Explanatory Rationalism and Contingent Truths
Religious Studies 31 (2):237 - 242 (1995)
| Abstract | This paper extends the orthodox bounds of explanatory rationalism by showing there can be an explanation of why there are positive contingent truths. A positive contingent truth is a true proposition that entails that at least one contingent concrete object exists. It is widely thought that it is impossible to explain why there are positive contingent truths. For example, it is thought by Rowe that 'God created the universe' is a positive contingent truth and therefore cannot explain why there are positive contingent truths. I show, however, that the reasoning behind this orthodox view is unsound and that it is possible to explain why there are positive contingent truths. | |||||||||
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John Roberts (2010). Some Laws of Nature Are Metaphysically Contingent. Australasian Journal of Philosophy 88 (3):445-457.
Peter Nicholls & Dan Passell (1985). Kripke's Contingent A Priori and Necessary A Posteriori. Philosophy Research Archives 11:481-489.
Colin Cheyne & Charles Pigden (2006). Negative Truths From Positive Facts. Australasian Journal of Philosophy 84 (2):249 – 265.
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Boris Kukso (2006). The Reality of Absences. Australasian Journal of Philosophy 84 (1):21 – 37.
John Turri (2011). Contingent A Priori Knowledge. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 83 (2):327-344.
Ross P. Cameron (2010). The Grounds of Necessity. Philosophy Compass 5 (4):348-358.
Michael Nelson & Edward N. Zalta (2012). A Defense of Contingent Logical Truths. Philosophical Studies 157 (1):153-162.
Stephen K. McLeod (2008). Knowledge of Necessity: Logical Positivism and Kripkean Essentialism. Philosophy 83 (2):179-191.
Robin Stenwall (2010). Causal Truthmaking. Metaphysica 11 (2):211-222.
Timothy Pawl (2012). Transubstantiation, Tropes and Truthmakers. American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 86 (1):71-96.
Isidora Stojanović (2004). The Contingent A Priori. Croatian Journal of Philosophy 4 (2):291-300.
Kristie Miller (2012). Properties in a Contingentist's Domain. Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 93 (4):225-245.
Edward N. Zalta (1988). Logical and Analytic Truths That Are Not Necessary. Journal of Philosophy 85 (2):57-74.
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