Shane Maxwell Wilkins | Fordham University - Academia.edu

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Shane Maxwell Wilkins

Fordham University, Philosophy, Post-Doc

Fordham University, Philosophy, Post-Doc |

Material Constitution

Address: Bronx, New York, United States

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159 Followers | 194 Following | —Total Views

Papers

Review of David Svoboda, Aquinas on One and Many

Appeared in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, 2015.

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How Unicity Theorists Can Recover the Elements from Material Substances

Aquinas famously argues for the unicity of substantial forms; the thesis that every composite mat... more Aquinas famously argues for the unicity of substantial forms; the thesis that every composite material object has exactly one substantial form. One important objection to the unicity thesis is that it appears to require an implausible position on the status of the elements, the fundamental physical constituents of materials substances within the composites. I argue that Aquinas offers a successful defense against this objection.

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Why Paraphrase Nihilism Fails

Synthese, 2015

Nihilists cannot make their position square with common sense simply by paraphrasing away the app... more Nihilists cannot make their position square with common sense simply by paraphrasing away the apparent ontological commitments in ordinary language. I argue for this claim by analogy. Paraphrase atheism says there is no God, but tries to square the truth of atheism with ordinary religious sentences by paraphrasing away apparent ontological commitments. But, obviously, paraphrase does not reconcile atheism with ordinary language about God. Therefore, paraphrase does not reconcile nihilism with ordinary language about tables and books, since paraphrase nihilism is like paraphrase atheism in the relevant ways.

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The Infinitely Iterated Labyrinth

Journal of the American Philosophical Association, 2015

Some time ago I wrote a paper about the relation between conceivability and knowledge. An anonym... more Some time ago I wrote a paper about the relation between conceivability and knowledge. An anonymous referee rejected the paper on the ground that the result had already been established in one of Jorge Luis Borges's short stories. Intrigued, I sought the story out, but found no mention of it in Louis and Ziche's extensive bibliography. After several months combing archives and electronic records, I had begun to doubt whether the story even existed when I had the good luck to encounter Sir Thomas Browne late one evening in the Senior Common Room of Pembroke College, Oxford. Browne assured me of the piece's authenticity and introduced me to Brother Christian Rosenkreuz of Invisible College who had given him the story originally. Brother Christian generously put me into correspondence with Borges himself. The defects in what follow reflect, not a diminishment of Borges's power as a storyteller, but my limited ability as a translator. Whatever the translation's literary faults may be, I hope the story's philosophical interest---i.e., an argument that ideal conceivers know a priori truths luminously---remains. ---Trans.

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Strange Bedfellows? Common Ground on the Moral Status Question

Journal of Medicine and Philosophy

When does a developing human being acquire moral status? I outline three different positions base... more When does a developing human being acquire moral status? I outline three different positions based on substance ontology that attempt to solve the question by locating some morally salient event in the process of human development. In the second section, I consider some specific empirical objections to one of these positions, refute them, then show how similar objections and responses would generalize to the other substance-based positions on the question. The crucial find ing is that all the attempts to answer the question that involve substance ontology need to appeal to dispositions.

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Job Materials

Dissertation Summary

A summary of my dissertation

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Syllabi

Freedom and Responsibility Syllabus (Summer 2016)

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Contemporary Metaphysics Syllabus (Spring 2016)

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Syllabus for PHIL 3000 Philosophical Ethics (Fall 2015)

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Syllabus for PHIL1000. Philosophy of Human Nature (Fall 2015)

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Review of David Svoboda, Aquinas on One and Many

Appeared in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, 2015.

Views

How Unicity Theorists Can Recover the Elements from Material Substances

Aquinas famously argues for the unicity of substantial forms; the thesis that every composite mat... more Aquinas famously argues for the unicity of substantial forms; the thesis that every composite material object has exactly one substantial form. One important objection to the unicity thesis is that it appears to require an implausible position on the status of the elements, the fundamental physical constituents of materials substances within the composites. I argue that Aquinas offers a successful defense against this objection.

Views

Why Paraphrase Nihilism Fails

Synthese, 2015

Nihilists cannot make their position square with common sense simply by paraphrasing away the app... more Nihilists cannot make their position square with common sense simply by paraphrasing away the apparent ontological commitments in ordinary language. I argue for this claim by analogy. Paraphrase atheism says there is no God, but tries to square the truth of atheism with ordinary religious sentences by paraphrasing away apparent ontological commitments. But, obviously, paraphrase does not reconcile atheism with ordinary language about God. Therefore, paraphrase does not reconcile nihilism with ordinary language about tables and books, since paraphrase nihilism is like paraphrase atheism in the relevant ways.

Views

The Infinitely Iterated Labyrinth

Journal of the American Philosophical Association, 2015

Some time ago I wrote a paper about the relation between conceivability and knowledge. An anonym... more Some time ago I wrote a paper about the relation between conceivability and knowledge. An anonymous referee rejected the paper on the ground that the result had already been established in one of Jorge Luis Borges's short stories. Intrigued, I sought the story out, but found no mention of it in Louis and Ziche's extensive bibliography. After several months combing archives and electronic records, I had begun to doubt whether the story even existed when I had the good luck to encounter Sir Thomas Browne late one evening in the Senior Common Room of Pembroke College, Oxford. Browne assured me of the piece's authenticity and introduced me to Brother Christian Rosenkreuz of Invisible College who had given him the story originally. Brother Christian generously put me into correspondence with Borges himself. The defects in what follow reflect, not a diminishment of Borges's power as a storyteller, but my limited ability as a translator. Whatever the translation's literary faults may be, I hope the story's philosophical interest---i.e., an argument that ideal conceivers know a priori truths luminously---remains. ---Trans.

Views

Strange Bedfellows? Common Ground on the Moral Status Question

Journal of Medicine and Philosophy

When does a developing human being acquire moral status? I outline three different positions base... more When does a developing human being acquire moral status? I outline three different positions based on substance ontology that attempt to solve the question by locating some morally salient event in the process of human development. In the second section, I consider some specific empirical objections to one of these positions, refute them, then show how similar objections and responses would generalize to the other substance-based positions on the question. The crucial find ing is that all the attempts to answer the question that involve substance ontology need to appeal to dispositions.

Views

Dissertation Summary

A summary of my dissertation

Views

Freedom and Responsibility Syllabus (Summer 2016)

Views

Contemporary Metaphysics Syllabus (Spring 2016)

Views

Syllabus for PHIL 3000 Philosophical Ethics (Fall 2015)

Views

Syllabus for PHIL1000. Philosophy of Human Nature (Fall 2015)

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Something satirical I wrote, after a long day combing the Jobs for Philosophers.

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