The Principle of Sufficient Reason PDF
Preview The Principle of Sufficient Reason
P1:JZZ 052185959Xpre CUNY294/Pruss 052185959X January30,2006 20:2 This page intentionally left blank ii P1:JZZ 052185959Xpre CUNY294/Pruss 052185959X January30,2006 20:2 The Principle of Sufficient Reason The Principle of Sufficient Reason (PSR) says that all contingent facts musthaveexplanations.Inthisvolume,thefirstonthetopicintheEnglish languageinnearlyhalfacentury,AlexanderPrussexaminesthesubstan- tivephilosophicalissuesraisedbythePSR,whichcurrentlyisconsidered primarily within the context of various cosmological arguments for the existence of God. Discussing several forms of the PSR and selected his- torical episodes from Parmenides, Aquinas, Leibniz, Hume, and Kant, Prussdefendstheclaimthateverytruecontingentpropositionmusthave anexplanationagainstmajorobjections,includingHume’simaginability argument and Peter van Inwagen’s argument that the PSR entails modal fatalism.PrussalsoprovidesanumberofpositiveargumentsforthePSR, basedonconsiderationsasdifferentasthemetaphysicsofexistence,coun- terfactualsandmodality,negativeexplanations,andtheeverydayapplica- bility of the PSR. Moreover, Pruss shows how the PSR would advance thediscussioninanumberofdisparatefields,suchasmetaethicsandthe philosophyofmathematics. Alexander R. Pruss is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University.Hehaspublishedmanypapersonmetaphysics,philosophyof religion,appliedethics,probabilitytheory,andgeometricsymmetrization theory.WithRichardM.GaleheiscoeditorofTheExistenceofGod. i P1:JZZ 052185959Xpre CUNY294/Pruss 052185959X January30,2006 20:2 ii P1:JZZ 052185959Xpre CUNY294/Pruss 052185959X January30,2006 20:2 cambridge studies in philosophy GeneralEditor walter sinott-armstrong (DartmouthCollege) AdvisoryEditors: jonathan dancy (UniversityofReading) john haldane (UniversityofSt.Andrews) gilbert harman (PrincetonUniversity) frank jackson (AustralianNationalUniversity) william g. lycan (UniversityofNorthCarolinaatChapelHill) sydney shoemaker (CornellUniversity) judith j. thomson (MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology) RecentTitles: mark lance andjohn o’leary-hawthorne TheGrammarofMeaning d. m. armstrong AWorldofStatesofAffairs pierre jacob WhatMindsCanDo andre gallois TheWorldWithout,theMindWithin fred feldman Utilitarianism,Hedonism,andDesert laurence bonjour InDefenseofPureReason david lewis PapersinPhilosophicalLogic wayne davis Implicature david cockburn OtherTimes david lewis PapersonMetaphysicsandEpistemology raymond martin Self-Concern annette barnes SeeingThroughSelf-Deception michael bratman FacesofIntention amie thomasson FictionandMetaphysics david lewis PapersonEthicsandSocialPhilosophy fred dretske Perception,Knowledge,andBelief lynne rudder baker PersonsandBodies john greco PuttingSkepticsinTheirPlace ruth garrett millikan OnClearandConfusedIdeas derk pereboom LivingWithoutFreeWill brian ellis ScientificEssentialism alan h. goldman PracticalRules:WhenWeNeedThemandWhenWeDon’t christopher hill ThoughtandWorld andrew newman TheCorrespondenceTheoryofTruth ishtiyaque haji DeonticMoralityandControl wayne a. davis Meaning,ExpressionandThought peter railton Facts,Values,andNorms jane heal Mind,ReasonandImagination jonathan kvanvig TheValueofKnowledgeandthePursuitofUnderstanding andrew melnyk APhysicalistManifesto iii P1:JZZ 052185959Xpre CUNY294/Pruss 052185959X January30,2006 20:2 iv P1:JZZ 052185959Xpre CUNY294/Pruss 052185959X January30,2006 20:2 The Principle of Sufficient Reason A Reassessment ALEXANDER R. PRUSS GeorgetownUniversity v cambridge university press Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown,Singapore,SãoPaulo Cambridge University Press TheEdinburghBuilding,Cambridgecb22ru,UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambrid ge.org/9780521859592 ©AlexanderR.Pruss2006 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexceptionandtotheprovisionof relevantcollectivelicensingagreements,noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplace withoutthewrittenpermissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublishedinprintformat 2006 isbn-13 978-0-511-22007-4 eBook(EBL) isbn-10 0-511-22007-3 eBook(EBL) isbn-13 978-0-521-85959-2 hardback isbn-10 0-521-85959-x hardback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyofurls forexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication,anddoesnot guaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate. P1:JZZ 052185959Xpre CUNY294/Pruss 052185959X January30,2006 20:2 For my father and mother vii P1:JZZ 052185959Xpre CUNY294/Pruss 052185959X January30,2006 20:2 viii
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