Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
- Institution
- Keyword
- Publication
- Publication Type
Articles 1 - 8 of 8
Full-Text Articles in Metaphysics
Systems Metaphysics: A Bridge From Science To Religion, Martin Zwick
Systems Metaphysics: A Bridge From Science To Religion, Martin Zwick
Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations
'Systems theory' is familiar to many as the scientific enterprise that includes the study of chaos, networks, and complex adaptive systems. It is less widely appreciated that the systems research program offers a world view that transcends the individual scientific disciplines. We do not live, as some argue, in a post-metaphysical age, but rather at a time when a new metaphysics is being constructed. This metaphysics is scientific and derives from graph theory, information theory, non-linear dynamics, decision theory, game theory, generalized evolution, and other transdisciplinary theories. These 'systems' theories focus on form and process, independent of materiality; they are …
Systems Metaphysics: A Bridge From Science To Religion [Presentation], Martin Zwick
Systems Metaphysics: A Bridge From Science To Religion [Presentation], Martin Zwick
Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations
'Systems theory' is familiar to many as the scientific enterprise that includes the study of chaos, networks, and complex adaptive systems. It is less widely appreciated that the systems research program offers a world view that transcends the individual scientific disciplines. We do not live, as some argue, in a post-metaphysical age, but rather at a time when a new metaphysics is being constructed. This metaphysics is scientific and derives from graph theory, information theory, non-linear dynamics, decision theory, game theory, generalized evolution, and other transdisciplinary theories. These 'systems' theories focus on form and process, independent of materiality; they are …
Complexity, Fine-Tuning, And Multiple Universes: The Insufficiency Of Scientific Theories For Determining Metaphysical Views, Ashley Graham Kennedy
Complexity, Fine-Tuning, And Multiple Universes: The Insufficiency Of Scientific Theories For Determining Metaphysical Views, Ashley Graham Kennedy
Institute for the Humanities Theses
Many argue that science can provide empirical evidence for the existence of God or a designer. In this thesis I examine three such arguments: the irreducible complexity argument from biochemistry, the fine-tuning argument from physics and the rare earth/privileged planet hypothesis from astronomy. I conclude that all three of the arguments fail to show whether or not the universe was designed, because science is not prepared to answer this question. Further, I argue that scientific theories, in general, cannot be used as the sole basis for metaphysical propositions.
Catholic Studies And The Mission Of The Catholic University, Richard Liddy
Catholic Studies And The Mission Of The Catholic University, Richard Liddy
Department of Religion Publications
No abstract provided.
Universals And Particulars: Aristotle's Ontological Theory And Criticism Of The Platonic Forms, Brad Vezina
Universals And Particulars: Aristotle's Ontological Theory And Criticism Of The Platonic Forms, Brad Vezina
Undergraduate Review
No abstract provided.
A Novel Category Of Vague Abstracta, Jeffrey C. Goodman
A Novel Category Of Vague Abstracta, Jeffrey C. Goodman
Faculty Scholarship
Much attention has been given to the question of ontic vagueness, and the issues usually center around whether certain paradigmatically concrete entities – cats, clouds, mountains, etc. – are vague in the sense of having indeterminate spatial boundaries. In this paper, however, I wish to focus on a way in which some abstracta seem to be locationally vague. To begin, I will briefly cover some territory already covered regarding certain types of “traditional” abstracta and the ways they are currently alleged to be vague. I then wish to discuss two types of “nontraditional” abstracta and the sense in which I …
A Critical Discussion Of Talking Past One Another, Jeffrey C. Goodman
A Critical Discussion Of Talking Past One Another, Jeffrey C. Goodman
Faculty Scholarship
One sort of usage of the phrase ‘talking past one another’ that is quite prevalent in the philosophical literature suggests the following account of a particular phenomenon of miscommunication: Agent A and agent B talk past one another during a philosophical discussion if and only if A has in mind one meaning or conception of a crucial expression P that is distinct from some meaning or conception of P had in mind by B. In this paper, however, I argue that this account – given the sort of phenomenon it is intended to be an account of – misses the …
Moral Responsibility -- What Is All The Fuss About?, Kenton Machina
Moral Responsibility -- What Is All The Fuss About?, Kenton Machina
Faculty Publications - Philosophy
Examination of several accounts regarding the nature of moral responsibility allows the extraction of a conceptual core common to all of them. Relying on that core conception of moral responsibility, the paper explores what human life without moral responsibility would be like. That exploration establishes that many robust forms of human relationship and nonmoral normativity could continue, absent moral responsibility, even if moral responsibility were abandoned on incompatibilist grounds. Much more importantly, it also establishes, contra Waller and Pereboom, that only some forms of morality – so-called “behavioral” forms – remain possible without moral responsibility. The paper argues that normative …