Indeterministic grounding

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Abstract

Grounding is sometimes thought of as metaphysical causation. If we take this analogy seriously, given the possibility of indeterministic causation we have at least prima facie reason to accept the possibility of indeterministic grounding. However, prima facie reasons are defeasible and there may be stronger reasons to reject this possibility. This paper sets out to critically examine this mostly overlooked possibility. After introducing the possibility of indeterministic grounding as analogous to indeterministic causation (Sect. 1), I clarify further the notion of indeterministic grounding by relating it to failure of supervenience (Sect. 2). I then construct an argument for the logical or conceptual possibility of indeterministic grounding, and defend it against a few possible objections (Sect. 3). Next, I explore and reject various reasons for dismissing the possibility of indeterministic grounding (Sects. 4 and 5). And I conclude by considering why philosophers almost universally overlook or rule out the possibility of indeterministic grounding, by examining the case of physicalism (Sect. 6).

Original languageEnglish
Article number19
JournalSynthese
Volume204
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2024
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

Keywords

  • Grounding
  • Indeterminism
  • Physicalism
  • Supervenience

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Philosophy
  • General Social Sciences

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