Damian Aleksiev PhD

2022, October 01 - 2023 March, 30

Affiliation: Institute Vienna Circle, University of Vienna

Research for a study about:

Explanatory Gaps: Towards a General Account

My research at the IVC investigates the concept of an "explanatory gap" and its potential applications in metaphysics. By an "explanatory gap," I mean a lack of an intelligible connection between some more fundamental and some less fundamental aspects of reality. Explanatory gaps are most prominently discussed in the philosophy of mind, where it is often claimed that there is an explanatory gap between the truths of physics and the truths of consciousness. Moreover, parts of the debate on reduction and emergence in the philosophy of science can likewise be interpreted as involving explanatory gaps in the relevant sense. In both areas, explanatory gaps are often taken to have metaphysical implications. My research aims to connect the two debates and develop a general concept of an explanatory gap as a guide to reality's metaphysical structure.

Lecture

Finding Ground

Philosophy of Science Colloquium

This talk is going to be a in-person and hybrid event, at NIG (SR 2i) and can be followed via online Plattform.

Date: 2023 March 23,

Time: 3-4.30 pm CET

Venue: NIG, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Wien, SR 2i

Online Plattform  access:

univienna.zoom.us/j/63035484129
Passcode: 226427
 
No registered accounts are required, it's enough to click on the link and enter your name. Chrome or Firefox browsers work best.

Abstract:

Grounding is central to contemporary discussions in metaphysics. However, there currently is no well-developed methodology for finding grounding connections. I investigate and evaluate three proposals for developing an a priori epistemology of grounding. The first proposal concerns explanatory gaps: it posits that there should be no explanatory gaps between grounds and groundees. The second proposal concerns metaphysically explanatory properties: it posits that groundees will inherit the properties of their grounds that metaphysically explain them. The final proposal concerns ubiquitous properties: it posits that groundee will inherit the ubiquitous properties of their grounds.