Volume 39, 2022
Physicalism, or Something Near Enough
Alyssa Ney
Pages 35-50
Overdetermination and Causal Closure: A Defense of the Causal Argument for Physicalism
Among the arguments that have been proposed for physicalism, the “causal argument” is widely taken to be the most compelling. Justin Tiehen (2015) has raised an interesting objection to this argument that takes the form of a dilemma. Tiehen’s ultimate conclusion is that at best, the causal argument is circular and so its premises cannot provide support for its conclusion, physicalism. The aim of the present paper is to respond to Tiehen’s objection in order to provide a defense of the causal argument.