The Beginnings of Priestley's Materialism

The mature materialism of Joseph Priestley's Disquisitions relating to Matter and Spirit of 1777 is based on three main arguments: that Newton's widely-accepted scientific methodology requires the rejection of the 'hypothesis' of the soul; that a dynamic theory of matter breaks down the active/passive dichotomy assumed by many dualists; and that interaction between matter and spirit is impossible. In Matter and Spirit it is the first two arguments which are given greatest prominence; but it is the third argument which first brought Priestley to take materialism seriously. It was an argument which had persistently troubled him in his dualist years, but it was not until 1774 in the Examination that he 'first entertained a serious doubt of the truth of the vulgar hypothesis'. Underlying this fact is an episode of some complexity which this article examines

Skepticism: David Hume

The Enlightenment period was characterized by differing strains of intellectual thought, from which emerged the skeptical philosophy of David Hume (1711-1776). He held that many accepted philosophical and theological beliefs were devoid of epistemological proof and therefore could not be known with certainty to be true. His twofold attack against the inerrancy of Scripture consisted initially of denying the particular evidences in the form of miracles by holding to the superiority of man\u27s experience for the laws of nature. Also, he further posited empirical standards of judgment against the Christian belief in the inspiration of Scripture as a whole. By these specific means, in particular, Hume possibly exercised the greatest influence on the rejection of inerrancy by critical philosophers and theologians of various schools of thought from his time to the present. In spite of the immense influence of his critique, both Hume and those who have generally followed him in these endeavors are refuted on several accounts in their attempts to dismiss either miracles or the inerrancy of Scripture as a whole. In particular, they failed by not ascertaining if there is a God who chose to act in history by temporarily suspending the laws of nature and in written revelation in Scripture. Since both Hume and his followers have failed in their endeavor to dismiss the truthfulness of such beliefs, the possibility of a Christian theistic world view certainly remains

Finding Meaning in the Death of Virtual Identities

Historically speaking, legal fiction assumes that identity and the credentials proving identity are one and the same. It is an important fiction that allows us to access information associated with our identity and restrict others from doing the same. Crimes of identity theft are commonly manifested through the usurpation of one\u27s credentials to falsely verify identity. Legal doctrine such as agency theory makes the assumption that identity and credentials are only transferrable together. Technology, especially the Internet, alters this fiction by allowing the creation of multiple credentials that enable access to multiple identities manifested throughout the world. The one-to-one relationship between credentials and identity is severed, thus making existing legal analogies insufficient in the virtual world. A number of these issues can be obviated by restructuring the legal fiction to embrace separate and distinct credentials and identities. This paper will discuss how the two-pronged approach applies to the death of virtual identities

Finding Meaning in the Death of Virtual Identities

Historically speaking, legal fiction assumes that identity and the credentials proving identity are one and the same. It is an important fiction that allows us to access information associated with our identity and restrict others from doing the same. Crimes of identity theft are commonly manifested through the usurpation of one\u27s credentials to falsely verify identity. Legal doctrine such as agency theory makes the assumption that identity and credentials are only transferrable together. Technology, especially the Internet, alters this fiction by allowing the creation of multiple credentials that enable access to multiple identities manifested throughout the world. The one-to-one relationship between credentials and identity is severed, thus making existing legal analogies insufficient in the virtual world. A number of these issues can be obviated by restructuring the legal fiction to embrace separate and distinct credentials and identities. This paper will discuss how the two-pronged approach applies to the death of virtual identities

Priestley's Metaphysics

Joseph Priestley was a man of many and varied intellectual interests. This thesis surveys his philosophical thought, with a central focus on his philosophical theology. The subject can be divided into two parts, natural theology and moral theology. Priestley's natural theology is a perhaps unique attempt to combine and harmonize materialism, determinism and theism, under the auspices of Newtonian methodology. His materialism is based on three arguments: that interaction between matter and spirit is impossible; that a dynamic theory of matter breaks down the active/passive dichotomy assumed by many dualists; and that Newton's "Rules of Reasoning in Philosophy" require the rejection of the "hypothesis" of the soul. His determinism arises from his theory of causation. He attempts to show that the only acceptable account of causation is one in which every cause is invariably followed by the same effect, and that libertarianism violates this central assumption of scientific thought. His theism rests on the Argument from Design. He defends the Argument by trying to show that none of the alternatives to Design advanced in Hume's Dialogues concerning Natural Religion constitute a plausible scientific hypothesis. His critics accused his synthesis of materialism, determinism and theism of leading to atheism or pantheism. His defence against these charges is that his system is essentially theistic, and that its ontology is determined by the Argument from Design. Priestley's moral theology is also in part a response to Hume's Dialogues. He offers a number of replies to the "problem of evil". Evil and adversity heighten our appreciation of good; they are a consequence of the finitude of the creation; they follow from the desirability of having a world governed by general laws; and they make possible the achievement of moral character. Character-formation is his main defence, and his methodology requires him to show that adversity leads more often than not to positive results. This requirement is embodied in his progressivist philosophy of history. History, he holds, exhibits temporal purpose and Design, just as nature exhibits atemporal purpose and Design. Priestley's political thought can be seen as arising from his moral theology, mediated by the notions of "luxury", which he regards as morally harmless, and "idleness", which is the main source of moral evil. His combination of liberalism and radicalism is examined both for internal consistency and as a response to the events of his day, ending with the French Revolution. Priestley is interesting partly for his unorthodoxy, partly for the inter-connectedness of his diverse concerns, and partly because he debated with distinguished contemporaries. Throughout the thesis his views are juxtaposed with those of Hume, Reid, Price, Boscovich, Burke and a number of other thinkers