Trevor Coffrin
I'm a Stay-at-home-dad/part-time writer living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with my wife and two sons. I enjoy writing on environmental ethics and philosophy.
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- 9/28/2009
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BA (Honours) St Mary's Unversity, MA in philosophy Dalhousie UniversityMotto
Live with respect for allAffiliations
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Displaying Results 1 - 28 (of 28) for All Content
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Is it Okay to Use Animals in Research?In this essay I give an overview of the arguments for and against the use of animals in research and experiments.
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The Problem of Causation in the Argument from DesignIn this essay I discuss David Hume's argument about what can be known about the "cause" of the universe and the "argument from design."
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A Socratic Dialogue on the Meaning of BeautyIn this article I investigate the meaning of beauty using a fictional Socratic dialogue.
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Is Learning Really Recollection?In this essay I argue against Socrates' notion of reincarnation by criticizing his argument that learning is really recollection
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Must Art Be Beautiful?In this essay I argue that art need not be beautiful in order to righfully be considered true art.
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Parsimony: The Simple TruthHere I critique two traditional defences of the principle of parsimony and offer my own jutification for this principle.
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Liberty and Free WillIn this essay I discuss the notion of freedom in the context of free will.
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Scepticism and Ancient Greek PhilosophersThe sceptics argue that it is reasonable to suspend judgement over whether any action is either a morally good or a morally bad action because we cannot know which actions are good or bad.
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Guilty by GenderIn this paper I discuss Catherine Mackinnon's criticisms against the male-dominated legal system in the U.S., and offer critique of her arguments.
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Is God Providential?Epicurus did not think the gods were providential. Here, I present the argument Epicurus gives for this position, and I offer an analysis and criticism of this argument.
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Aristotle's Four CausesIn addition to Aristotle's four causes, some argue "chance" is a fifth cause or explanatory factor. In this essay I will argue that Aristotle is correct in his view that chance is not a fifth cause.
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A Note on Kant and How Synthetic Propositions a Priori Are PossibleIn this short essay I discuss Kant and how something can be known a priori.
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Understanding HeideggerHere, I explore certain key terms found in Heidegger's Being and Time, in order to fully flesh out their significance. I focus particularly on the concepts of, 'The-they,' 'authenticity/inauthenticity,' 'equipment' and 'fallenness.'
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Science, Religion, and CreationHere I contrast the Big Bang Theory of science with the story of Creation from Christianity. Ultimately, I argue that neither theory does an adequate job of explaining how Earth and humans came to be.
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David Hume's Association of IdeasI argue that not all thoughts or ideas are connected by a principle (or principles), as Hume argues.
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Aristotle and the Good LifeIn this essay, I outline Aristotle's argument for the Good Life and I offer a critical analysis of this view. I offer my own reasons for thinking happiness can be found in most any activity, thereby allowing many people to live the Good Life.
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Of a Particular Providence and of a Future StateI argue against the conclusion drawn by Hume on what we can know about the cause of the universe.
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Amartya Sen's Capabilities ApproachSen grounds his capabilities approach to development on freedom. Here I argue that freedom is not the one "good thing" that people value. Instead, I take the utilitarian argument of advancing happiness as the highest good.
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The Irrefutability of Psychological EgoismI argue that psychological egoism offers no credible reason to accept its thesis, due to the fact that it is an untestable theory.
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Against Psychoanalysis as a Basis for DeterminismJohn Hospers argues that our actions are determined, and thus, free will is nothing more than an illusion. I reject Hospers' thesis by appealing to arguments made by Karl Popper.
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Gender Discrimination and DevelopmentBarthelemy and Wein argue that gender discrimination ought to be tolerated under certain conditions. Here, I present their arguments and offer a critical analysis of their view. In addition, I offer my own position on this delicate moral issue.
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Can There Be a Rational Solution to No-Communication Co-ordination Problems by Means of Salients?I argue that in some situations of no-communication co-ordination, there may often be a rational solution to the dilemma by appealing to salience; however, salience alone does not provide a reason to act.
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Relational Approach to UnderstandingI argue that the modern, scientific approach to understanding is lacking, and that a more inclusive way of understanding our world can be found through a relational approach.
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A Critique of Hume's Account of Personal IdentityIn critique of Hume's account of self, I argue that there is a 'self' that persists through time.
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Rational Succession of Mental States as Constitutive of Personal IdentityI argue that rationally succeeding mental states is a necessary, though not a sufficient, condition for personal identity.
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Rule Utilitarianism: Bridging the Gap Between Consequentialist and Deontological Theories of MoralityIn this essay, I will argue that rule-utilitarianism best accommodates for our moral intuitions in difficult moral dilemmas by reconciling our consequentialist and deontological inclinations.
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Ideal DemocracyI argue that Graham makes an unfair comparison between an ideal ruler and democracy by comparing the 'ideal' to the 'actual.'
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Putnam on Meaning: Is Meaning in the Head?I will argue that if we are consistent in our Twin Earth thought experiment, we will have reason to doubt that a term like 'water' is a rigid designator, and that it might not only refer to H2O, but could also refer to XYZ.