Subjectivity and essential individuality: A dialogue with Peter Van Inwagen and Lynne Baker

Each person is perceived by others and by herself as an individual in a very strong sense, namely as a unique individual. Moreover, this supposed uniqueness is commonly thought of as linked with another character that we tend to attribute to persons (as opposed to stones or chairs and even non-human animals): a kind of depth, hidden to sensory perception, yet in some measure accessible to other means of knowledge. I propose a theory of strong or essential individuality. This theory is introduced by way of a critical discussion of Van Inwagen’s and Baker’s ontologies of persons. Composition Theory and Constitution Theory are shown to be complementary, in their opposite strong and weak points. I argue that both theories have unsatisfactory consequences concerning personal identity, a problem which the proposed theory seems to solve more faithfully both to folk intuitions and the phenomenology of personal life.

Review Article: Thomas Cranmer and the English Reformation

Abstract

Martin Bucer's role in the Edwardian Reformation has been the subject of much study, most of which has been focused on his involvement in the Vestments Controversy, his role in the revision of the 1549 Prayer Book, and on his last major work, De regno Christi, which he wrote in 1550. What has received less attention is his sojourn in Cambridge, where he spent the majority of his time in England. Bucer's sometimes tense relations with members of Cranmer's circle, and even with Cranmer himself, provide a striking contrast to the ‘electric’ impact he had in Cambridge, which serves to underscore the importance of Cambridge to Bucer's English sojourn. The individuals whom he most influenced were members of the academic community at the University of Cambridge (where he served as Regius Professor of Divinity), especially the so-called ‘Athenian tribe’—although he did encounter the hostility of many members of his College, the largely conservative Trinity College. Cambridge proved to be the locus of Bucer's influence upon the English Church in these years, and his residence there deserves greater attention than it has received to date.     

Survey Article: Justifying the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Truth commissions have emerged as popular devices for countries which are trying to move from a past of mass human rights violations to a stable and democratic future. South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was by no means the first official commission to inquire into and report on a fraught past, yet it has attracted more interest, including philosophical interest, than any of its predecessors.     

Dialectical Asymmetry: Commentary on an Article by Peter Shabad

ABSTRACT

In this article, I explore the radical asymmetry set forth in the ethical turn, but suggest that Shabad develops a more refined notion of asymmetry grounded in the dialectics of giving and receiving. He develops what I call dialectical asymmetry where the reciprocity of human exchange offers an ethical demand for both analyst and patient. I suggest a productive comparison between Shabad’s perspective and the double asymmetry of the ethical seduction developed in the French tradition.