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The Principle of Sufficient Reason
The Principle of Sufficient Reason (PSR) says that all contingent facts
musthaveexplanations.Inthisvolume,thefirstonthetopicintheEnglish
languageinnearlyhalfacentury,AlexanderPrussexaminesthesubstan-
tivephilosophicalissuesraisedbythePSR,whichcurrentlyisconsidered
primarily within the context of various cosmological arguments for the
existence of God. Discussing several forms of the PSR and selected his-
torical episodes from Parmenides, Aquinas, Leibniz, Hume, and Kant,
Prussdefendstheclaimthateverytruecontingentpropositionmusthave
anexplanationagainstmajorobjections,includingHume’simaginability
argument and Peter van Inwagen’s argument that the PSR entails modal
fatalism.PrussalsoprovidesanumberofpositiveargumentsforthePSR,
basedonconsiderationsasdifferentasthemetaphysicsofexistence,coun-
terfactualsandmodality,negativeexplanations,andtheeverydayapplica-
bility of the PSR. Moreover, Pruss shows how the PSR would advance
thediscussioninanumberofdisparatefields,suchasmetaethicsandthe
philosophyofmathematics.
Alexander R. Pruss is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown
University.Hehaspublishedmanypapersonmetaphysics,philosophyof
religion,appliedethics,probabilitytheory,andgeometricsymmetrization
theory.WithRichardM.GaleheiscoeditorofTheExistenceofGod.
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cambridge studies in philosophy
GeneralEditor walter sinott-armstrong (DartmouthCollege)
AdvisoryEditors:
jonathan dancy (UniversityofReading)
john haldane (UniversityofSt.Andrews)
gilbert harman (PrincetonUniversity)
frank jackson (AustralianNationalUniversity)
william g. lycan (UniversityofNorthCarolinaatChapelHill)
sydney shoemaker (CornellUniversity)
judith j. thomson (MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology)
RecentTitles:
mark lance andjohn o’leary-hawthorne TheGrammarofMeaning
d. m. armstrong AWorldofStatesofAffairs
pierre jacob WhatMindsCanDo
andre gallois TheWorldWithout,theMindWithin
fred feldman Utilitarianism,Hedonism,andDesert
laurence bonjour InDefenseofPureReason
david lewis PapersinPhilosophicalLogic
wayne davis Implicature
david cockburn OtherTimes
david lewis PapersonMetaphysicsandEpistemology
raymond martin Self-Concern
annette barnes SeeingThroughSelf-Deception
michael bratman FacesofIntention
amie thomasson FictionandMetaphysics
david lewis PapersonEthicsandSocialPhilosophy
fred dretske Perception,Knowledge,andBelief
lynne rudder baker PersonsandBodies
john greco PuttingSkepticsinTheirPlace
ruth garrett millikan OnClearandConfusedIdeas
derk pereboom LivingWithoutFreeWill
brian ellis ScientificEssentialism
alan h. goldman PracticalRules:WhenWeNeedThemandWhenWeDon’t
christopher hill ThoughtandWorld
andrew newman TheCorrespondenceTheoryofTruth
ishtiyaque haji DeonticMoralityandControl
wayne a. davis Meaning,ExpressionandThought
peter railton Facts,Values,andNorms
jane heal Mind,ReasonandImagination
jonathan kvanvig TheValueofKnowledgeandthePursuitofUnderstanding
andrew melnyk APhysicalistManifesto
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The Principle of Sufficient Reason
A Reassessment
ALEXANDER R. PRUSS
GeorgetownUniversity
v
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©AlexanderR.Pruss2006
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relevantcollectivelicensingagreements,noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplace
withoutthewrittenpermissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublishedinprintformat 2006
isbn-13 978-0-511-22007-4 eBook(EBL)
isbn-10 0-511-22007-3
eBook(EBL)
isbn-13 978-0-521-85959-2 hardback
isbn-10 0-521-85959-x hardback
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forexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication,anddoesnot
guaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate.
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For my father and mother
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Description:haus, J. Brian Pitts, Alvin Plantinga, Nicholas Rescher, Lionel Shapiro,. Richard the call of duty. I would also . Alvin Plantinga insists that there are.
