How does the image of the tripartite soul in Plato’s Phaedrus differ from that in the Republic? The imagery of the tripartite soul in Plato’s Phaedrus and Republic differ in terms of scene setting, dynamism and directedness. In the Phaedrus, Plato likens the soul “to the natural union of a team of winged horses and… Continue reading Q&A: Ancient Philosophy
The American philosopher David Lewis (1941 – 2001) argued that, beyond this world, the actual world, there are countless possible worlds of a certain nature. These possible worlds exist and are as real as the actual one. The inhabitants of this world are only a few compared to all the inhabitants of all the worlds.… Continue reading Possible Worlds – David Lewis
More than a century after the publication of Newton’s Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, the French scholar Pierre-Simon Laplace (1749-1827) introduced a form of metaphysical determinism which Popper, due to its commitment to the laws of nature, referred to as ‘scientific determinism’ (Popper 1982, Chapter II). In 1820, Laplace wrote: We may regard the present state… Continue reading Laplacean Determinism
Theological determinism is the doctrine that God determines every event that occurs in the history of the world (Vicens). To arrive at a version of metaphysical determinism that is more palatable to a secular rather than a religious audience, divine law can be easily replaced by generic laws of nature. The advantage: God is often… Continue reading Metaphysical Determinism & Laws of Nature
The world seems to have a relative order and is at least to an extent predictable: someone who throws a ball in the air can expect it to fall to the ground in due course; the clap of hands is accompanied by a clapping sound; a spring tide occurs whenever the earth is positioned between… Continue reading Causation: Regularity Theory – Hume
As one of the British Empiricists of the Early Modern period, David Hume (1711 – 1776) holds that all knowledge comes from experience, a standard he rigorously applies to the subject of causation. There are no innate ideas. Everyone starts out in life with a tabula rasa, a clean slate. Hume’s central empirical axiom is known… Continue reading Causation – Hume’s Fork
Gettier cases are characterised by a gap between the source of a justification (e.g. looking at a dog that looks like a sheep) and the fact that makes a corresponding belief true (e.g. there is a real sheep hidden right behind the sheep-like dog on the meadow). As is typically the case with Gettier examples, justification… Continue reading Goldman’s Causal Theory of Knowledge
The core idea of Robert Nozick’s truth tracking theory is that if one has a tendency to believe something when it’s true, and not believe it when it’s false, then one knows it. (Nagel, p. 62). Here are three examples to illustrate: A chicken sexer knows the sex of a chick if she believes it… Continue reading Nozick’s Truth-Tracking Theory
Another prominent form of internalism, one that challenges ‘orthodox’ accessibilism, holds that internal states are mental states, a view known as mentalism. Mental states include first-person access phenomena such as beliefs and sensory experiences but also hopes, fears or longings and other neuro-physiological events and conditions. The basic idea is that some or all of these mental states… Continue reading Mentalism – A Rival to Accessibility Internalism
Imagine the proverbial butler who stands trial in a murder case. He had a motive; there is a credible account of a witness who saw the crime happening with her own eyes; the butler’s finger-prints were found on the alleged murder weapon. Given all the evidence, the jury is in a position to justifiedly believe… Continue reading Accessibilism – A Form of Internalism
Thinking About Thinking 