Skip to main content
Log in

Compatibilism and the Notion of Rendering Something False

  • Published:
Philosophical Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In my paper I am concerned with Peter van Inwagen's Consequence Argument. I focus on its probably best known version. In this form it crucially employs the notion of rendering a proposition false, anotion that has never been made sufficiently clear. The main aim of my paper is to shed light on thisnotion. The explications offered so far in thedebate all are based on modal concepts. Iargue that for sufficient results a ``stronger'',hyper-intensional concept is needed, namely theconcept expressed by the word ``because''. I show that my analysis is superior to the prior ones. On the basis of this analysis I further explain why van Inwagen's argument fails.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Aristotle: The Complete Works of Aristotle, 4th edition. Jonathan Barnes (ed.), Princeton; Guildford: Princeton University Press, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, J. (1988): Events and Their Names, Indianapolis; Cambridge: Hackett.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolzano, B. (1837): Wissenschaftslehre (in four volumes), Reprint, Leipzig: 1981.

  • Crisp, T. and Warfield, T. (2000): ‘The Irrelevance of Indeterministic Counter-examples to Principle Beta’, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 61, 173–184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, D. (1967): ‘Causal Relations’, in D. Davidson (1980), Essays on Actions and Events (pp. 149–162), Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, J.M. (1983): ‘Incompatibilism’, Philosophical Studies 43, 127–137.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, J.M. (1986): ‘Van Inwagen on Free Will’, Philosophical Quarterly 36, 252–260.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, J.M. and Ravizza, M. (1996): ‘Free Will and the Modal Principle’, Philosophical Studies 83, 213–230.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horgan, T. (1985): ‘Compatibilism and the Consequence Argument’, Philosophical Studies 47, 339–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Künne, W. (1992): ‘Bolzanos blühender Baum — Plädoyer für eine nichtepistemische Wahrheitsauffassung’, in Forum für Philosophie Bad Homburg (ed.), Realismus Und Antirealismus (pp. 224–244), Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, D. (1981): ‘Are we Free to Break the Laws’, in David Lewis (1986), Philosophical Papers II, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mellor, D.H. (1987): ‘The Singularly Affecting Facts of Causation’, in D.H. Mellor (1991), Matters of Metaphysics (pp. 201–224), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons, P. (1997): ‘Higher-Order Quantification and Ontological Commitment’, Dialectica 51, 255–271.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steward, H. (1997): The Ontology of Mind, Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tatzel, A. (forthcoming): ‘Bolzano's Theory of Ground and Consequence’, to appear in Notre Dame Journal of Symbolic Logic.

  • Temple, D. (1988): ‘The Contrast Theory of Why-Questions’, Philosophy of Science 55, 141–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Fraassen, B. (1980): The Scientific Image, Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Inwagen, P. (1975): ‘The Incompatibility of Free Will and Determinism’, Philosophical Studies 27, 185–199.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Inwagen, P. (1977): ‘Reply to Narveson’, Philosophical Studies 32, 89–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Inwagen, P. (1983): An Essay on Free Will, Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williamson, T. (1999): ‘Truthmakers and the Converse Barcan Formula’, Dialectica 53, 253–270.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Schnieder, B.S. Compatibilism and the Notion of Rendering Something False. Philosophical Studies 117, 409–428 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:PHIL.0000016484.52149.52

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:PHIL.0000016484.52149.52

Keywords

Navigation