PHILOSOPHY PATHWAYS ISSN 2043-0728 http://philosophypathways.com/newsletter/ Issue No. 225 17th September 2018 CONTENTS Edited by D.R. Khashaba I. 'Of Probability; and the Idea of Cause and Effect' by David Hume II. 'Causation' by F.H. Bradley III. 'Psychological and Physical Causal Laws' by Bertrand Russell From the List Manager IV. Dualism in the Twenty-First Century, Budapest CFP -=- EDITOR'S NOTE The problem of Causation is an aspect of the problem of change which has deep roots, going back to Parmenides. In my opinion, Plato 'corrected' Parmenides in the Sophist (237b-249a). Yet philosophers continued to wrangle with the puzzles of change and causation. For this issue of Philosophy Pathways I chose three papers, from David Hume, F.H. Bradley, and Bertrand Russell. Hume defines the problem; Bradley regards causation as part of the unreality of Appearance (Parmenides' Way of Seeming) to be transcended in Reality; Russell finds that science has no need for the notion of cause: he does not touch on the metaphysical dimension of the problem. Among modern philosophers Bergson and Whitehead take the bull by its horns: they find change and process in the very heart of Reality, which, to my mind, is in agreement with Plato's mature position. The link below download the PDF of my latest, almost certainly my last, book: In Praise of Philosophical Ignorance (formerly Back to Socrates), which I invite you to download and read. http://philosophypathways.com/articles/DR_Khashaba_In_Praise_of_ Philosophical_Ignorance.pdf (c) D.R. Khashaba 2018 Email: dkhashaba@yahoo.com Site/ Blog: https://philosophia937.wordpress.com About the editor: -=- I. 'OF PROBABILITY; AND THE IDEA OF CAUSE AND EFFECT' BY DAVID HUME This is all I think necessary to observe concerning those four relations, which are the foundation of science; but as to the other three, which depend not upon the idea, and may be absent or present even while that remains the same, 'twill be proper to explain them more particularly. These three relations are identity, the situations in time and place, and causation [...] Read more... http://philosophypathways.com/articles/David_Hume_Of_Probability_and _the_Idea_of_Cause_and_Effect.pdf Text in the public domain -=- II. 'PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL CAUSAL LAWS' BY BERTRAND RUSSELL The traditional conception of cause and effect is one which modern science shows to be fundamentally erroneous, and requiring to be replaced by a quite different notion, that of laws of change. In the traditional conception, a particular event A caused a particular event B, and by this it was implied that, given any event B, some earlier event A could be discovered which had a relation to it, such that (1) Whenever A occurred, it was followed by B; (2) In this sequence, there was something 'necessary', not a mere de facto occurrence of A first and then B [...] Read more... http://philosophypathways.com/articles/Bertrand_Russell_ Psychological_and_Physical_Causal_Laws.pdf Text in the public domain -=- III. 'CAUSATION' BY F.H. BRADLEY The object of this chapter is merely to point out, first, the main discrepancy in causation, and, in the second place, to exhibit an obstacle coming from time's continuity. Some other aspects of the general question will be considered in later chapters [...] Read more... http://philosophypathways.com/articles/FH_Bradley_Appearance_ Causation.pdf Text in the public domain -=- IV. DUALISM IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, BUDAPEST CFP Originally posted on Philos-L http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/archives/philos-l.html 14.9.18 List members are reminded that abstracts for short papers to be delivered at the conference Dualism in the Twenty-First Century, Budapest, will be accepted until 30th September. Up-to-date information about the conference can be found at the following link: https://www.humanephilosophy.com/single-post/2018/08/13/ Dualism-in-the-Twenty-First-Century-Budapest Event Outline: Mind-body dualism underwent a renaissance in the last part of the twentieth century. Several arguments challenged the capacity of physicalism to accommodate mental phenomena, especially conscious experience. Dualism was widely considered the leading alternative. Since then, sophisticated responses to arguments against physicalism have been developed, and nonphysicalist views other than dualism, including idealism and Russellian monism have received renewed interest. This conference will examine the prospects for dualism in the twenty-first century in light of the latest research, including the arguments for and against dualism; the relative merits of dualism, and other nonphysicalist positions in the metaphysics of mind; and the relationship between dualism and wider issues in philosophy. Date: 6th December 2018 - 8th December 2018 Location: Central European University, Budapest & Pazmany Peter University, Budapest (tbc) Confirmed Speakers Tim Crane Kati Farkas Benedikt Paul Gocke Balazs Mezei Hedda Hassel Morch Martine Nida-Rumelin David Pitt Howard Robinson Richard Swinburne Janos Tozser Call for Abstracts Abstracts for short papers by graduate students and early career researchers of no more than five hundred words should be sent to Ralph Weir at rsw45@cam.ac.uk; emails should have the title 'Dualism in the Twenty-First Century Short Paper'. Bursaries of up to 200, covering travel and accommodation will be provided for short paper presenters. Submissions should include the name and affiliation of the author, and should exhibit the highest standards of clarity and rigour, engagement with recent scholarship, and an interest in questions of real human concern. The deadline for submissions of abstracts is 30th September 2018. The organisers will notify successful authors within one week of this date. Participants Information for persons wishing to attend this event without delivering a paper will be made available by 30th September 2018. Sponsors This event is part of the project Science, Theology, and Humane Philosophy: Central and Eastern European Perspectives. It is sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation; the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion, University of Oxford; Pazmany Peter Catholic University; the Central European University; the Hungarian Academy of Sciences; the Ruhr University Bochum; the University of Lincoln, and the Humane Philosophy Project. Organizers Ralph Weir Tamas Paar Mikolaj Slawkowski-Rode Maarten Van Doorn Laszlo Bernath Posted by Ralph Weir Email: rsw45@CAM.AC.UK -=- Philosophy Pathways is the electronic newsletter for the Pathways to Philosophy distance learning program To subscribe or cancel your subscription please email your request to philosophypathways@fastmail.net or go online at https://lists.shef.ac.uk/sympa/info/philosophypathways Please send contributions, suggestions or comments to the List Manager Geoffrey Klempner klempner@fastmail.net The views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of the Editors.