The aim of this chapter is to articulate the state of the art in the moral psychology of personal
identity. It begins by discussing the major philosophical theories of personal identity …

Material objects extend through space by having different spatial parts in different places.
But how do they persist through time? According to some philosophers, things have …

Placeholder essentialism is the view that there is a causal essence that holds category
members together, though we may not know what the essence is. Sometimes the …

The claim that common sense regards free will and moral responsibility as compatible with
determinism has played a central role in both analytic and experimental philosophy. In this …

Natural/social kind essentialism is the view that natural kind categories, both living and non‐
living natural kinds, as well as social kinds (eg, race, gender), are essentialized. On this …

Teleology has a complicated history in the biological sciences. Some have argued that
Darwin's theory has allowed biology to purge itself of teleological explanations. Others have …

Phineas is extremely kind; he really enjoys hel** people. He is also employed as a
railroad worker. One day at work, a railroad explosion causes a large iron spike to fly out …

Adults and children 'promiscuously'endorse teleological answers to 'why'questions—a
tendency linked to arguments that humans are intuitively theistic and naturally unscientific …

The aim of this chapter is to articulate the state of the art in the moral psychology of personal
identity. It begins by discussing the major philosophical theories of personal identity …

Teleology is about functions, ends, and goals in nature. This Element offers a philosophical
examination of these phenomena and aims to reinstate teleology as a core part of the …