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Consciousness, God, and Causation | Michael Tooley
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Key Moments
The existence of qualia in a purely physical world remains a deep puzzle, even potentially requiring a divine explanation for consciousness. This raises profound questions about the nature of reality and our own subjective experience.
Key Insights
Tooley's philosophical journey began with questioning arguments for God's existence, stemming from undergraduate discussions on Aquinas.
He found David Hume to be "may be the greatest philosopher who ever lived" due to his ideals and philosophical progress.
Initial research on laws of nature led to learning that David Armstrong and Fred Dretske had independently developed similar views, prompting deeper engagement with metaphysics.
Tooley's early work on abortion, defending views that distinguished between a fetus and a person based on self-consciousness, was controversial.
He developed a new rule for logical probability, suggesting that if one white marble is drawn from an urn of a million, the probability of the next marble being red is slightly over 1/2 (500,001 / 1,000,001).
The problem of evil is approached by theists as something they have to deal with, and by atheists as an argument to show God does not exist, highlighting two sides of the same issue.
From mathematics and physics to questioning divine existence
Michael Tooley's intellectual path began not in philosophy, but in mathematics and physics. His initial foray into philosophical inquiry was sparked by conversations with a friend about arguments for God's existence, particularly those of Thomas Aquinas, which he found unconvincing. This led him to investigate these arguments, ultimately confirming his doubts. Further reading, including Bertrand Russell's "Why I'm Not a Christian," moved him away from his Christian faith, which he had once actively participated in as a deacon, finding Christianity, and specific doctrines like heaven and hell, to be both implausible and morally problematic. This early engagement with foundational questions about existence and morality set the stage for his future philosophical work, demonstrating an early inclination to critically examine deeply held beliefs.
Admiration for Hume and the shift to analytic philosophy
During his undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto, Tooley, while still pursuing mathematics and physics, found the philosophy curriculum heavily focused on historical surveys. He was drawn to the British empiricists, particularly David Hume, whom he considers "may be the greatest philosopher who ever lived" due to his ideals and the progress he made. This appreciation for Hume's rigorous approach, which emphasized empirical evidence and skeptical inquiry, resonated with Tooley's developing philosophical sensibilities. The shift from a historical to a more analytical approach in philosophy marked a significant development in his academic trajectory, influencing his later graduate work at Princeton.
Graduate studies at Princeton and a focus on philosophy of religion
Tooley's graduate work at Princeton was motivated by influential figures like Carl Hempel in philosophy of science and Walter Kaufmann. Initially, he considered specializing in philosophy of science, even writing a lengthy essay on laws of nature. However, his advisor, Coffa, suggested that specializing in philosophy of religion, with a critical approach, offered better career prospects due to a scarcity of philosophers in that specific niche. Consequently, Tooley shifted his focus. His dissertation aimed to counter logical positivist claims that statements about God were cognitively meaningless, arguing instead that such statements could be given a coherent analysis and were indeed cognitively significant.
Controversial views on abortion and an early departure from Stanford
After Princeton, Tooley took a position at Stanford University. However, his tenure bid was unsuccessful, reportedly due in part to a critical review by Peter Geach regarding his essay on abortion. Tooley's work on abortion, particularly his book "Abortion and Infanticide," presented a controversial stance differentiating the moral status of a fetus from that of a person, based on criteria like self-consciousness, memory, and the ability to envision a future. He argued that developing human beings, particularly before birth, lacked these psychological capacities, which led him to conclude that abortion, and extended to infanticide, had different moral implications than commonly held. This work, which involved research into neuroscience, generated significant debate.
Metaphysical explorations and parallel discoveries on laws of nature
Following his departure from Stanford, Tooley held positions in Wichita State and later Miami. He developed a strong interest in epistemology, influenced by Carnap's "Logical Foundations of Probability," and explored arguments for skepticism, finding Berkeley's idealism a persistent CHALLENGE. His engagement with metaphysics deepened during a five-year appointment at the Australian National University, where he focused on laws of nature. To his surprise, he discovered that his developed view on the topic was independently formulated by prominent philosophers David Armstrong and Fred Dretske, who had published on it slightly earlier. This period marked a significant immersion in metaphysical inquiries, laying groundwork for future work in causation.
Causation, the problem of evil, and probabilistic reasoning
Tooley's serious engagement with causation began around 2010, culminating in a book on the subject. Concurrently, he co-edited "Knowledge of God" with Alvin Plantinga, a project that intensified his consideration of the problem of evil. He distinguished between the theist's challenge of reconciling evil with God's existence and the atheist's argument from evil, which posits that evil serves as evidence against God's existence. In recent years, these two areas—causation and the problem of evil—have become major themes in his work, including a comprehensive entry on the problem of evil for the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. He also continued work in applied ethics, including papers on cloning and sexual morality, and a defense of masturbation.
A new framework for understanding probability
Looking forward, Tooley has been working on logical probability, particularly challenging Carnap's conventional rules of succession. Using an example of drawing marbles from an urn, he illustrates that a common rule, based on structure descriptions, suggests a 2/3 probability for the next marble being white after drawing one white marble from a million. However, through discussions with colleagues and his own analysis, he posits that state descriptions being equally likely offers a more intuitive and robust rule. His alternative approach suggests that if one white marble is drawn from an urn of a million, the probability of the next marble being red is approximately 1/2 (specifically, 500,001 / 1,000,001), a rule he is working to publish.
The enduring mystery of consciousness and qualia
Despite his extensive work across various philosophical domains, Tooley remains deeply puzzled by the nature of consciousness and qualia. The fundamental question of how a purely physical world can give rise to subjective experiences—the "quality" of experience—is a persistent enigma. He suggests that perhaps an external, perhaps divine, influence might be necessary for humans to have such experiences, a notion that highlights the profound mystery at the heart of consciousness. This question about the emergence of subjective experience from objective physical processes continues to be a significant area of reflection for him, underscoring the limits of current physicalist explanations.
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Tooley's Philosophical Development Timeline
Data extracted from this episode
| Period | Key Focus/Development |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate (U of Toronto) | Initial interest in arguments for God's existence; shifted to philosophy after being unconvinced; admired David Hume. |
| Graduate (Princeton) | Studied philosophy of science (Hempel) and philosophy of religion; dissertation on cognitive significance of statements about God. |
| Post-Doctorate (Stanford) | Faculty position, worked on abortion; denied tenure due to critical review from Peter Geach. |
| Research (ANU, Australia) | Pure research role; developed mature view on laws of nature, encountering similar views from Armstrong and Dretske; became interested in metaphysics. |
| Return to US (Wichita State, Miami) | Shifting focus to epistemology and arguments for skepticism. |
| Later Career (approx. 2010 onwards) | Intensified work on causation and the problem of evil; co-authored 'Knowledge of God' with Plantinga; wrote on applied ethics (cloning, sexual morality). |
| Current Work | Focus on logical probability, rules of succession, and defense of non-reductionist causation. |
Common Questions
Michael Tooley's interest in philosophy began during his undergraduate years at the University of Toronto when he engaged in conversations with a friend about arguments for the existence of God, finding them unconvincing.
Topics
Mentioned in this video
Analytic philosopher and Professor Emeritus of philosophy at the University of Colorado Boulder, known for contributions to metaphysics, causation, philosophy of religion, science, and applied ethics.
Medieval philosopher and theologian, known for his arguments for the existence of God.
Influential philosopher whose work, including 'Why I'm Not a Christian,' impacted Tooley's views on Christianity.
Scottish Enlightenment philosopher whom Tooley greatly admires, considering him potentially the greatest philosopher based on his ideals and progress.
Philosopher of science who impressed Tooley and was considered a potential PhD advisor at Princeton.
Philosopher known for his translations of Nietzsche, whose books like 'Faith of a Heretic' influenced Tooley.
Philosopher and logical positivist whose book 'Logical Foundations of Probability' influenced Tooley's thinking on probability but whose rules of succession were later critiqued by Tooley.
Philosopher known for his work in political philosophy and metaphysics, who was faculty at Princeton during Tooley's graduate studies.
Philosopher whose critical review of Tooley's essay on abortion contributed to Tooley not receiving tenure at Stanford.
An influential philosopher of metaphysics and language, whose work on laws of nature Tooley encountered.
Philosopher known for his work in metaphysics, who developed a view on laws of nature similar to Tooley's.
Philosopher known for his work in epistemology and philosophy of mind, who published a similar view on laws of nature.
Philosopher with whom Tooley co-authored 'Knowledge of God,' a work that prompted deeper thought on arguments from evil.
Philosopher whose view that reality consists only of immaterial persons and God, with no physical world, Tooley finds challenging to refute.
University where Michael Tooley began his undergraduate studies in mathematics and physics before switching to philosophy.
University where Michael Tooley pursued his graduate studies in philosophy and completed his dissertation.
University where Michael Tooley held his first faculty position but was denied tenure.
Research institution where Tooley worked for five years without teaching duties, focusing on metaphysics and laws of nature.
University where Michael Tooley held a position after returning to the United States.
University where Michael Tooley worked, developing an interest in epistemology.
A book by Bertrand Russell that influenced Michael Tooley's decision to abandon Christianity.
A book by Walter Kaufmann that impressed Michael Tooley and contributed to his decision to study at Princeton.
A book by Rudolf Carnap that influenced Tooley's interest in epistemology and logical probability.
A collaborative book with Alvin Plantinga that spurred Tooley to focus more on arguments from evil.
A foundational concept in Tooley's work, particularly relevant to his views on abortion and the definition of a person.
The approach Tooley defends in his new book on causation, suggesting that causation should not be reduced to simpler physical processes.
An area of applied ethics Tooley has written about, critiquing certain common practices as irrational or morally problematic.
Arguments for skepticism, particularly concerning belief in an external physical world, were a concern for Tooley in his epistemology work.
The subjective, qualitative character of conscious experience, which Tooley notes is involved in consciousness.
A branch of ethics focused on practical moral issues, in which Tooley has published on topics like abortion and sexual morality.
An atheistic argument attempting to show that God's existence is improbable or impossible, which Tooley explored in his work with Plantinga.
The theory of knowledge, which became a strong interest for Tooley after returning to the United States and working in Miami.
A significant philosophical challenge for theism, explored by Tooley through probabilistic arguments.
A core area of metaphysical inquiry that Michael Tooley has extensively researched and written about, including a book on a non-reductionist approach.
An aspect of qualia that Tooley finds potentially troubling in a purely physical world, raising questions about its origin.
An area of philosophy that initially drew Tooley into the field, focusing on arguments for God's existence and the problem of evil.
A field Tooley studied and was influenced by, particularly through Carl Hempel, and later focused on laws of nature.
A field Tooley is currently working in, focusing on rules of succession and alternative approaches to probability.
A key characteristic Tooley uses in defining personhood, which he argues fetuses do not possess.
A fundamental branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of reality, which became a major interest for Tooley, particularly regarding laws of nature and causation.
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