eCommons

 

Rational Foundationalism

Other Titles

Abstract

Everything that exists has an explanation of its existence. Philosophers have used this principle in arguments for the existence of something ontologically fundamental, an ultimate ground of being, such as God. But if everything has an explanation of its existence, so, too, does whatever is fundamental. I analyze what five prominent historical figures—Anselm, Aquinas, Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz—have said about how a fundamental being, a being that exists a se, is explained. While none are satisfactory, several lessons are drawn from them to construct a novel proposal, which requires a new way of thinking about absolute and relative fundamentality. If what is fundamental is identified with God, certain Scholastic doctrines about the divine nature, such as absolute simplicity, will have to be abandoned—a consequence that I argue is a virtue rather than vice of the proposal.

Journal / Series

Volume & Issue

Description

172 pages

Sponsorship

Date Issued

2020-08

Publisher

Keywords

Cosmological Argument; Explanation; Fundamentality; Grounding; Principle of Sufficient Reason

Location

Effective Date

Expiration Date

Sector

Employer

Union

Union Local

NAICS

Number of Workers

Committee Chair

Pereboom, Derk

Committee Co-Chair

Committee Member

Bennett, Karen
MacDonald, Scott C.

Degree Discipline

Philosophy

Degree Name

Ph. D., Philosophy

Degree Level

Doctor of Philosophy

Related Version

Related DOI

Related To

Related Part

Based on Related Item

Has Other Format(s)

Part of Related Item

Related To

Related Publication(s)

Link(s) to Related Publication(s)

References

Link(s) to Reference(s)

Previously Published As

Government Document

ISBN

ISMN

ISSN

Other Identifiers

Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Types

dissertation or thesis

Accessibility Feature

Accessibility Hazard

Accessibility Summary

Link(s) to Catalog Record