Birkbeck Philosophy Society - Summer Term Talk Series: Matt Hewson
When:
—
Venue:
Birkbeck 30 Russell Square
No booking required
Tuesday 9th June 2015 - Matt Hewson
Contingentist nihilism and gunk
Mereological nihilists claim that the only things to exist are simples; objects with no proper parts. Where you might think there is a table, the mereological nihilist sees only simples-arranged-table-wise. Nihilism comes under threat from 'gunk arguments', arguments from the possibility of worlds in which there are no simple objects. In a gunk world, proper parts have proper parts have proper parts all the way down.
Getting clear on the modal status of nihilism might offer one escape from gunk arguments. If it turns out that nihilism is contingently, rather than necessarily, true, the gunk argument is invalid. But contingentist nihilism has come under heavy attack. Both necessitarian nihilists and anti-nihilists claim that the contingentist disavows the resources needed to articulate her position. In my talk, we see ways to respond to these critics, and suggest that the contingentist position fails for a much more boring reason; contingentist nihilism cannot accommodate the motivations which led to its introduction.