Maitzen on the Explanatory Power of Penguins
In his contribution to The Puzzle of Existence, Stephen Maitzen defends the surprising claim that penguins hold the answer to the deep mysteries of the universe. Well, that's not exactly what he says. Maitzen's position is that the only interpretation of 'why is there something rather than nothing?' on which that sentence expresses a legitimate, well-formed question is one on which it is not a deep mystery at all, but a trivial empirical question to which 'because there are penguins' is a perfectly adequate answer. It is interesting to note that Maitzen's article is, in a way, just the reverse...
Continue reading "Maitzen on the Explanatory Power of Penguins"
Topic(s):
Contemporary Thinkers
,
Cosmological Argument
,
Existence of God
,
Explanation
,
Marc Lange
,
Metaphysics
,
Modality
,
Natural Kinds
,
Philosophy
,
Philosophy of Religion
,
Philosophy of Science
,
Stephen Maitzen
,
Tyron Goldschmidt
Posted by
Kenny at
6:58 PM
|
Comments (7)
|
TrackBack (0)
Locke on the Arbitrariness of Ideas of Mixed Modes and Substances
In Locke's discussion of names of mixed modes and names of substances in EHU 3.5-6, he seems to suggest that the ideas of mixed modes are in some way more arbitrary than the ideas of substances. Some commentators, such as Nicholas Jolley (Locke: His Philosophical Thought, 155-161), have found this claim problematic for, according to Locke, ideas of substances are 'the workmanship of the understanding'; they are not given to us by nature. I think, however, that considerations from book two are sufficient to answer this worry. Locke defines mixed modes as "such Combinations of simple Ideas, as are not...
Continue reading "Locke on the Arbitrariness of Ideas of Mixed Modes and Substances"