Brungardt, John G. (2019) World Enough and Form: Why Cosmology Needs Hylomorphism. [Preprint]

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Abstract

This is a post­ peer-­review, pre-­copyedit version of an article published in Synthese. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11229­019­02112­0.

This essay proposes a comprehensive blueprint for the hylomorphic foundations of cosmology. The key philosophical explananda in cosmology are those dealing with global processes and structures, the regularity of global regularities, and the existence of the global as such. The possibility of elucidating these using alternatives to hylomorphism is outlined and difficulties with these alternatives are raised. Hylomorphism, by contrast, provides a sound philosophical ground for cosmology insofar as it leads to notions of cosmic essence, the unity of complex essences, and globally emergent properties. These are used as the basis to account for the aforementioned cosmological explananda and to resolve two problems in the philosophy of cosmology: the meta-law dilemma and the uniqueness of the universe. In summary, cosmology needs hylomorphism because it is able to ground cosmology’s efforts as a scientific inquiry. It can do so because hylomorphism philosophically accounts for changing substances and aggregates of substances, the various scales of law-governed behavior measured by the natures of those substances, and how those substances as parts relate to the universe as a whole.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Brungardt, John G. 0000-0003-4989-145X
Keywords:	hylomorphism, philosophy of cosmology, universe, laws, meta-law dilemma
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > Laws of Nature
Depositing User:	Dr. John G. Brungardt
Date Deposited:	29 Jan 2019 18:33
Last Modified:	29 Jan 2019 18:33
Item ID:	15690
DOI or Unique Handle:	10.1007/s11229­019­02112­0
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > Laws of Nature
Date:	2019
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/15690

Available Versions of this Item

• World Enough and Form: Why Cosmology Needs Hylomorphism. (deposited 24 Jan 2019 17:11)
  • World Enough and Form: Why Cosmology Needs Hylomorphism. (deposited 29 Jan 2019 18:33) [Currently Displayed]
    • World Enough and Form: Why Cosmology Needs Hylomorphism. (deposited 07 Feb 2019 01:29)

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