Induction, which involves a leap from the particular to the universal, has always been a puzzling phenomenon for those attempting to investigate the origins of knowledge. Although traditionally accepted as the engine of first principles, the authority of inductive reasoning has been undermined in the modern age by empiricist criticisms that derive notably from Hume, who insisted that induction is an invalid line of reasoning that ends in unreliable future predictions.
Comprehensive and accessible, Moral Reasoning introduces students to the historical foundations of moral theory and contemporary ethics.
This is a wide-ranging anthology that examines, in chronological order, several genres that have been prominent in the history of Western philosophy.
Philosophy grads from Canadian universities are at a disadvantage in landing tenure-track jobs
There have long been anecdotal reports that graduates of Canadian PhD programs are often overlooked in favour of graduates with foreign credentials when Canada’s larger universities hire new faculty. Prompted by the suggestion of a sessional instructor who does not yet have full-time employment, we – two professors with permanent positions in small Canadian philosophy departments – decided to take a look within our own particular discipline to see if this indeed was the case.
In An Aristotelian Account of Induction Groarke discusses the intellectual process through which we access the “first principles” of human thought - the most basic concepts, the laws of logic, the universal claims of science and metaphysics, and the deepest moral truths.
This paper will analyze objections to harm reduction in light of the ethical theories of John Stuart Mill, Immanuel Kant and Aristotle.
In five stages, this essay works out an account of the aphorism as a philosophical genre. First, I outline a preliminary, general strategy for elucidating the aphorism as an expression of “aphoristic consciousness.” Then I discuss Blaise Pascal’s aphoristic style, concentrating on exegetical issues surrounding his Pensées…
In this paper I argue that a pervasive “religion as tyranny” view has its roots in a philosophical misunderstanding about human freedom.
In the view of most contemporary authors, morality and individual freedom diverge. Morality is a restriction that limits freedom. In The Good Rebel, Louis Groarke takes a radically different stance, arguing that morality, properly understood, is the only true expression of personal freedom.
In this paper, I argue that the atheistic tradition is mistaken. In the first place, even an absolutely omnipotent God could, as an act of benevolence, create a world in which there is suffering. In the second place, I argue that the concept of absolute omnipotence is fatally flawed. An absolutely omnipotent God would lack, in a decisive sense, power.