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Reductive Physicalism And Phenomenal Properties - Brian Crabb This work examines and critically evaluates the proposal that phenomenal properties, or the subjective qualities of experience, present a formidable challenge for the mind-body identity theory. In order to get started, we need to lay some tentative ground rules at the outset about what reductive physicalism is. Physicalism per se is construed as being ontically committed only to phenomena which can be made epistemically and cognitively available in the third person; observed and understood from within an objective frame of reference. Further, the identity relation between the mental and the physical is taken to be strict identity; the mental phenomena in question just are the physical phenomena on which, ex hypothesi, they supervene. The problem presented by phenomenal properties has two basic strands. The first is the problem of how they are causally related to the physical; if they are not physical phenomena, by what causal mechanism might they be related to physical phenomena? One of the motivating considerations which led to the identity thesis was that it appeared to remove this problem. Our interest, however, is in evaluating the arguments which purport to establish that phenomenal properties are distinct from the physical. The arguments examined fall into four apparently distinct categories. Their respective claims with regard to phenomenal properties, or "qualia", are that (i) they do not supervene invariably on physical phenomena of any particular type, or can be imagined not to do so, (ii) even a knowledge of all the physical facts does not provide a knowledge of qualia, (iii) qualia seem not to be necessarily identical with physical phenomena, and seem therefore not to be identical and (iv) even if the identity relation obtains, it can be known only a posteriori to do so; therefore, the properties through which we have epistemic access to the mental must be distinct from any physical properties. Each of the arguments is examined in detail and interpreted in a number of ways, in order to see whether it can be made plausible. We find that under each interpretation the arguments carry tacit assumptions about the qualia which are supposed to occur. We attempt to pin down the assumptions which would have to be true for the arguments to work, and consider how the reductive physicalist might be able to resist those assumptions. It seems that the latter will need to maintain a topic-neutral account of the mental in order to do so. In the final chapter we focus on the assumptions required by the knowledge argument in particular, and explore how the physicalist’s topic-neutral account would have to be formulated in a successful counterargument. Finally, we look briefly at some of the prima facie difficulties invoked by this strategy and conclude that it is at least extremely difficult to imagine how it might plausibly overcome those difficulties. (about 96,000 words) Price: £5.00 Quantity:

Fading And Dancing Qualia - Brian Crabb David Chalmers issued a defence of his 'Principle of Organizational Invariance' in his 1995 paper Absent Qualia, Fading Qualia, Dancing Qualia, the main thrust of which was that the possibility of a mindless zombie would lead to absurd and unacceptable consequences. The reductio he develops is intended to persuade us that there is a close and unbreakable link between our experiences and our functional organisation (including our qualia-related beliefs and reports), and that as a consequence the Zombie is impossible. Here, Crabb offers an exposition of the error in Chalmers' argument. (about 3,000 words) Price: £1.00 Quantity:

Our Improbable Existence And The Multiple-universe Hypothesis - Brian Crabb One of the profound mysteries of our existence is how we came to be here at all. Did God create us, did we simply, but against all the odds, emerge from the primordial soup by blind chance and evolution, or is there some other explanation? In this, the first instalment, Dr. Crabb introduces us to the central argument in support of a remarkable alternative. The wildly improbable emergence of intelligent life by chance alone, he explains, can be rendered much less astonishing if we assume that our universe is just one of many. This, the Many-Universe Hypothesis, is still the subject of frenzied philosophical debate, but Crabb's clear and matter-of-fact exposition invites us all to join in. (about 4,000 words) Price: £2.50 Quantity:

Too Many Deaths - Gabrielle Welford This dissertation addresses ongoing colonialism in the western academy, especially in continued analysis by non-indigenous scholars of indigenous cultures. Chapter 1 asks the question: "What is it to behave ethically in the context of literary studies--including, currently, in cultural studies?" The chapter then introduces problems such as appropriation, silencing, hierarchical structures, universalization of culture-specific concepts such as objectivity, along with exploration of solutions such as self-scrutiny, engagement, and friendship as concepts helpful in decolonizing. Chapter 2 looks at examples of current indigenous responses to western scholarship and research while Chapters 3 through 7 explore 10 aspects of western academic culture. Chapter 8 examines two examples of western "metropolitan" commentary on indigenous writing and two examples of indigenous commentary, one using western theory and one based in the culture. Chapter 9 discusses possible alternative strategies to those presently accepted, and Chapter 10 concludes with a continued inventory of the author's process. (about 100,000 words) Price: £5.00 Quantity:

The First Citizen Of LIfe - J D Whitten This little book is the result of a great deal of research and thought. Its conclusions are strikingly simple, yet could provoke debate as they fly in the face of much that goes on the world in these early years of the 21st century. It explains its author's philosophy and his views of adherents in the world's major religions - it makes an interesting comparison with the works of Neil Horan, where similar conclusions are reached by a vastly different route. Whether one ultimately agrees with the author or not, this is a treatise that is well worth reading. (about 6,000 words) Price: £1.50 Quantity:

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