessly myopic conception of the form explanations can legitimately take. After making this more general point, I proceed to offer a speculative suggestion regarding one sort of explanation which can in principle serve as an answer to the question “why is there something rather than nothing?” The suggestion is (...) that there may be something rather than nothing in virtue of the truth of certain sorts of subjunctive conditionals. (shrink)

In this paper, I examine Mark Johnston’s panentheistic account of the metaphysics of the divine developed in his recent book, Saving God: Religion After Idolatry. On Johnston’s account, God is the ‘Highest One’ and is identified with ‘the outpouring of Being by way of its exemplification in ordinary existents for the sake of the self-disclosure of Being’. Johnston eschews supernaturalism and takes his position to be consistent with what he calls ‘legitimate naturalism’ which he takes to be some version of (...) ontological naturalism. But, as I will argue in what follows, Johnston’s legitimate naturalism is not clearly ontological naturalism. In what follows, given the other general features of his account, I argue that if we assume ontological naturalism, we should prefer a pantheistic conception of God over a panentheistic conception of God such as the one Johnston proffers. I take it that we can preserve everything Johnston wants in his account of divinity if we accept pantheism; but, if we wish to purge our conception of God of any supernaturalism, we should accept pantheism. (shrink)

The simulation hypothesis claims that the whole observable universe, including us, is a computer simulation implemented by technologically advanced beings for an unknown purpose. The simulation argument (as I reconstruct it) is an argument for this hypothesis with moderately plausible premises. I develop two lines of objection to the simulation argument. The first takes the form of a structurally similar argument for a conflicting conclusion, the claim that I am a so-called freak observer, formed spontaneously in a quantum or thermodynamic (...) fluctuation rather than through ordinary processes of evolution and growth. The second rejects the basic line of reasoning of both arguments: the sort of evidence they cite is not capable of supporting either the claim that I am a simulant or the claim that I am a freak observer. The evidence that simulants or freak observers exist is not a reason to think that I am one of them. (shrink)

I spell out a problem with the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo: that, contra the doctrine, it is not possible to efficiently cause something from nothing. This is because an efficient cause requires a material cause in order to have an effect. The material cause supplies the potency that the efficient cause actualises. Because nothingness has no potencies, there is nothing for an efficient cause to actualise. I show that this objection presupposes that the theory of noneism (the proposition that (...) some things do not exist) is false. I postulate that the universe (i.e. the created order) is a non-existent item and so there is no problem with the claim that it was efficiently caused to come from nothing – the universe has no being anyway. After rehearsing the rather strong reasons in favour of the truth of noneism, I deal with two objections that are peculiar to my claim that the universe lacks reality: that creation possesses characteristics that are sufficient to render it existent and that a non-existent object has its properties independent of divine fiat. I show that there are sensible replies to both objections. With regard to the first I show that the possession of such characteristics at most shows that the universe has an ontological status that is equivalent to some reference point. With regard to the second I argue that the Characterisation Principle (i.e. in some world – not necessarily the actual world – an object has the properties that it is characterised as having) entails that non-existent objects possess their properties in virtue of some existent entity and that the only plausible candidate for such an entity is a divine mind of some sort. (shrink)

As Plato suggested, the cosmos may exist because this is ethically necessary. It then might well consist of infinitely many minds, each itself infinite through eternally knowing all that was worth knowing. Our universe would exist inside one of them, as a pattern in its thought. But intrinsic value could be a fiction, making Plato’s suggestion a non-starter. Again, indeterministic free will might have immense value. Those infinite minds could then differ from one another in constantly changing ways through the (...) free decisions of beings who lived, moved and had their being inside them. (shrink)

Unnecessary Evil: History and Moral Progress in the Philosophy of Immanuel Kant, Sharon Ander son-Gold. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 2001, xiii +138 pp., $49.50, pb. $17.95. Knowledge and Reference in Empirical Science, Jody Azzouni. International Library of Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2001, xi + 259 pp., $50.00. Philosophy of Science: Contemporary Readings, Yuri Balashov and Alex Rosenberg. Routledge Contemporary Readings in Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, xiii + 522 pp. Of Myth, Life, and War in (...) Plato's Republic, Claudia Baracchi. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2002, ix + 249 pp., $49.95, pb. $24.95. Ethics in Context: The Art of Dealing with Serious Questions, Gernot Böhme. Trans. Edmund Jephcott. Cambridge: Polity, 2001, ix + 189 pp., £45.00, pb. £13.99. The Philosophical Theory of the State and Related Essays, Bernard Bosenquet. Ed. with intro. Gerald F. Gaus and William Sweet Key Texts. Classic Studies in the History of Ideas. South Bend, IN: St Augustine's Press, 2001, xxxvii +388 pp., pb. no price given. Belief and its Neutralization: Husserl's System of Phenomenology in Ideas I, Marcus Brainard. SUNY Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy. Albany, NY: State University of New York, 2002, xvii + 331 pp., $86.50, pb. $29.95. The Nature of Research: Inquiry in Academic Contexts, Angela Brew. London/new York: Routledge, 2001, v + 205 pp., pb. £18.99. Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide, Tracy Bowell and Gary Kemp. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, x + 275 pp., No price given. Fodor: Language, Mind and Philosophy, M. J. Cain. Key Contemporary Thinkers. Oxford: Polity, 2002, ix + 240 pp., £50.00, pb. £14.00. The Religious, John D. Caputo. Blackwell Readings in Continental Philosophy. Oxford/maiden, MA: Blackwell, 2002, xiii + 322 pp., £55.00, pb. £16.99. 101 Philosophy Problems, Martin Cohen. 2nd ed. London/new York: Routledge, xviii + 229 pp., pb. £8.99. Hilary Putnam: Pragmatism and Realism, James Conant and Urszula M. Zeglen. Routledge Studies in Twentieth Century Philosophy. London/new York: 2002, xii + 242 pp., £50.00. Essay on the Origin of Human Knowledge, Etienne Bonnot de Condillac. Ed. and trans. Hans Aarsleff. Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001, xlv + 225 pp., $59.95, pb. $21.95. Theories of Democracy: A Critical Introduction, Frank Cunningham. Routledge Contemporary Political Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, vi + 248 pp., pb. £13.99. Self-Identity and Personal Autonomy: An Analytical Anthropology, Stefaan E. Cuypers. Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Philosophy. Aldershot/burlington USA/singapore/ Sydney: Ashgate, 2001, ix + 172 pp., £37.50. Stream of Consciousness: Unity and Continuity in Conscious Experience, Barry Dainton. International Library of Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2000, xvi + 254 pp. Kierkegaard After MacIntyre: Essays on Freedom, Narrative, and Virtue, John J. Davenport and Anthony Rudd. Replies by Alasdair Maclntyre and Philip L. Quinn. Chicago/la Salle, IL: Open Court, 2001, xxxix + 363 pp., £47.95, pb. £22.50. What Distinguishes Human Understanding? John Deely. South Bend, IN: St Augustine's Press, 2002, xiv + 178 pp., £17.50. Acts of Religion, Jacques Derrida. Ed. with intro. by Gil Anidjar. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, vi + 436 pp., pb. £15.99. Religion and Media, Hent de Vries and Samuel Weber. Cultural Memory in the Present. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001, xvii + 649 pp., $69.00, pb. $29.95. Art and Value, George Dickie. Oxford: Blackwell, 2001, vi + 114 pp., £45.00, pb. £11.99. Modern Philosophy from Descartes to Nietische: An Anthology, Steven M. Emmanuel and Patrick Goold. Blackwell Philosophy Anthologies. Maiden, MA/oxford: Routledge, 2002, xvii + 525 pp. The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell, Robert Enger and Lester Denonn, with new intro. by John Slater. London/new York: Routledge, 1992, reissue: 2001, 736 pp., pb. $26.95. Democracy, David Estlund. Blackwell Readings in Philosophy. Maiden, MA/oxford: Blackwell, 2001, xii + 310 pp., £55.00, pb. £15.99. Philosophy Goes to the Movies: An Introduction to Philosophy, Christopher Falzon. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, ix + 230 pp., pb. £11.99. Arresting Language: From Leibniz to Benjamin, Peter Fenves. Meridian: Crossing Aesthetics. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001, xiii + 379 pp., $55.00, pb. $24.95. Richard Rorty: Critical Dialogues, Matthew Festenstein and Simon Thompson. Cambridge: Polity, 2001, ix + 241 pp., £50.00, pb. £14.99. Berkeley and the Principles of Human Knowledge, Robert J. Fogelin. Routledge Philosophy Guidebooks. London/new York: Routledge, 2001, x + 166 pp., pb. £8.99. Intellectual Trust in Oneself and Others, Richard Foley. Cambridge Studies in Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001, x + 182 pp., $55.00. Thomas Kuhn: A Philosophical History for Our Times, Steve Fuller. Chicago/london: University of Chicago Press, 2000, pb. 2001, xvii + 472 pp., pb. $22.50, 314.50. A Common Humanity: Thinking about Love and Truth and Justice, Raimond Gaita. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, xiii + 293 pp., pb. Stochastic Causality, Maria Carla Galavotti, Patrick Suppe s and Domenieo Costantini. CSLI Publications. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, xii + 275 pp., $65.00, pb. $25.00; £41.00, pb. £16.00. Introduction to Logic, Harry J. Gensler. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, ix + 399 pp., pb. £15.99. Walter Benjamin: Critical Constellations, Graeme Gilloch. Key Contemporary Thinkers. Oxford: Polity, 2002, xi + 304 pp., £50.00, pb. £14.99. Between Ethics and Aesthetics: Crossing the Boundaries, Dorota Glowacka and Stephen Boos. Albany, NY: State University of New York, 2002, v + 310 pp., $81.50, pb. $27.95. Practical Rules: When We Need Them and When We Don't, Alan H. Goldman. Cambridge Studies in Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002, xi + 210 pp., $54.95. Manners and Violence, Ignacio L. Götz. Westport, CN/london: Praeger, 2000, xiii +131 pp., £44.50. Dummett: Philosophy of Language, Karen Green. Key Contemporary Thinkers. Cambridge: Polity, 2001, xi + 236 pp., £55.00, pb. £14.99. Wittgenstein: Connections and Controversies, P. M. S. Hacker. Oxford: Clarendon Press,2001. xxiv + 375 pp., £35.00. India: A Financial Sector for the Twenty-first Century, James A. Hanson and Sanjay Kathuria. Oxford India Paperbacks. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, xv + 446 pp., pb. £13.99. Socialism, Michael W. Howard. Key Concepts in Critical Theory. New York: Humanity Books, 2001, 408 pp., pb. $29.00. Ontology and the Art of Tragedy: An Approach to Aristotle's Poetics, Martha Husain. SUNY Series in Ancient Greek Philosophy. Albany, NY: State University of New York,2002. ix + 152 pp., pb. $16.95. Why Good is Good: The Sources of Morality, Robert A. Hinde. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, xiv + 241 pp., pb. £15.99. Logical Investigations, Edmund Husserl. Two vols. trans. J. N. Findlay, revised Dermot Moran with new preface by Dermot Moran and new introduction by Michael Dummett. International Library of Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2001, vol. 1, Ixxxvii + 331 pp., pb. $29.95; vol. 2, xiv + 364 pp., pb. $29.95. The Shorter Logical Investigations, Edmund Husserl. Abridged ed. and trans. J. N. Findlay, abridged and revised by Dermot Moran with new preface by Dermot Moran and new introduction by Michael Dummett. London/new York: Routledge, 2001, Ixxxv + 422 pp., pb. $27.95. The Political, David Ingram. Blackwell Readings in Philosophy. Maiden, MA/ Oxford: Blackwell, 2001, xii + 310 pp., £60.00, pb. £15.99. Hegel, M. J. In wood. Arguments of the Philosophers. London/new York: Routledge, xxxiv + 582 pp., pb. Reconsidering Michael Polanyi's Philosophy, Stefania Ruzsits Jha. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2002, viii + 318 pp., $32.00. Speaking the Unspeakable: Religion, Misogyny, and the Uncanny Mother in Freud's Cultural Texts, Diane Jone-Pace. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001, x + 190 pp., $45.00, pb. $17.95, £29.95, pb. £12.95. Free Will, Robert Kane. Blackwell Readings in Philosophy. Maiden, MA/oxford: Blackwell, 2001, xii + 310 pp., £55.00, pb. £15.99. Wittgenstein: Biography and Philosophy, James C. Klagge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001, xv + 272 pp., $54.95, pb. $19.95. Frege and the Logic of Sense and Reference, Kevin C. Klement. Studies in Philosophy: Outstanding Dissertations. New York/london: Routledge, 2002, xiii + 260 pp., $70.00. The Presence of Myth, Leszek Kolakowski. Chicago, IL/london: University of Chicago Press, pb. ed. 2001, xii + 138 pp., $13.00, £8.50. Justifying Emotions: Pride and Jealousy, Kristján Kristjansson. Routledge Studies in Ethics and Moral Theory. London/new York: Routledge, 2001, xii + 257 pp., £50.00. Understanding Philosophy of Science, James Ladyman. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, xiii + 290 pp., pb. £12.99. Infinite Minds: A Philosophical Cosmology, John Leslie. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2001, xi + 234 pp., £25.00. Appositions of Jacques Derrida and Emmanuel Levinas, John Llewelyn. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2002, xx + 255 pp., $49.95, pb. $24.95. Logic, Form, and Grammar. Peter Long. International Library of Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2000, x + 109 pp. Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction, Michael J. Loux. Routledge Contemporary Introductions to Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, xiii + 303 pp., pb. £13.99. Metaphysics: Contemporary Readings, Michael J. Loux. Routledge Contemporary Readings in Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, xii + 555 pp., pb. £16.99. The Metaphysicians of Meaning: Russell and Frege on Sense and Denotation, Gideon Makin. International Library of Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2000, ix + 229 pp. Towards a Critical Theory of Society, Herbert Marcuse. Collected Papers of Herbert Marcuse 2. London/new York: Routledge, 2001, xiii + 242 pp., £19.99. Kierkegaard in the Present Age, Gordon Marino. Pref. by Philip Rieff. Marquette Studies in Philosophy 27. Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 2001, 124 pp. An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind, K. T. Maslin. Cambridge: Polity, 2001, xviii + 332 pp., no price given. The Philosophy of Merleau-Ponty, Eric Matthews. Continental European Philosophy. Chesham, UK: Acumen, 2002, vi + 186 pp., £40.00, pb. £14.95. Mind and Mechanism, Drew McDermott. Bradford Books. Cambridge, MA/london: MIT Press, 2001, xv + 262 pp., $32.95. Approaches to Wittgenstein: Collected Papers, Brian McGuinness. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, xv + 299 pp., £50.00. Collective Rationality and Collective Reasoning, Christopher McMahon. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001, ix + 251 pp., $54.95, pb. $19.95. Authority and Estrangement: An Essay on Self-Knowledge, Richard Moran. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001, xxxv + 202 pp., £35.00, pb. £11.95. The Sublime in Kant and Beckett Aesthetic Judgement, Ethics and Literature, Bjørn K. Myskja. Kantstudien 140. Berlin/new York: Walter de Gruyter, 2002, xii + 313 pp., no price given. Spinoza's Heresy: Immortality and the Jewish Mind, Steven Nadler. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2001, xvi + 225 pp., £22.50. Arguing About Art: Contemporary Philosophical Debates, Alex Neill and Aaron Ridley. 2nd ed. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, xiii + 479 pp. Building on Frege: New Essays on Sense, Content, and Concept, Albert Newen, Ulrich Nortmann and Rainer Stuhlmann-Laeisz. CSLI Publications. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, xxiv + 351 pp., $65.00, pb. $23.00, £41.00, pb. £14.50. Naturalism and Religion, Kai Nielsen. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2001, 506 pp., $40.00. Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future, Friedrich Nietzsche. Ed. Rolf-Peter Horstmann and Judith Norman; trans. Judith Norman. Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001, xxxiv + 193 pp., $38.00, pb. $14.00. Truth Matters: Realism, Anti-Realism and Response-Dependence, Christopher Norris. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2002, viii + 228 pp., £40.00. Naturalism and the Human Condition: Against Scientism, Frederick A. Olafson. London/ New York: Routledge, 2001, xi + 115 pp., pb. £13.99. Wittgenstein's Tractatus: A Dialectical Interpretation. Matthew B. Ostrow. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002, x + 175 pp., $55.00, pb. $20.00. Land, Value, Community: Callicott and Environmental Philosophy, Wayne Ouderkirk and Jim Hill. Albany, NY: State University of New York, 2002, ix + 358 pp., $73.50, pb. $24.95. Philosophy and the Adventure of the Virtual: Bergson and the Time of Life, Keith Ansell Pearson. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, ix + 246 pp., $80.00, pb. $38.95. Environmental Culture: The Ecological Crisis of Reason, VaI Plum wood. Environmental Philosophies. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, vii + 291 pp., pb. £13.99. Ethical Life: The Past and Present of Ethical Cultures, Harry Redner. Lanham/boulder/ New York/oxford: Rowman and Littlefield, 2001, ix + 348 pp., $80.00, pb. $32.95. Paradoxes: Their Roots, Range, and Resolution, Nicholas Rescher. Chicago/la Salle, IL: Open Court, 2001, xxiii + 293 pp., £44.50, pb. £20.95. Medicine, Magic and Religion, W. H. R. Rivers. The Fitzpatrick Lectures. Routledge Classics. Preface by G. Elliot Smith. London/new York: Routledge, 2001, viii + 136 pp.. No price given. Is it Righteous to Be? Interviews with Emannuel Levinas, Jill Robbins. Meridian: Crossing Aesthetics. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001, ix + 305 pp., $55.00, pb. $24.95. Philosophy of Science: A Contemporary Introduction, Alex Rosenberg. Routledge Contemporary Introductions to Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2000, x + 191 pp. ABC of Relativity, Bertrand Russell. 6th ed. with intro. by Peter Clark. London/ny: Routledge, 1992, reissue: 2001, xvi + 155 pp., pb. $15.95. What is Truth? Richard Schantz. Current Issues in Theoretical Philosophy 1. Berlin/ New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2002, vi + 338 pp., no price given. The BlackweU Guide to Social and Political Philosophy, Robert L. Simon. Blackwell Philosophy Guides. Maiden, MA/oxford: Blackwell, 2002, xi + 329 pp., £60.00, pb. £16.99. The Unfinished Project: Toward a Postmetaphysical Humanism, Lorenzo C. Simpson. London/ny: Routledge, 2001, xi +180 pp., $85.00, pb. $22.95. Hegel and the Phenomenology of Spirit, Robert Stern. Routledge Guidebooks. London / New York: 2001, xviii + 234 pp., pb. £8.99. Wittgenstein, Avrum Stroll. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2002, ix + 162 pp., pb. $14.95. Matters of Mind: Consciousness, Reason and Nature, Scott Sturgeon. International Library of Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2000, x + 166 pp. Marx for a Post-Communist Era, Stefan Sullivan. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, x + 191 pp., pb. £14.99. Critical Reasoning: A Practical Introduction, Arme Thompson. 2nd ed. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, ix + 209 pp., pb. £12.99. Hyperreality: Paradigm for the Third Millennium, John Tiffin and Nobuyoshi Terashima. London/new York: Routledge, 2001, vvii +165 pp., price not given. Foucault and Latin America: Appropriations and Deployments of Discoursive Analysis, Benigno Trigo. New York/london: Routledge, 2002, xxi + 305 pp., pb. £16.99. Knowledge, Michael Welbourne. Central Problems of Philosophy. Chesham, UK: Acumen, 2001, xiii + 143 pp., £35.00, pb. £12.95. Philosophy, Literature and the Human Good, Michael Weston. London/new York: Routledge, 2001, xix + 198 pp., pb. £14.99. A Clearing in the Forest: Law, Life, and Mind, Steven L. Winter. Chicago/london: University of Chicago Press, 2001, xvii + 440 pp., $38.00/£24.00. Kant, Herder, and the Birth of Anthropology, John H. Zammito. Chicago/london: University of Chicago Press, 2002, xii + 576 pp., pb. $29.00, £18.50. (shrink)