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HomeUpcoming EventsGabriel Rabin (ANU): "Fundamentality Physicalism"
Gabriel Rabin (ANU): "Fundamentality Physicalism"

Title: Fundamentality Physicalism

Abstract: Physicalism, or materialism, is the thesis that everything is physical (in some sense or other), or that there is nothing over and above the physical (perhaps this is the "some sense or other" in which everything is physical). I argue that we should conceive of physicalism as a thesis about fundamentality. Fundamentalia are the basic building blocks of our world. Fundamentality Physicalism says that all these building blocks are physical. First, I lay some groundwork for thinking about fundamentality and fundamentality physicalism. Second, I compare fundamentality physicalism to popular existing modal formulations of physicalism, often formulated in terms of supervenience. I argue that (i) fundamentality physicalism has a variety of advantages over modal formulations and (ii) these modal formualtions already implicitly rely on the notion of fundamentality. Lastly, I discuss some problems faced by fundamentality-oriented conceptions of physicalism, in particular accounting for mathematics.

Date & time

  • Thu 21 Nov 2013, 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Location

Coombs Seminar Room A

Event Series

Philosophy Departmental Seminars