A refutation of physicalism
pp. 115-132
Abstract
Should one be a physicalist? In this chapter, I argue, benevolently, that the argument from causal closure is either unsound or question-begging, but, more realistically, that it is absolutely misplaced because its scope is restricted to a certain class of mental properties. It does not even touch the question of whether every particular in the actual world is a physical particular, and therefore cannot support physicalism. Because the argument from causal closure is the canonical argument for physicalism, I conclude there is no positive reason to be a physicalist at all.
Publication details
Published in:
(2014) A theory of the absolute. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.
Pages: 115-132
Full citation:
(2014) A refutation of physicalism, In: A theory of the absolute, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 115–132.