Locke’s Composition Principle and the Argument for God’s Immateriality

Locke’s argument for God’s immateriality in Essay IV x is usually interpreted as involving a principle that in some way prohibits the causation of thought by matter. I reject these causal readings in favor of one that involves a principle which says a thinking being cannot be composed out of unthink...

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Main Author: Tyler Hanck
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Aperio 2022-01-01
Series:Journal of Modern Philosophy
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Online Access:https://jmphil.org/article/id/2013/
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author Tyler Hanck
author_facet Tyler Hanck
author_sort Tyler Hanck
collection DOAJ
description Locke’s argument for God’s immateriality in Essay IV x is usually interpreted as involving a principle that in some way prohibits the causation of thought by matter. I reject these causal readings in favor of one that involves a principle which says a thinking being cannot be composed out of unthinking parts. This Composition Principle, as I call it, is crucial to understanding how Locke’s theistic argument can succeed in the face of his skepticism about the substance of matter and the cause of thought, as well as his belief in the possibility of thinking matter. It also explains why Locke held the soul’s immateriality to be highly probable.
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spelling doaj-art-902707be60bc40bf85f95b76a88feb052025-01-31T16:08:30ZengAperioJournal of Modern Philosophy2644-06522022-01-014010.25894/jmp.2013Locke’s Composition Principle and the Argument for God’s ImmaterialityTyler Hanck0University of Illinois at ChicagoLocke’s argument for God’s immateriality in Essay IV x is usually interpreted as involving a principle that in some way prohibits the causation of thought by matter. I reject these causal readings in favor of one that involves a principle which says a thinking being cannot be composed out of unthinking parts. This Composition Principle, as I call it, is crucial to understanding how Locke’s theistic argument can succeed in the face of his skepticism about the substance of matter and the cause of thought, as well as his belief in the possibility of thinking matter. It also explains why Locke held the soul’s immateriality to be highly probable.https://jmphil.org/article/id/2013/LockeThinking MatterMaterialismSoulComposition
spellingShingle Tyler Hanck
Locke’s Composition Principle and the Argument for God’s Immateriality
Journal of Modern Philosophy
Locke
Thinking Matter
Materialism
Soul
Composition
title Locke’s Composition Principle and the Argument for God’s Immateriality
title_full Locke’s Composition Principle and the Argument for God’s Immateriality
title_fullStr Locke’s Composition Principle and the Argument for God’s Immateriality
title_full_unstemmed Locke’s Composition Principle and the Argument for God’s Immateriality
title_short Locke’s Composition Principle and the Argument for God’s Immateriality
title_sort locke s composition principle and the argument for god s immateriality
topic Locke
Thinking Matter
Materialism
Soul
Composition
url https://jmphil.org/article/id/2013/
work_keys_str_mv AT tylerhanck lockescompositionprincipleandtheargumentforgodsimmateriality