Lecture contents

The following lecture was delivered in the Winstanley Lecture Theatre, Trinity College, Cambridge on 8th November 2001.

Introduction

Problems with Nonreductive Physicalism

Some Resources from Philosophy and Neuroscience

Excursus: Defining Downward Causation

Downward Causation of Neural Structure

Downward Mental Causation

Conclusion

The Discussion: Questions at St Edmund's Dinner

Brief biography:

Nancey Murphy (click to enlarge) Nancey Murphy is Professor of Christian Philosophy at Fuller Seminary, Pasadena, California. Her interests include the relations of contemporary Anglo-American philosophy to theology. She has written and lectured widely on the subject of mental causation. Her books include 'On the Moral Nature of the Universe, Cosmology and Ethics' (with G.F.R.Ellis, Fortress Press), 'Neuroscience and the Person: Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action' (with R.J.Russell et al eds, University of Notre Dame Press), 'Whatever Happened to the Soul: Theological and Scientific Portraits of Human Nature' (ed. W.S.Brown et al., Fortress) and 'Anglo-American Postmodernity: Philosophical Perspectives on Science, Religion and Ethics' (Westview Press).