List, Christian 
ORCID: 0000-0003-1627-800X and Menzies, Peter
(2008)
Non-reductive physicalism and the limits of the exclusion principle.
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Department of Government, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.
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Abstract
It is often argued that higher-level special-science properties cannot be causally efficacious since the lower-level physical properties on which they supervene are doing all the causal work. This claim is usually derived from an exclusion principle stating that if a higherlevel property F supervenes on a physical property F* that is causally sufficient for a property G, then F cannot cause G. We employ an account of causation as differencemaking to show that the truth or falsity of this principle is a contingent matter and derive necessary and sufficient conditions under which a version of it holds. We argue that one important instance of the principle, far from undermining non-reductive physicalism, actually supports the causal autonomy of certain higher-level properties.
| Item Type: | Monograph (Working Paper) |
|---|---|
| Official URL: | http://personal.lse.ac.uk/list/default.htm |
| Additional Information: | © 2008 Christian List and Peter Menzies |
| Divisions: | Government Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method CPNSS |
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BC Logic |
| Date Deposited: | 29 Jul 2008 15:43 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Sep 2025 04:14 |
| URI: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/20118 |
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