tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-305885102024-03-13T11:50:50.132+00:00metaphysical valuesA blog on the nature of things.
Created by the Centre for Metaphysics and Mind (CMM). Leeds, UK.Robbie Williamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081389310232077607noreply@blogger.comBlogger159125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-39599949311219547072012-11-16T16:52:00.001+00:002012-11-16T16:52:47.694+00:00We've moved!No, Metaphysical Values isn't going anywhere, but we've switched from Blogger to Wordpress. So point your browsers and RSS feeds to
<a href="http://metaphysicalvalues.wordpress.com/metaphysicalvalues/">http://metaphysicalvalues.wordpress.com/metaphysicalvalues/</a>
for all new Metaphysical and Valuable goodness from the crew of the Centre for Metaphysics and Mind at the University of Leeds!Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08511374467709845882noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-50867182916113770452012-10-24T13:01:00.000+01:002012-10-24T13:01:34.995+01:00How Can You Know You're Present?I've posted a new paper online: '<a href="http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~phlrpc/knowing_you%27re_present.pdf">How Can You Know You're Present?</a>'<br /><br />Abstract:<br /><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Some
argue that non-presentist A-theories face an epistemic objection: if they were
true, then we could not know whether we are present.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I argue that the presentist is in no better
an epistemic position than the non-presentist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In §1 I introduce the sceptical puzzle: I look at two ways in which the
non-presentist could claim that our experiences give us evidence for our
presentness, but find each wanting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In §2,
I argue that the puzzle also faces the presentist, and that a number of
potential solutions either fail or are equally available to the non-presentist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I conclude by defending one solution to the
puzzle.</span></div>
Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-79144532068662396892012-09-10T15:14:00.000+01:002012-09-10T15:14:30.277+01:00Is Lewis's ontology qualitatively or ideologically parsimonious?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">David
Lewis believes in lots of things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
believes in human beings, and animals and plants; he believes in tables, and
statues and universities; he believes in planets, and solar systems and
galaxies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he believes in sets of
such things, and sets of sets of such things, and sets which have only other
sets as members.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But so far, so mundane: there’s nothing there
that plenty of philosophers don’t believe in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But Lewis also believes in unicorns, and gods, and ghosts, and golden
mountains. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lewis thinks there’s a
talking donkey who spends his days giving a completely accurate account of your
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lewis thinks that somewhere there
is an infinite sequence of intrinsic duplicates of you doing a conga line.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s
a pretty wild ontology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unless you’re a
philosopher who believes in something that, as a matter of fact, just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">could not</i> exist, then Lewis believes in
everything you believe in and – chances are – an awful lot more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How is this ontological extravagance to be
justified?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lewis offers two different
answers to this justificatory challenge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His more commonly mentioned answer is as follows.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Cost-Benefit Response:</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.0cm; margin-right: 28.55pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is indeed a lavish
ontology that is proposed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a cost
to accept that there are so many things: it is a pro-tanto reason not to accept
the proffered theory that it posits so many things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this cost is outweighed by the benefits
afforded by the theory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it is true
then it provides for a reduction of the modal, an ontological identification of
propositions and properties with sets of individuals, and so on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These benefits outweigh the admitted
ontological costs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So on the balance of
costs versus benefits, the theory should be accepted, and the lavish ontology
embraced.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 28.55pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 28.55pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Here Lewis is admitting
that his ontology comes at a price, but that it is a price worth paying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But elsewhere he refused to admit that there
is even a price to be paid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He offers instead
the following answer to the justificatory challenge.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 28.55pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 28.55pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The No-Cost Response:</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
extra things postulated are just more things of the same kind that we all
already believed in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To believe in more <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">kinds</i> of thing is a cost, but to believe
in more <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tokens</i> of a kind of thing you
already believe in is no additional cost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thus the postulation of this additional ontology is not even a cost that
needs to be paid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not even a
pro-tanto reason not to accept the proffered theory that it posits so many
things, given that they are things of a kind with things postulated by the theory’s
salient rivals anyway.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 28.55pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 28.55pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The former response
sees the ontology as a cost to be outweighed, the latter doesn’t even
acknowledge it as a cost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lewis
distinguishes between a principle of quantitative parsimony which tells you to
minimise the number of things postulated, and principle of qualitative parsimony
which tells you to minimse the number of kinds of things postulated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He admits the latter as a good rule, but
doesn’t think he is breaking it; he admits to breaking the former, but doesn’t recognize
it as a good rule to be obeyed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 28.55pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 28.55pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m not interested here
in which response to the justificatory challenge Lewis would do better to rely
on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My question here is: is Lewis
correct when he says, in the No-Cost Response, that his theory is a pro-tanto
offense only against quantitative parsimony and not against qualitative
parsimony?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 28.55pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Joseph Melia argued
that Lewis was wrong: that his ontology sinned against qualitative parsimony as
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, that Lewis’s ontology <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">maximally</i> sins against qualitative parsimony,
since it admits the existence of things for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">any
kind of thing that there could be</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The only way to do <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">worse</i> on
qualitative parsimony would be to believe in some kinds of thing that couldn’t
exist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But provided that we’re only
concerned with theories that refrain from postulating impossibilia, Lewis’s
proposed ontology is maximally qualitatively unparsimonious: for every kind of
thing there could be, Lewis believes in things of that kind.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 28.55pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">John Divers responds on
Lewis’s behalf.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lewis believes in sets
and individuals, the end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actuality
consists of individuals and sets, and the admission of the reality of logical
space requires merely the postulation of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">more</i>
individuals and sets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus the number of
kinds of thing you need to acknowledge by accepting Lewis’s ontology is the
same as what we’d need to acknowledge to give a good account of actuality
anyway: two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus Lewis does not sin
against qualitative parsimony, as he claimed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">How are we to judge
this dispute between Divers, on behalf of Lewis, and Melia?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It comes down, seemingly, to a really thorny
issue: at what level do we draw the kinds?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sure, at one level Lewis is merely asking us to believe in things of a
kind with what we already believe: individuals (we all believe in those,
right?), and the sets that you get by taking those individuals as ur-elemete
(and most of believed in sets anyway – and if you don’t, well just believe in
Lewis’s ontology minus the sets!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
on another level, Lewis isn’t just introducing us to new individuals, he’s
introducing us to new <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">kinds</i> of
individuals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He believes in unicorns; so
there’s a kind of thing – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">unicorn</i> –
that Lewis is asking us to believe in that we didn’t already believe in.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 28.55pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At one level,
everything is of a kind: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">entity</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Read thus, the rule of qualitative parsimony
only ever tells us to (ceteris paribus) choose a theory that doesn’t postulate
anything at all over one that does: it will never select between theories that
each say that there is something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s
pretty useless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the other extreme,
there’s a kind for every way for things to be: hence, a kind <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">F</i> for every predicate F (at least, every
satisfiable predicate).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Read thus, the
rule of qualitative parsimony will collapse into the rule of quantitative
parsimony, for every new token thing you admit will also be to admit a new kind
of thing.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 28.55pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For there to be an
interesting rule of qualitative parsimony, we have to find a middle level: a
way of dividing things into kinds such that it isn’t automatic that everything
is of a kind nor that no two things are of a kind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Or better: that for any two things, there’s
a kind that one falls under that the other doesn’t.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then the question is: at what level do we
draw the kinds?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can we do this in a
principled manner?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Divers and Melia draw
the kinds at different levels, but who is right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What facts about reality even speak to one
way of drawing the kinds as the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">correct</i>
way (or at least, the correct way for the purposes of weighing theories with
respect to qualitative parsimony)?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you believe in
ontological categories, you’ve got an answer: draw the kinds at the level of
the categories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the principle of
qualitative parsimony amounts to saying: (ceteris paribus) choose the theory
that postulates the fewest ontological categories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So take someone like E.J. Lowe, who thinks the
things in reality divide into four ontological categories: the substantial
particular, the substantial universal, the non-substantial particular, and the non-substantial
universal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the current proposal, Lowe
should view the principle of qualitative parsimony as telling him: believe in
whatever kinds of thing you like provided the things fall into one of these
four categories – but (ceteris paribus) don’t accept a theory that postulates a
fifth category of thing, and (ceteris paribus) prefer a theory that postulates fewer
categories of thing.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 28.55pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But personally, I don’t
find this very helpful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same problem
as before just comes back at a different point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When I think of Lowe’s four ontological categories (e.g. – I’m picking
on Lowe’s view, but I think the same thing about every proposal on ontological
categories that I’ve encountered), I simply wonder why that is the right way to
divide things up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By a non-substantial
universal, Lowe means an Armstrongian universal like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">redness</i>; by a non-substantial particular he means a trope, like the
redness of this postbox.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why isn’t that
one ontological category: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">property</i>?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By a substantial particular he means kinds
like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">electron</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why aren’t the universals, tropes and kinds
all part of the same ontological category: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">abstracta</i>?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is just exactly the same problem as
before: where to make the divisions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
instead of asking directly where to make the divisions for the purposes of
qualitative parsimony, we’re assuming we make the divisions at the level of ontological
categories and instead asking where to make <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">those</i>
divisions instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t find the
detour illuminating, having as little an intuitive grasp of where the
ontological categories are as I have of what matters with respect to
qualitative parsimony.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 28.55pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I suggest a rethinking
of the principle of qualitative parsimony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I think we should qualitative parsimony as derivative on a more
fundamental norm of theory choice: ideological parsimony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Qualitative parsimony is a virtue just
insofar as it facilitates ideological simplicity.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 28.55pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So consider a debate
between a compositional nihilist and a universalist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The former, let us suppose, claims an
advantage with respect to qualitative parsimony, since the universalist
believes in a kind of thing – a complex object – that the nihilist does not
believe in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The universalist responds,
suppose, that she is at no disadvantage with respect to qualitative parsimony
since she is only believing in more things of the same kind the nihilist
believes in: concrete individuals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
think that it’s fruitless to try and settle whether, for the purposes of theory
choice by qualitative parsimony, mereologically simple concrete individuals are
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">of a kind</i> with mereologically complex
complex individuals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In some sense,
complex objects are a new kind of thing, and in another sense they aren’t: the
question we should be asking, I think, is whether their admission requires more
ideological resources.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And in this case,
it plausibly does, because while the nihilist can eschew the ideology of
mereology, the universalist needs to admit amongst their fundamental
ideological primitives some mereological notion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, as Ted Sider (inspired by Cian Dorr)
argues, there is a pro tanto reason to be compositional nihilists, for it
minimizes the ideological complexity in reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think that a drive to ideological simplicity
is really what’s behind the drive to qualitative parsimony, and this lets us
get a grip on what the relevant level of kinds is: admitting the Xs constitutes
admitting a new kind of thing, in the relevant sense, when describing reality
if there are Xs requires greater primitive ideological resources than
describing reality does if there are no Xs.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In that case, it doesn’t
look too good for Lewis, for even though he’s only introducing us to new
individuals and sets of individuals, as Divers says, it nonetheless looks as
though we’re going to need new ideological resources to describe those
individuals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re going to need new
primitive predicates to describe things that instantiate alien properties
since, ex hypothesi, those predicates aren’t definable in terms of a logical
construction of actually instantiated predicates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re going to need new spatio-temporal
ideology to describe those worlds where things aren’t related spatio-temporally
but rather are related in a manner ‘analogous’ to spatio-temporal
relatedness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re going to need new
ideology to describe the ectoplasm ghosts the absence of which allows actuality
to be a physicalistically acceptable world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So it’s looking like Melia is right: the postulation of these new kinds
of thing is a sin against qualitative parsimony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Divers is right that it’s just more
individuals, but that doesn’t matter, since they are individuals that are not
describable just with the ideological resources we would have needed to
describe actuality.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But whether this is
really so depends on another question that I don’t know the answer to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When judging what ideological resources you
need, do you only count what you need to describe what there is, or do you need
ideology enough to describe the ways things could have been?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For Lewis of course, there’s no difference:
what there is includes all that there could have been.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what about for those of us who think that
how things are as a whole could have been different?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does the mereological nihilist who thinks
there could have been composite objects but there just happen not to be get to
claim an ideological advantage over the universalist, or does one need to
reject the very possibility of composition to claim such an advantage?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Parity with ontological
parsimony suggests that you should only count the ideology you need to describe
things as they are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, no one
would think that it is a sin against ontological parsimony to think that there
could have been immaterial minds; it’s only believing in them that counts
against ontological parsimony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In which
case, why should the possibility of having to describe things using some
mereological notion matter: it only matters whether describing things as they
are requires such notions.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Nonetheless, I can’t
shake the feeling that ideological parsimony is different from ontological parsimony
in this respect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That the contingent mereological
nihilist is at no advantage over the universalist, only the necessitarian
nihilist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, a theory of reality
is not complete without a description of how things could have been: so your
fundamental theory of reality will have to talk about what could have occurred
but doesn’t – and so if there could have been complex objects, you will need to
invoke mereological notions to describe that possibility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So you can’t completely eschew speaking
mereologically: your fundamental theory will still need its mereological primitives,
even if it only ever uses them within the scope of a modal operator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I find it intuitive that in that case you
still incur the ideological cost: you still have to see reality in mereological
terms, even if just to say that actuality is mereologically less complex than
it could have been.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To really not have
anything to do with the ideology of mereology you must not need to resort to it
at any point in your description of reality – whether of how things are or how
they could be – you must be a necessitarian nihilist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I’m assuming here that how things could be
really is a part of the theory of reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you were an expressivist or other kind of anti-realist about the
modal I suppose you would deny this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
since those views are false . . .)<br />
<br />
If that is right, then things start to look better for Lewis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In believing in possibilia, Lewis just thinks
that the story of how things are and could be is the story of how things are
unrestrictedly: so for him, the ideology needed to describe how things are,
simpliciter, is the ideology required to describe how things actually are and
how they could have been.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if we were
committed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">anyway</i> to the ideological
resources needed to describe both reality and the possible ways reality could
be, this won’t be an ideological <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">expansion</i>,
and Lewis won’t be sinning against ideological parsimony – hence against
qualitative parsimony – after all.</span></div>
Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-65065213775675967032012-08-17T09:24:00.002+01:002012-08-17T09:24:53.530+01:00Temporary Job at LeedsLeeds is advertising a <a href="http://jobs.leeds.ac.uk/fe/tpl_universityofleeds01.asp?s=VeGdJOlYwNZeBbNwt&jobid=87561,7712529814&key=84019585&c=720298833465&pagestamp=sedxovepmqmvipkbzv">12 month lecturership</a> starting mid September. You must have some experience in teaching formal logic. Note the very tight deadline: applications must be in by Aug 30th.Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-85214234449069702722012-06-16T11:29:00.001+01:002012-06-16T11:29:40.299+01:00Changing TruthmakersI've posted a new paper, <a href="http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/%7Ephlrpc/ChangingTruthmakers.pdf">'Changing Truthmakers'</a>. It's a reply to a paper by Jonathan Tallant and David Ingram, which is in turn a reply to my <a href="http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/%7Ephlrpc/Truthmaking%20for%20presentists.pdf">'Truthmaking for Presentists'</a>.<br />
<br />
It's about how we can stop truthmakers for tensed truths changing, so as to ensure the validity of theorems of tense logic like 'If it's now the case that p, it always will be the case that it was the case that p'. And I get to talk a bit about hypertime, which is always cool!Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-7448384659167833362012-06-10T08:39:00.000+01:002012-06-10T08:39:26.716+01:00The Time-Travelling Trinitarian GodAfter having too much caffeine I started thinking about the metaphysics of the Trinity, for no immediately obvious reason. The following is crazy, but maybe kinda fun too? Well, here goes nothing . . .<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s
time t<sub>0</sub>: the very first instant there is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At this instant, there exists God the Father
and God the Son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One event occurs at
this instant: God the Son is begotten of God the Father.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What
is the relationship between God the Father and God the Son?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, we already have part of the story: the
latter is begotten of the former.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is
there anything else we can say at this point?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One might be tempted to conclude that we know also that they are
numerically distinct, since nothing is begotten of itself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Certainly,
this claim of distinctness seems to fit well with some of the things God the
Son goes on to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He says, after all,
that God the Father is greater than he is: and surely nothing is greater than
itself!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other things he says seem to at
least conversationally imply that he is distinct from God the Father, even if
they don’t logically entail it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He says,
for example, that no-one can come to the Father except through him (the Son): it
would be less misleading to simply say ‘No-one can come to me except through
me’ if that’s what this amounted to, as it surely would were the Father and the
Son the same being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All in all then, it
seems like there is good reason to conclude that we have two things here: the
Father and the Son.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Unfortunately,
the Son also says some things that suggest that he is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> distinct from the Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He says that he and the Father are one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He doesn’t elaborate too much on what he means (he has a fondness for the
cryptic!), but the smart money is on the claim that he’s saying they are of one
essence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we have good metaphysical
reasons for thinking that if A and B are of one essence, they are numerically
identical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For surely it is part of the
essence of A that it is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A</i> and not
some other thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if B is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> A then it is certainly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">
part of B’s essence that it is A.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So if
A and B are distinct then they are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i>
of one essence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also have theological
reasons for thinking that the Father and the Son are identical, for we believe
each of (i) The Father is divine, (ii) The Son is divine, (iii) For all x, if x
is divine then x is a god, and (iv) There is exactly one god.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And (i)-(iv) together entail that the Father
is the Son.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So we’re in a quandary: the story so far pulls in
two directions, some things indicating that the Father and the Son are
distinct, some things indicating that they are identical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let us now see how the story progresses.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">God the Father is really powerful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, he can do anything metaphysically
possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is true at time t<sub>0</sub>,
and it remains true for ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He never
loses any of his powers; and of course he never gains any, since he can already
do anything possible (and that’s as powerful as it’s possible to be).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God the Son, on the other hand, starts off
life at t<sub>0</sub> far less powerful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Hence his claim that the Father is greater than he is.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But unlike the Father, the Son grows in power
over time until, at the very last moment of time, t<sub>z</sub>, he is himself
capable of doing anything metaphysically possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the things he can do at t<sub>z</sub>
is travel in time, this being metaphysically possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so he does: he travels back to t<sub>0</sub>,
at which point he calls himself God the Father and begets the earlier less
powerful version of himself, calling him God the Son.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This
is the story of a time-travelling deity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At the beginning of time there is only God: but there are two ‘versions’
of him – there is the all powerful being he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">becomes</i>
at the end of time, who travelled back in time to the first moment, and there
is the less powerful being that he started out as, who was begat by his more
powerful future self after he travelled back in time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
am not claiming that this is how the world is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But I think it is possible, and that if it is true then the data we
started with is accounted for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, I
think we have here a metaphysical model that vindicates the orthodox Christian
understanding of the relationship between God the Father and God the Son.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Consider
the first puzzle: how can the Son be the Father if the former was begotten of
the latter?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, if time travel is
possible, cases of self-creation just aren’t that puzzling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s suppose that a man undergoing a sex
change would be capable of giving birth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So suppose I now, in 2012, travel back in time to 1979, wait a year and
get a sex change and then travel back in time to 1979 again; at that point my
male self that came back from 2012 can mate with my female self who came back
in time from 1980, who will then give birth to infant me in 1980, who will grow
up to back in time in 2012.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
scenario is perfectly consistent, and it involves me creating myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So there’s nothing impossible about God going
back in time and begetting his earlier self.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s
also clear that if this is how things are, God the Son’s declaration that the
Father is greater than he is is a perfectly sensible thing to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I go back in time to 1980 then I can look
at infant Ross and truly say ‘He is me’, but I can also sensibly say ‘I am
taller than he is’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In general, if
something that changes across time travels back in time to a time when it was
different, then we can sensibly contrast how its later self is with how its
earlier self is, even though they are the same thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus the Father, God’s later self, can
sensibly be said to be greater than the Son, his earlier self, despite them
being the same being.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Similarly,
if I go back in time to protect my infant self in the cradle, I can sensibly
say ‘Nobody gets to him except through me’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And it’s simply <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> more
conversationally informative for me to say ‘Nobody gets to him except through
him’, despite the fact that I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">am</i>
he.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since I can sensibly contrast my later
self with my earlier self – my later self is bigger and stronger – then I can
sensibly say that it is my later self protecting my earlier self and not my
earlier self protecting my earlier self, despite the fact that my later self <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> my earlier self.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Likewise, if it requires a being like us in
some respects to bring us to a being who is so far beyond us in power, then the
Son can sensibly say that it is only he that can bring you to God the Father;
and it would not be better for him to say that it is only the Father that can
bring you the Father, despite the fact that he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> the Father.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Note
that I’m not claiming that these contrastive claims are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">true</i>, only that they are sensible claims to make in those
circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether or not they are
true depends on some tricky issues concerning persistence and change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a prima facie puzzle if A is F and
travels back in time to a moment when it is not F, for then it seems that at
that time A is F and not F – contradiction!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What should we say about this puzzle?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s obviously similar to the familiar problem of temporary intrinsics –
how can David be hairy at one time and not hairy at some other time (once he’s
lost his hair), given that it’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">one</i>
person here, and nothing differs from itself?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But in our case, it’s not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">another</i>
time: it’s the same time, because the A that is F has gone back to meet the A
that is not F.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Here
are some common responses to the problem of temporary intrinsics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The perdurantist thinks that the thing that
is hairy is not David, but rather a temporal part of David, and the thing that
is not hairy is a different temporal part of David.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since these temporal parts are numerically
distinct, there is no puzzle in their being different in properties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When David says in his early life that he is hairy,
he speaks truly, because the truth-conditions of his utterance are that the
temporal part that makes the utterance is hairy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If this is the correct response to the
problem of temporary intrinsics, it carries over straightforwardly to the time
travel case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The later version of A that
travels back to meet its earlier self is really a different thing: it is a
later temporal part, and it is meeting its earlier temporal part, and so there
is no puzzle in one being F and the other not being so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On this view, I speak truly when I travel
back and say that I’m taller than my infant self: the temporal part that makes
that utterance <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> taller than the
temporal part that’s in the cradle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Similarly, the Son speaks truly when he says that the Father is greater
than he is: the Father is God’s later temporal part, and does indeed have more
powers than the Son, who is God’s earlier temporal part.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But
suppose perdurantism is false.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two
most common endurantist solutions to the problem of temporary intrinsics need
modification if they are to handle the time travel case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On one view, things are incapable of changing
with respect to their monadic properties, and what we normally think of as a
thing changing with respect to a monadic property is in fact it standing in a
certain kind of relation to some times but not others: so while it looks like David
is hairy simpliciter at one time and not at another, in fact David is never hairy
or not hairy simpliciter but rather bears the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">being hairy</i> relation to some time but fails to bear it to a later
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if we’re to allow for the time
travel case we will have to say that apparent monadic properties are not two
place relations between an enduring object and a time, but rather three place
relations between an enduring object, a time, and a place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So when A travels back to meet earlier A, it
is true simpliciter that A bears <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">being F</i>
to time t and place L1 and true simpliciter that it fails to bear that relation
to time t and place L2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(L1 being the
place the future version ends up at t, L2 being the place the earlier version
is at that time.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What
are the truth-conditions for ‘A is taller than B at time t’ if height
properties are really three place relations between an object a time and a
place?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are various options:
perhaps it’s true iff every height relation A bears to some place at t is
greater than every height relation that B bears to some place at t; perhaps
it’s true iff there’s a mapping that takes you from the height relations A
bears to some place at t to the height relations B bears to some place at t
(leaving no relations out) and which maps greater relations onto lesser ones;
and there are other options.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if
either of those suggestions are correct, it would turn out to be false when I
go back in time and say, looking at my infant self, that I am taller than
he.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For if A=B then they will bear the
same height relations to places at a given time, and so it’s hard to think of a
sensible option on which it could come out true that A is taller than B at a
time.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Another
common endurantist option is to hold on to the thought that apparent monadic
properties are just that, but to deny that such properties are ever had
simpliciter: instantiation of such properties is always relative to a
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So David has <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">being hairy </i>a certain way (i.e. relative to the earlier time) but
he lacks that property some other way (relative to the later time).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The natural extension of such a view to allow
for time-travel cases is to relativise instantiation to both time and
place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it’s easy to see why, for
similar reasons to those above, this is going to lead to a similar conclusion:
that I won’t speak truly when I look at my infant self and say that I am taller
than he.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So
return to God the Son’s assertion that God the Father is greater than he
is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If God is a perduring object then there’s
no problem in this being straight-forwardly true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At t<sub>0</sub> there are two distinct
things: the earlier temporal part of the spacetime worm that is God and the
later temporal part of God – the former lacks omnipotence, the latter has it,
and the utterance the former makes is thereby true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If God is an enduring object, however, it
looks like the Son’s utterance is false: for everything we can say about the
Son’s powers at t<sub>0</sub> will also be things we can say about the Father’s
powers at t<sub>0</sub>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
don’t want to take a stand on the perdurantism versus endurantism debate
here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I want to argue is that each
option adequately accounts for the data.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The perdurantist option does so by rendering the Son’s utterances
concerning his relationship to the Father straightforwardly true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The endurantist option renders some of them
false; but I think this shouldn’t worry us, because the Son’s claims are still
sensible things to say in these circumstances, and this is all we should need
to secure.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If
I’m an enduring object and travel back to meet my infant self, then I am in
1980 twice over: I am bi-located at that time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Suppose I’m trying to locate my infant self, who is in a hospital in
Glasgow, but I don’t know how to get there from where my adult self is (Leeds,
let us suppose).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re trying to help
me get there and you ask ‘Are you in Glasgow?’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I can truly answer ‘yes’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">am </i>in Glasgow, for I am in two places,
and one of them is in Glasgow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But while
true, it would be utterly unhelpful and disingenuous for me to answer in the
affirmative: my speaking thus would not help you help me in my plans to bring
my adult self to my infant self.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
while it would be false, it would nevertheless be completely helpful and
appropriate to say ‘No, I’m not in Glasgow, I’m in Leeds’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s false, because I’m both in Glasgow <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i> in Leeds; but it’s a good thing to
say because it communicates to you the information that you want: that the
location I have in virtue of my adult self having travelled back to this time
is in Leeds, even though I also have a location in Glasgow in virtue of my also
having been an infant at this time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Likewise,
when I find my infant self and claim to be taller than he is, what I say is
strictly speaking false: everything true of him is true of me, for we are
identical, and so every height relation he bears to a place at this time (or
every way he has a height) is also a height relation I bear to a place at this
time (or is also a way I have a height).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nonetheless, the false contrastive claim is a sensible thing to say and
can impart useful information: it tells you that the height I have in virtue of
having travelled back to this time as an adult is greater than the height I
have in virtue of having been born at this time.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">God
the Son wasn’t speaking to metaphysicians, he was speaking to the folk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The data that needs to be recovered is that
he said something good: something that would impart good, true, information to
his listeners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even given endurantism,
his utterance does this on the time-travel story, despite being strictly
speaking false.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything you can say
about God the Son’s powers at t<sub>0</sub> you can say about God the Father’s
powers at t<sub>0</sub>, since they are the same thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nonetheless, you learn something true and
useful from the Son’s utterance that the Father is greater than he is: you
learn that it is in virtue of this one being having come back in time after
having changed that he is omnipotent at that time, and in virtue of him having
begotten his earlier self at that time that he lacks omnipotence at that
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Son could have conveyed this
information with a literally true utterance if he had spoken in a more
metaphysically perspicuous manner; but since he was speaking to the folk and
not to a select audience of metaphysicians, it’s perfectly understandable why
he didn’t.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Son’s utterance that no-one can come to the Father except through him is
true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As would have been the utterance
that no-one can come to the Father except through the Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But while both true – and while in some sense
they both say the same thing – the latter is not as good a thing to say as the
former.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the latter claim fails to
impart the vital information conveyed by the former: that it is virtue of God
having had his earlier properties that he is able to bring you to a being that
is so far beyond you, namely the all-powerful being he becomes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So it’s no surprise that the Son makes the
former pronouncement and not the latter: far from being <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">less </i>informative, it is in fact more so.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And so I think we have a model of the relationship
between the Father and the Son that adequately accounts for our initially
recalcitrant data.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what of the third
member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, it would be easy to account for the third member in just the same
way: have God travel in time twice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Recall the story of me giving birth to myself: at the time I was born
there were three versions of me about (the father, the mother after I had a sex
change, and the child the first two versions of me gave birth to), because I
travelled back to that time twice as well as being born there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully, the Bible is pretty silent on the
relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Son and the Father, so you can fit
it in as you wish once you’ve got the general recipe.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Let me close by considering an objection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One might object at the very idea of God
starting out life as a limited being and only growing to be omnipotent over
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That might be thought to violate
the claim that it is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">essential </i>to
God’s very nature that he is omnipotent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Care is needed here, however.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s perfectly compatible with the above account that God is essentially
omnipotent in that it is of his essence that he grow to become omnipotent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And God <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i>
around and omnipotent right from the beginning of time, remember.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s also around and limited at that time,
but he’s omnipotent at that time as well, because his later self travelled back
to then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this might also be of God’s
essence: perhaps he has to so travel back (after all, if he didn’t travel back
to beget himself, where would he come from?).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And so it’s compatible with the proposed account that God is essentially
such as to become omnipotent, and that he is essentially such as to be
omnipotent at all times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What it’s not
compatible with is the claim that he’s essentially such as to be never not
omnipotent, since on this account he is sometimes both omnipotent and not
omnipotent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I doubt our intuitions
regarding God’s essence are so fine-grained that this is determinately what we
have in mind when he say that he is essentially omnipotent, so I’m unconcerned
about biting this bullet.</span></div>Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-64999129225586937092012-06-05T12:44:00.000+01:002012-06-05T12:44:18.054+01:00Metaphysical Indeterminacy workshop: scheduleUpdate on the upcoming workshop for the Metaphysical Indeterminacy project. The schedule will be:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Wed 13th June:<br />
1.15-1.30pm: Registration in the philosophy foyer<br />
1.30-3pm: Cian Dorr (Oxford): Semantic Plasticity<br />
3-3.15pm: Break<br />
3.15-4.45pm: Carrie Jenkins (UBC): Justification Magnets and Indeterminacy<br />
<br />
Thur 14th June:<br />
9.30-11am: Daniel Nolan (ANU): Indeterminacy and Essence<br />
11-11.15am: Break<br />
11.15am-12.45pm: Patrick Greenough (St Andrews): Evans' Argument</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">All the talks will be in BG36 in the philosophy department. </span>Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-63648805850723849922012-05-29T12:38:00.002+01:002012-05-29T12:38:49.184+01:00Aesthetics jobLeeds is advertising a one-year lecturer job in aesthetics. Details, including how to apply, are <a href="http://jobs.leeds.ac.uk/fe/tpl_universityofleeds01.asp?s=NoxZwCHeRpGSxUuGpm&jobid=84029,6099601513&key=81122868&c=159512573412&pagestamp=seadmvytdfkmjshngb">here</a>. Leeds is one of the best places in the world for aesthetics: with Matthew Kieran, Aaron Meskin and Andrew McGonigal on faculty, we are rated in group 1 in the most recent <a href="http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/breakdown/breakdown13.asp">Leiter report</a>.Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-20262552548297044262012-05-03T08:01:00.001+01:002012-05-03T08:05:35.329+01:00Indeterminacy workshop<span style="font-size: small;">The 4th (of 6) workshop for the Leeds based Metaphysical
Indeterminacy project will take place on the afternoon of Wed 13th June
and morning of Thurs 14th. The speakers are:<br />
<br />
Cian Dorr (Oxford): Semantic Plasticity<br />
<br />
Patrick Greenough (St Andrews): Evans' Argument<br />
<br />
Carrie Jenkins (UBC): Justification Magnets and Indeterminacy<br />
<br />
Daniel Nolan (ANU): Indeterminacy and Essence</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">This is part of a 3 year project on Metaphysical Indeterminacy ran by myself, Elizabeth Barnes and Robbie Williams, and is funded by the AHRC. Attendance is free, but please let me know if you would like to attend. (E-mail me at r.p.cameron followed by that symbol then leeds.ac.uk.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span>Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-35874626360190984042012-03-02T17:21:00.002+00:002012-03-02T17:23:17.623+00:00McTaggart paperI've posted a new paper: '<a href="http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/%7Ephlrpc/McTaggart.pdf">McTaggart and Modal McTaggart: presentism and actualism to the rescue?</a>'<br /><br />Here's the abstract:<br /><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif][if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> 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<style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif][if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapedefaults ext="edit" spidmax="1026"> </xml><![endif][if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapelayout ext="edit"> <o:idmap ext="edit" data="1"> </o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0cm;margin-right:28.55pt;margin-bottom: 0cm;margin-left:1.0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">McTaggart aims to cause trouble for views on which there is a privileged present but it changes what time it is. The modal analogue of his argument aims to cause trouble for views on which there is privileged actuality but it’s contingent which world is actual.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Prima facie, the arguments work against views which are realist about other times and worlds, but not against presentist or actualism.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But this has been challenged in both directions.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Nick JJ Smith argues that the temporal problem still afflicts the presentist: if he’s right, the modal analogue afflicts the actualist as well. Phillip Bricker argues that the modal problem doesn’t afflict the modal realist with privileged actuality: if he’s right, the temporal analogue doesn’t afflict the A-theoretic eternalist.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I argue they are both wrong: there <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">is</i> a serious problem for eternalism with A-theory and for modal realism with absolute actuality, but there is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">no</i> problem for the presentist or actualist.</span></p> <br />Comments welcome!Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-16234403525146868522012-03-02T08:43:00.001+00:002012-03-02T08:45:49.636+00:00New Leeds hires: updateJust an update on the post below: unfortunately Paulina Sliwa is no longer such as to have accepted our job, so we will only be welcoming Paolo Santorio and Matt Smith to the department.Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-16167235473946700622012-02-21T11:39:00.011+00:002012-02-21T12:02:10.482+00:003 new Leeds philosophers!I'm delighted to announce three new hires at Leeds: <a href="http://web.mit.edu/santorio/www/">Paolo Santorio</a>, <a href="http://web.mit.edu/psliwa/www/Home.html">Paulina Sliwa</a>, and <a href="http://pantheon.yale.edu/~ms927/">Matthew Smith.</a><br /><br />Paolo received his PhD from MIT in 2011 and is currently a postdoc at the ANU. He works on the philosophy of language, mind and epistemology, with some interests in metaethics, and his paper 'Reference and Monstrosity' is forthcoming in The Philosophical Review.<br /><br />Paulina is currently finishing up her PhD at MIT. She works on ethics and epistemology, and on their intersection. Her paper 'In Defense of Moral Testimony' is forthcoming in Philosophical Studies.<br /><br />Matthew Smith received his PhD from UNC Chapel Hill in 2004 and currently works at Yale. He works on moral and political philosophy, and has a bunch of papers in places like Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Philosophers' Imprint, Philosophical Studies, etc.<br /><br />These are three outstanding philosophers, and will make a great contribution to our Centre for Metaphysics and Mind and our Centre for Ethics and Metaethics.Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-22637234349863826842012-02-03T08:02:00.001+00:002012-02-03T08:04:03.482+00:00Metaphysical Mayhem!<span style="font-size:85%;">I've been asked to post the following:<br /><br />Metaphysical Mayhem is back! Rutgers University will be hosting a 5-day summer school for graduate students May 14-18, 2012. John Hawthorne, Katherine Hawley, Ted Sider, Jonathan Schaffer, and Dean Zimmerman will lead the seminars on a variety of topics in metaphysics, including: natural properties, composition as identity, grounding, metaphysical explanation, and stuff like that...<br /><br />For more information, see:<br /><br /><a href="https://outlook.leeds.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=13379afd60ab4a63b395d4f2d104454e&URL=http%3a%2f%2ffas-philosophy.rutgers.edu%2fmbenton%2fmayhem.html" target="_blank">http://fas-philosophy.rutgers.edu/mbenton/mayhem.html</a></span>Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-43916629146935671662012-01-23T13:50:00.001+00:002012-01-23T13:51:53.504+00:00Chair in Philosophy and Relgion at Leeds!Leeds is advertising for a chair in philosophy and religion - see the advert pasted below.<br /><div id="content"> <h1>Chair in Philosophy and Religion</h1> <p><strong>Faculty of Arts</strong><br /><strong>School of Humanities</strong><br /><strong>Reference: 0995/5</strong><br /><strong>Closing Date: Friday 23rd March 2012</strong></p> <p>This Chair is a part of a major strategic investment by the University to achieve an ambitious improvement in academic performance and enhanced student experience.</p> <p>From August of this year, the present School of Humanities will become the new unitary School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science, bringing together the subject areas of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies and the History of Science. Building on established research excellence, and committed to providing a world-class standard of student education, the School is investing in a significant number of new posts aligned to its strategic commitment to ensuring its place amongst the top-ranked Schools internationally. The creation of this Chair reflects that ambition, alongside recognition of the potential to enhance existing research and teaching strengths through cross-disciplinary collaborative leadership and activity.</p> <p>Philosophy at Leeds is one of the highest ranked research units in the UK, with an internationally-recognised world-leading status in key areas, while Theology and Religious Studies is an international leader in the study of religion and public life, and the History of Science is one of the foremost units of its kind in the UK, with an impressive international profile. In this context, this post offers an exciting opportunity for an individual to exercise a leading role in enhancing collaborative activity and achievement, while developing their own expertise and career in a School committed to world-leading research and student education. The School is open to applications from candidates with expertise in philosophy of religion, religion and science, and other areas that can build on existing and developing cross-disciplinary strengths in the School, such as religion and ethics, religion and aesthetics and religion and metaphysics. The person appointed will report to the Head of School and deliver research-led education that contributes to an exceptional student experience, top quality research outputs that contribute to impact and innovation, and expect to take on a significant leadership role in the organisation in education and/or research.</p> <p>Preliminary enquiries about the post should be directed to our retained consultancy firm, <strong>Perrett Laver</strong> on +44 (0)207 340 6200.</p> <p>To download further particulars about the role please visit <a href="http://www.perrettlaver.com/" target="_blank">www.perrettlaver.com</a>, quoting reference number 0995/5.</p> <h2>Salary</h2> <p>The salary, which is negotiable, will be within the Professorial range - minimum £59,302 p.a.</p> <p>For further details and for information on how to apply, please read the complete <a href="http://www.universityofleedschairs.co.uk/docs/chair-in-philosophy-and-religion-jd.doc" target="_blank">job description</a> for this role</p> </div>Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-12486767005023619682011-12-15T16:19:00.000+00:002011-12-15T16:20:43.746+00:00Oxford Studies in Metaphysics Younger Scholar Prize<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><p>I've been asked to post the following notice about the</p><p><em>Oxford Studies in Metaphysics</em> Younger Scholar Prize</p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; text-indent: -56.7pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="font-family:Times;">THE</span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="font-family:Times;">Sponsored by the Ammonius Foundation <span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12pt; "><span> (</span><a href="https://outlook.leeds.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=a0a4a4ac92404a6283004ee570903cf6&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.ammonius.org%2f" target="_blank">http://www.ammonius.org/</a>)</span></span><span style="font-family:Times;"> and administered by the editorial board of <i>Oxford Studies in Metaphysics</i>, the 2012 Younger Scholar Prize annual essay competition is open to scholars who are within ten years of receiving a Ph.D. or students who are currently enrolled in a graduate program. (Independent scholars should enquire of the editor to determine eligibility.) The award is $8,000. Winning essays will appear in<i> Oxford Studies in Metaphysics</i>, so submissions must not be under review elsewhere.</span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; text-indent: 0.5in; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="font-family:Times;">Essays should generally be no longer than 10,000 words; longer essays may be considered, but authors must seek prior approval. To be eligible for the 2012 prize, submissions must be electronically submitted by <strong>30 January 2012 </strong>(paper submissions are no longer accepted). Refereeing will be blind; authors should omit remarks and references that might disclose their identities. Receipt of submissions will be acknowledged by e-mail. The winner is determined by a committee of members of the editorial board of <i>Oxford Studies in Metaphysics</i>, and will be announced in early March. At the author’s request, the board will simultaneously consider entries in the prize competition as submissions for <i>Oxford Studies in Metaphysics</i>, independently of the prize.</span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; text-indent: 0.5in; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="font-family:Times;">Previous winners of the Younger Scholar Prize are:</span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; text-indent: 0.5in; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="font-family:Times;">Thomas Hofweber, “Inexpressible Properties and Propositions”, Vol. 2;</span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; text-indent: -0.5in; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; "><span style="font-family:Times;">Matthew McGrath, “Four-Dimensionalism and the Puzzles of Coincidence”, Vol. 3;</span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; text-indent: -0.5in; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; "><span style="font-family:Times;">Cody Gilmore, “Time Travel, Coinciding Objects, and Persistence”, Vol. 3;</span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; text-indent: -0.5in; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; "><span style="font-family:Times;">Stephan Leuenberger, “<i>Ceteris Absentibus</i> Physicalism”, Vol. 4;</span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; text-indent: -0.5in; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; "><span style="font-family:Times;">Jeffrey Sanford Russell, “The Structure of Gunk:<span> </span>Adventures in the Ontology of Space”, Vol. 4;</span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; text-indent: -0.5in; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; "><span style="font-family:Times;">Bradford Skow, “Extrinsic Temporal Metrics”, Vol. 5;</span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; text-indent: -0.5in; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; "><span style="font-family:Times;">Jason Turner, “Ontological Nihilism”, Vol. 6;</span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; text-indent: -0.5in; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; "><span style="font-family:Times;">Rachael Briggs and Graeme A. Forbes, “The Real Truth About the Unreal Future”, Vol. 7;</span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; text-indent: -0.5in; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; "><span style="font-family:Times;">Shamik Dasgupta, “Absolutism vs Comparativism about Quantities”, forthcoming, Vol. 8.</span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; text-indent: -0.5in; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1in; "><span style="font-family:Times;"> </span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="font-family:Times;">Enquiries should be addressed to Dean Zimmerman:<span> </span></span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height: 32px; margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="font-family:Times;"><a href="https://outlook.leeds.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=a0a4a4ac92404a6283004ee570903cf6&URL=mailto%3adwzimmer%40rci.rutgers.edu">dwzimmer@rci.rutgers.edu</a></span></p></span>Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-88130436232393725902011-12-05T08:33:00.003+00:002011-12-05T08:38:38.833+00:00Parthood, CAI and groundingI've posted a new paper: '<a href="http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/%7Ephlrpc/parthood_and_generation.pdf">Parts generate the whole, but they are not identical to it</a>'. The paper argues that the view that wholes are grounded (at least in part) by their parts is better than the view that wholes <span style="font-style: italic;">are</span> their parts (composition as identity), because it does as well or better at solving certain puzzles concerning parthood, and has the advantage of not having counter-intuitive essentialist consequences. Any comments welcome!Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-85465070608098517582011-10-04T16:22:00.004+01:002011-10-04T18:00:19.258+01:00Three jobs at LeedsWe are advertising three continuing lecturer jobs at Leeds, in philosophy of language, epistemology, and value.<br /><br />(These jobs are roughly equivalent to tenured assistants professorships, in US terms. And feel free to apply for more than one: if you do language and epistemology, e.g., then put in two separate applications, one for each job.)<br /><br />Further details:<br /><p class="x_MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-18.0pt"><b><span style="">1.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></b><b><a href="https://outlook.leeds.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=f273349ef4e5418aa8e34bc844a149dd&URL=http%3a%2f%2fjobs.leeds.ac.uk%2ffe%2ftpl_universityofleeds01.asp%3fs%3dVeGdJOlYwNZeBbNwt%26jobid%3d74695%2c3576832372%26key%3d73487962%26c%3d526512575834%26pagestamp%3dsetlkcdsahrscdlacw" target="_blank">Lecturer in Value Philosophy</a> Job reference: ARTHM0010</b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><b> </b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">The School seeks to hire a Lecturer in of Philosophy of Value, broadly construed to include (e.g.) normative ethics, metaethics, and political philosophy. </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">The position will incorporate undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, some thesis supervision, and some non-teaching administrative duties. With a research record and teaching experience commensurate with career stage, the successful candidate should have completed or submitted a PhD by the beginning of the appointment.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">The successful candidate will have the ability to make an outstanding contribution to the research activities of the Centre for Ethics and Metaethics, to the research life of the department in general, and to Philosophy’s REF 2014 submission.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">Post must commence no later than 1 September 2012 (or sooner if required to do so in discussion with the School).</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">Candidates are encouraged to apply for more than one Philosophy position where appropriate. </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">We particularly welcome applications from candidates belonging to groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in philosophy, including but not limited to women and ethnic minorities.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">For more information on Philosophy at the University of Leeds see <a href="https://outlook.leeds.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=f273349ef4e5418aa8e34bc844a149dd&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.leeds.ac.uk%2farts%2finfo%2f20048%2fphilosophy" target="_blank"> http://www.leeds.ac.uk/arts/info/20048/philosophy</a> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif"font-family:";" >University Grade 7 (£32,751 – £35,788) or University Grade 8 (£36,862 - £44,016)</span></strong></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif"font-family:";" > </span></strong></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><b>Informal enquiries may be made to Professor Graeme Gooday Tel +44 (0)113 343 3274, messages Tel +44 (0)113 343 3260,</b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><b>Email: </b><a href="https://outlook.leeds.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=f273349ef4e5418aa8e34bc844a149dd&URL=mailto%3ag.j.n.gooday%40leeds.ac.uk"><b>g.j.n.gooday@leeds.ac.uk</b></a><b> </b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><b> </b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><b>Closing date 18<sup> </sup>November 2011</b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><b>Interviews are expected to be held in February 2012</b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-18.0pt"><b><span style="">2.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></b> <b><u> <a href="https://outlook.leeds.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=f273349ef4e5418aa8e34bc844a149dd&URL=http%3a%2f%2fjobs.leeds.ac.uk%2ffe%2ftpl_universityofleeds01.asp%3fs%3dWjsUrXCzMkBNsPpBkh%26jobid%3d74694%2c4602238787%26key%3d73489073%26c%3d685988235834%26pagestamp%3dsejiborekximbocfgf" target="_blank">Lecturer in Epistemology</a> </u> Job Reference: ARTHM0009</b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><b> </b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">The School seeks to hire a Lecturer in Epistemology, broadly construed to include (e.g.) specialists in the history of the subject and candidates whose research engages with issues in philosophy of science. </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">The position will incorporate undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, some thesis supervision, and some non-teaching administrative duties. With a research record and teaching experience commensurate with career stage, the successful candidate should have completed or submitted a PhD by the beginning of the appointment.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">The successful candidate will have the ability to make an outstanding contribution to the research life of the department, and to Philosophy’s REF 2014 submission.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">Post must commence no later than 1 September 2012 (or sooner if required to do so in discussion with the School).</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">Candidates are encouraged to apply for more than one Philosophy position where appropriate. </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">We particularly welcome applications from candidates belonging to groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in philosophy, including but not limited to women and ethnic minorities.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">For more information on Philosophy at the University of Leeds see <a href="https://outlook.leeds.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=f273349ef4e5418aa8e34bc844a149dd&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.leeds.ac.uk%2farts%2finfo%2f20048%2fphilosophy" target="_blank"> http://www.leeds.ac.uk/arts/info/20048/philosophy</a> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif"font-family:";" >University Grade 7 (£32,751 – £35,788) or University Grade 8 (£36,862 - £44,016)</span></strong></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif"font-family:";" > </span></strong></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><b>Informal enquiries may be made to Professor Graeme Gooday Tel +44 (0)113 343 3274, messages Tel +44 (0)113 343 3260,</b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><b>Email: </b><a href="https://outlook.leeds.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=f273349ef4e5418aa8e34bc844a149dd&URL=mailto%3ag.j.n.gooday%40leeds.ac.uk"><b>g.j.n.gooday@leeds.ac.uk</b></a><b> </b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><b> </b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><b>Closing date 18<sup> </sup>November 2011</b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><b>Interviews are expected to be held in February 2012</b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <h1><span style=" line-height:115%;font-size:12.0pt;" > </span></h1> <h1> </h1> <span style=" Arial","sans-serif"font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;" ><br /></span> <p class="x_MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-18.0pt"><b><span style="">3.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></b><b><a href="https://outlook.leeds.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=f273349ef4e5418aa8e34bc844a149dd&URL=http%3a%2f%2fjobs.leeds.ac.uk%2ffe%2ftpl_universityofleeds01.asp%3fs%3dggpRoUZwJhYKpMmYhe%26jobid%3d74696%2c5423346886%26key%3d73489328%26c%3d529898870256%26pagestamp%3ddbdtaodyecwvjhyvar" target="_blank">Lecturer in Philosophy of Language</a> Job Reference: ARTHM0011</b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><b> </b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">The School seeks to hire a Lecturer in the Philosophy of Language, broadly construed to include (e.g.) specialists in the history of the subject.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">The position will incorporate undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, some thesis supervision, and some non-teaching administrative duties. With a research record and teaching experience commensurate with career stage, the successful candidate should have completed or submitted a PhD by the beginning of the appointment.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">The successful candidate will have the ability to make an outstanding contribution to the research life of the department, and to Philosophy’s REF 2014 submission.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">Post must commence no later than 1 September 2012 (or sooner if required to do so in discussion with the School).</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">Candidates are encouraged to apply for more than one Philosophy position where appropriate. </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">We particularly welcome applications from candidates belonging to groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in philosophy, including but not limited to women and ethnic minorities.</p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal">For more information on Philosophy at the University of Leeds see <a href="https://outlook.leeds.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=f273349ef4e5418aa8e34bc844a149dd&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.leeds.ac.uk%2farts%2finfo%2f20048%2fphilosophy" target="_blank"> http://www.leeds.ac.uk/arts/info/20048/philosophy</a> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif"font-family:";" >University Grade 7 (£32,751 – £35,788) or University Grade 8 (£36,862 - £44,016)</span></strong></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><strong><span style="Calibri","sans-serif"font-family:";" > </span></strong></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><b>Informal enquiries may be made to Professor Graeme Gooday Tel +44 (0)113 343 3274, messages Tel +44 (0)113 343 3260</b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><b>Email: </b><a href="https://outlook.leeds.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=f273349ef4e5418aa8e34bc844a149dd&URL=mailto%3ag.j.n.gooday%40leeds.ac.uk"><b>g.j.n.gooday@leeds.ac.uk</b></a><b> </b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><b> </b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><b>Closing date 18<sup> </sup>November 2011</b></p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="x_MsoNormal"><b>Interviews are expected to be held in February 2012</b></p>Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-68708359277184539462011-07-19T08:35:00.003+01:002011-07-19T08:40:13.374+01:00Indeterminacy workshop<span style="font-size:100%;">The<a href="http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/%7Ephljrgw/MIworkshopII.html"> 2nd workshop for the Leeds Metaphysical Indeterminacy Project </a>will be held on September 8-9 2011 at the University of Leeds.<br /><br />Speakers and titles include:<br /><br />* Katherine Hawley (St Andrews) 'A Problem of the Many for Universals' (joint work with Alexander Bird)<br />* Benj Hellie (Toronto) 'Treating the future as open'<br />* Nick JJ Smith (Sydney) 'Many kinds of indeterminacy; one kind of credence'<br />* Jessica Wilson (Toronto) 'Indeterminacy in the World'<br /><br />The workshop will start around midday on Thursday, and finish mid-afternoon Friday. Thanks to funding from the AHRC, there is no registration fee; but if you'd like to attend, please contact Robert Williams (j.r.g.williams@leeds.ac.uk) so we can ensure we have enough space.<br /><br />The workshop is the second of six sponsored by the AHRC as part of the 3-year Metaphysical Indeterminacy project at Leeds. Further details can be found at the<a href="http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/%7Ephljrgw/MIProject.html"> project homepage</a>.</span>Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-61440164774106351772011-06-14T15:06:00.003+01:002011-06-14T15:08:03.444+01:00Open future (again)Elizabeth and I have posted a draft of a new paper on the open future: available <a href="http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/%7Ephlrpc/Open_Future_2.pdf">here</a>. Comments welcome!Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-86251758807910022072011-04-21T10:18:00.002+01:002011-04-21T10:21:13.391+01:00Fictional Realism, Nominalism, and Indeterminate IdentityI’ve posted a new paper: <a href="http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~phlrpc/fictional_characters.pdf">How to be a nominalist and a fictional realist</a>. Here are the Cliff notes.<br /><br />In my <a href="http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~phlrpc/There%20are%20no%20musical%20works.pdf">musical works</a> paper, I argued that there are true claims proclaiming the existence of, and properties of, musical works, but that there weren’t really any musical works, because such claims were made true by an ontology that didn’t admit such things. In this paper, I attempt to tell a similar story for fictional characters. It’s literally true that the fictional character Bilbo Baggins exists, and it’s literally that he is a Hobbit according to the fiction <span style="font-style:italic;">The Lords of the Rings</span>. But these claims can be made true without admitting fictional characters, or fictions, into our ontology. What makes them true, I suggest, are our acts of interpreting the fiction. Thus we can account for these truths with a nominalistically acceptable ontology (assuming, as I do, that there is in general a nominalistically acceptable account of the mental).<br /><br />I also argue that the resulting view solves various puzzle cases concerning fictional characters. The most salient being Anthony Everett’s argument that fictional realism leads to untenable indeterminacy in identity. Everett argues that there are fictions in which it is indeterminate whether A is identical to B. The fictional realist believes in the fictional characters A and B. Whether the fictional characters are in reality identical is determined by whether they are identical according to the fiction to which they belong. So since it’s indeterminate whether they are identical in the fiction, it’s indeterminate in reality whether the fictional characters are identical. Reductio of fictional realist, given Evans’ argument against indeterminate identity.<br /><br />I attempt to solve this puzzle by locating the source of the indeterminacy to indeterminacy in what fictional character is referred to, thus avoiding conflict with Evans’ conclusion (which is, as Lewis noted, directed only at indeterminate identity de re, not at indeterminacy in identity statements). Roughly, the idea is that when the fiction attempts to make an indeterminate identity, we are forced to interpret the fiction both ways. Given the above account, this results in there being two fictions, and two sets of fictional characters associated with each fiction, and it will as a result be indeterminate which fiction and which characters we refer to. In which case, the statement of identity will be indeterminate, but there will be no indeterminacy of identity de re.<br /><br />Further details in the paper, of course; comments welcome.Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-11357326304512968292011-04-20T15:29:00.002+01:002011-04-20T15:34:08.674+01:00'In virtue of' and propositionsLike many metaphysicians, I think the world is structured. Some truths hold true in virtue of others; some things exist in virtue of other things; some truths are made true by things. I think that there’s only one relation here, and it is the <span style="font-style:italic;">in virtue of</span> relation, that holds between true propositions. For A to exist in virtue of B (i.e. for A to be ontologically dependent on B) is for the proposition [A exists] to be true in virtue of the proposition [B exists]; for the proposition P to be made true by A is for P to be true in virtue of the proposition [A exists].<br /><br />Sometimes I hear the objection that this assumes that propositions are themselves fundamental constituents of reality. This objection is misplaced, for the view does not assume that. I can’t really see why one would think it did, but I’ve heard it enough times that I think it’s worth spelling out why I don’t think it does. If I’m just confused, I’d like to hear why!<br /><br />Suppose you have an <span style="font-style:italic;">in virtue of</span> chain that terminates in the proposition P. All that is entailed by this is that <span style="font-style:italic;">what P says to be the case </span>is fundamentally the case; but <span style="font-style:italic;">that P exists</span> may well be true in virtue of something else, and so P may itself be a derivative entity, despite its content being a fundamental truth.<br /><br />Here is a toy example, just to illustrate the consistency. Suppose for every proposition, p, <span style="font-style:italic;">that p exists</span> is true in virtue of the fact that it is possible for someone to entertain the content of p. So P might be true in virtue of Q, which is itself fundamental. But the proposition [Q exists] needn’t be fundamental. On the toy proposal, [Q exists] is true in virtue of [Possibly, someone entertains the content of Q]. Of course, now I’ve invoked another proposition, call it R; so if <span style="font-style:italic;">it </span>is to be a derivative entity I need to invoke a new instance of the <span style="font-style:italic;">in virtue of</span> relation. [R exists] in virtue of [Possibly, someone entertains the content of R]. And now we have <span style="font-style:italic;">another </span>new proposition, so need a new instance of the relation; and so on, and so on. We generate an infinite sequence of <span style="font-style:italic;">in virtue of</span> relations. But this is not, I think, a vicious regress. The success of an instance of the <span style="font-style:italic;">in virtue of</span> relation never depends on the success of the instance of the relation it ‘generates’. P obtains in virtue of Q, and that generates a new instance: [Q exists] in virtue of R. But the success of ‘P obtains in virtue of Q’ doesn’t depend on the success of ‘[Q exists] in virtue of R’, for it doesn’t matter to P’s being grounded in Q whether or not Q is fundamental. That Q is not a fundamental existent is nice, but it’s irrelevant to Q’s ability to be the relata of the <span style="font-style:italic;">in virtue of</span> relation. So the fact that there is an infinite sequence of <span style="font-style:italic;">in virtue of</span> instances is, I think, unworrying.<br /><br />Now, I don’t particularly recommend that account of what grounds the facts concerning the existence of propositions, but it’s clearly just a placeholder for a better account. So I think taking propositions to be the relata of the <span style="font-style:italic;">in virtue of</span> relation simply has no consequences for whether or not propositions are fundamental constituents of the world.Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-43320467049559989722011-01-10T08:01:00.002+00:002011-01-10T08:03:49.200+00:00Indeterminacy workshop, update.The schedule is now finalised for the first metaphysical indeterminacy workshop, and follows, with paper titles. Again, let me know if you'd like to come.<br /><br />Fri, Jan 21<br /><br />1.00-1.15: Arrival and Registration<br />1.15-2.45: Antony Eagle (Oxford), The Open Future<br />2.45-3.00: Break<br />3.00-4.30: Agustin Rayo (MIT), Metaphysical Indeterminacy and the Contours of Logical Space<br /><br />Sat, Jan 22<br /><br />10.00-11.30: Carrie Jenkins (Nottingham), Indeterminacy and Analyticity: Blaming Semantics and Blaming the World<br />11.30-1.30: Lunch<br />1.30-3.00: Patrick Greenough (St Andrews), Truthmaker Gluts.<br />3.00: Conference Closes<br /><br />All talks will be in G23, Baines wing. (Enter the university via the main entrance at the top of Parkinson steps, and there will be signs from there.)Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-43429999562117296612010-12-29T15:02:00.004+00:002010-12-29T15:11:58.762+00:00Metaphysical Indeterminacy workshopThe first workshop of the AHRC funded project on Metaphysical Indeterminacy that Elizabeth, Robbie and I run will be held in Leeds on the 21st and 22nd of January. The speakers are<br /><br />Antony Eagle (Oxford)<br />Patrick Greenough (St Andrews)<br />Carrie Jenkins (Nottingham)<br />Agustin Rayo (MIT)<br /><br />The workshop will start at 1pm on Jan 21st and end at 2pm on the 22nd. Attendance is free, but if you are planning on coming please e-mail me (r.p.cameron@leeds.ac.uk) and let me know. We'd love to see you there!Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-41871303963142785472010-11-04T10:02:00.002+00:002010-11-04T10:14:28.649+00:00Motivating Attitudes De Dicto and De SeAccording to the Property Theory of content, the contents of our beliefs, desires, etc. aren't propositions, but properties. The contents of <i>de se</i>, or irreducibly first-personal, beliefs are properties we self-ascribe; if I believe that <i>I myself</i> am the messy shopper, I self-ascribe the property of <i>being the messy shopper</i>. If I merely believe <i>de dicto</i> (or even <i>de re</i>) that Jason is the messy shopper, then what I believe is the property of being such that Jason is the messy shopper. If I'm suffering from selective amnesia and have forgotten who I am, I may believe the latter without believing the former.<br /><br />I like the property theory. I'd like to believe it. I've even defended it against objections. But I'm worried that it's motivations are going to over-generate. The property theory can be thought of as taking thoughts best expressed with one indexical expression -- "I" -- and inserting a slot into the content of this thought for the bit associated with that expression. (E.g., "I am the messy shopper" expresses the content <i>____ is the messy shopper</i>.) I'm worried the argument that gets us to add in this slot is going to drive us to add in other slots as well.<br /><br />Consider what I take to be the strongest case for the property theory: Lewis's ("Attitudes <i>De Dicto</i> and <i>De Se</i>", 1979) case of the two gods. Zeus lives at the top of the mountain; Poseidon lives at the bottom of the deepest ocean. They both know <i>all</i> the true propositions. But neither knows who he is. Zeus knows that Zeus is at the top of the tallest mountain; but he doesn't know that <i>he</i> is at the top of the tallest mountain. Since he knows all the true propositions (Lewis argues), and since if he did know that he was at the top of the mountain he'd have a (new) true belief, whatever content Zeus fails to be belief-related to must not be a proposition. But properties: those could do the job. Zeus could believe all the propositions but not believe the property <i>being on top of the mountain</i>.<br /><br />Properties aren't the only way to handle Lewis's two-gods case. We could instead have belief as a triadic relation between, roughly, a believer, a proposition believed, and a way of presenting that proposition to oneself. Then Zeus might believe the proposition that Zeus is on top of the mountain under one mode of presentation, but not under another, first-personal, mode. Why prefer the property theory to this one? Neil Feit (<i>Beliefs About the Self</i>, 2008) argues (inter alia) that the property theory is just more streamlined, more elegant, than the triadic theory. We'll come back to this in a mo.<br /><br />Here's the case that's worrying me. We have one god, who is sitting in front of two ghostly spheres -- call them Bo and Luke. They're intrinsic duplicates and, gosh, wouldn't you know it, they're occupying the exact same region right now. But one of them is going to move here in a minute.<br /><br />Beings like us will have a hard time ostending one of the co-located spheres. But that's no problem for a god! So this god ostends one of them and says, "I wonder if <i>that</i> one is going to be the one that moves in a minute."<br /><br />It looks like we can repeat the Lewis-style worries here. Our curious god -- call her Daisy -- might well know that Bo is going to move in a minute, but not know whether she is ostending Bo or Luke. Indeed, it looks like she might know <i>all</i> propositions, but still not know whether <i>that</i> sphere is going to move in a minute. So -- by parity of reasoning -- if Lewis's gods case drives us to add a slot in for irreducible "I"-thoughts, shouldn't the Bo and Luke case drive us to add in a slot for irreducibly demonstrative thoughts? But I take it this would be a disaster (once we see the trick, it's a good bet this will get out of hand pretty soon), so we should resist drawing the property-theory lesson from Lewis's two gods case.<br /><br />I expect the property theorist to respond: "If we're already property theorists, we can find a property that Daisy doesn't believe: the property of ostending Bo. Once she comes to know that property, since she also knows that Bo will move in a minute, she will be in a cognitive state that she is not in now --- and it's one that can serve the role of 'knowing that <i>that</i> sphere will move in a minute'".<br /><br />But the simplest version of this won't work. Suppose Daisy wonders, "Will it be that sphere or that one which moves in a minute?", respectively ostending Bo and Luke in the process. Even if she knows that she has ostended Bo during her wondering, this won't improve her cognitive state (because she has also ostended Luke). So the property theorist will have to resort to a more linguistically fine-grained property for Daisy to believe, one along the lines of "the property of having first ostended Bo and then ostended Luke", or something like that.<br /><br />I don't have any argument the property theorist <i>can't</i> make this move work. I rather suspect he can. What I want to point out now is that the property theorist is now relying on properties that seem to be close to the triadic theorist's modes of presenting a proposition. That is: there will need to be some sort of quasi-syntactical specification of the thought that Daisy is having, so that Daisy can learn how parts of this thought are related to the world (e.g., that this part is related to Bo, and that one is related to Luke). This isn't the same thing as the triadic theorist's view by a long shot; but it makes use of many of the same sorts of resources.<br /><br />But once we're going down this line as property theorists to deal with Daisy's ignorance, what happens to the objection to the triadic theorist's treatment of Zeus's ignorance? The triadic theorist, in essence, says that Zeus doesn't know his mental tokens of "I" pick out Zeus; the property theorist (on the envisaged response) says that Daisy doesn't know that her (particular) mental tokens of "that" pick out Bo and Luke, respectively. If we're going down this line anyway, why not be triadic theorists from the get-go? Maybe the triadic theory is ugly, but if the property theory has to partake of this same ugliness, then there's no argument from ugliness in favor of properties over modes of presentation. And the property theory in fact looks worse, because the triadic theorist can treat what seem like similar phenomena -- indexical ignorance -- in a similar fashion, whereas the property theorist treats some cases of indexical ignorance very differently than others.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08511374467709845882noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30588510.post-27512308139184761502010-08-15T08:03:00.002+01:002010-08-15T08:11:02.517+01:00AHRC studentship on metaphysical indeterminacy.Elizabeth, Robbie and I have received a grant from the AHRC for a three year project on metaphysical indeterminacy. We are very excited about this! Part of this includes a PhD studentship. This will be an excellent opportunity, as the PhD student attached to the project will benefit from contact with the excellent group of international and UK philosophers we've got signed on to be involved! Unfortunately, there's a very short time until applications are due. Application details follow.<br /><br />AHRC Project Doctoral Studentship, Metaphysical Indeterminacy<br /><br />The Department of Philosophy at the University of Leeds invites applications for an AHRC-funded doctoral studentship, tenable from October 2010.<br /><br />The award will be held as part of the AHRC-funded project ‘Metaphysical Indeterminacy’. The successful applicant will engage in research on a topic in the philosophy of indeterminacy, such as the metaphysics of indeterminacy, the logic or philosophy of language of vagueness, etc. The research undertaken by the award holder will contribute to the larger project, directed by Drs Elizabeth Barnes, Ross Cameron and Robert Williams. The chosen candidate will benefit from contact with national and international experts in metaphysics, the philosophy of logic and language and related fields through the programme of international visitors, seminars and workshops funded by the project.<br /><br />Studentship Information<br /><br />The studentship is tenable for up to 3 years (full-time) from 1 October 2010. Renewal of the studentship each year is subject to satisfactory academic progress.<br /><br />AHRC regulations require that applicants must meet UK residency criteria or be ordinarily resident in the EU. EU candidates are normally eligible for a fees-only award, unless they have been ordinarily resident in the UK for 3 years immediately preceding the date of the award. Applicants should normally have, or be studying for, a Master’s degree in Philosophy. Further details concerning eligibility are available via the <a href="http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Documents/Guide%20to%20Student%20Eligibility.pdf">AHRC website</a>. (PDF link)<br /><br />Full awards cover academic fees at the standard UK rate and a maintenance grant for full-time study.<br /><br />Applications<br /><br />The closing date for applications is Friday 27th August 2010. You should also arrange for two academic references to be sent to us by this date.<br /><br />Applications should be made using the standard postgraduate research degree application form, which is available for <a href="www.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/Research_degree_application_form.doc">download </a>(Word doc link). The following documents should be submitted with your application: 500 word PhD proposal; a copy of your degree transcripts (or a transcript of your marks to date if you are currently completing a degree); a sample of written work, consisting of a philosophical essay on a question of your choice, not less than 3000 words in length; CV.<br /><br />All applications and references should be sent to Jenneke Stevens, Postgraduate Secretary, Department of Philosophy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, email: J.M.Stevens@leeds.ac.uk, tel: +44 113 343 3263.<br /><br />Intending applicants should contact Dr Ross Cameron (r.p.cameron@leeds.ac.uk) for information about the studentship.Ross Cameronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900752201200020829noreply@blogger.com0