Calum Miller
Biographic Data
| ID | 3873337 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Calum Miller |
| GIVEN NAMES | Calum |
| FAMILY NAME | Miller |
| SIGNATURE | MILLER C |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Oxford |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3408-1737 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 3 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 12 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Subhumans, human flourishing and abortion
In a recent article, I argued that all humans are morally equal, and that this generates an argument against abortion. Here, I defend my argument against two objections from Räsänen: that it is possible to ground equal human value in the ability to flourish in a particular kind of way, and that being human is not, in fact, a binary property in the way needed for the argument to work. I show that this proposed criterion for grounding human value f…
Human equality and the impermissibility of abortion
I have recently offered a defence of human equality, and consequently an argument against abortion. This has been objected to by Bozzo, on the grounds that my account of human equality is unclear and could be grounded in utilitarian or Kantian ethics, that my account struggles to ground the permissibility of therapeutic abortions, and that my proposed foundation for human equality itself is parasitic on a scalar property which generates the same …
Human equality arguments against abortion
In this paper, I argue that a commitment to a very modest form of egalitarianism—equality between non-disabled human adults—implies fetal personhood. Since the most plausible bases for human value are in being human, or in a gradated property, and since the latter of which implies an inequality between non-disabled adult humans, I conclude that the most plausible basis for human equality is in being human—an attribute which fetuses have
Must we be perfect
In this paper we offer an argument against supererogation and in favour of moral perfectionism. We argue three primary points: (1) That the putative moral category is not generated by any of the main normative ethical systems, and it is difficult to find space for it in these systems at all; (2) That the primary support for supererogation is based on intuitions, which can be undercut by various other pieces of evidence; and (3) That there are bet…
What's wrong with Tooley's argument from evil
Michael Tooley has recently advanced a novel formulation of the problem of evil. The argument primarily intends to address sceptical theist responses to the problem of evil by giving a theoretical argument that prima facie evils are probably ultima facie evils. He thus argues from a single prima facie evil to the conclusion that God probably does not exist, before extending his argument to encompass many prima facie evils using Carnapian inductiv…
Why God is probably good
A number of philosophers have recently defended the evil-god challenge, which is to explain relevant asymmetries between believing in a perfectly good God and believing in a perfectly evil god, such that the former is more reasonable than the latter. In this article, I offer a number of such reasons. I first suggest that certain conceptions of the ontology of good and evil can offer asymmetries which make theism a simpler hypothesis than ‘malthei…
Maternal Mortality from Induced Abortion in Malawi
It is commonly claimed that thousands of women die every year from unsafe abortion in Malawi. This commentary critically assesses those claims, demonstrating that these estimates are not supported by the evidence. On the contrary, the latest evidence-itself from 15 to 20 years ago-suggests that 6-7% of maternal deaths in Malawi are attributable to induced and spontaneous abortion combined, totalling approximately 70-150 deaths per year. I then of…
The intrinsic probability of theism
In this paper, I explore one of the most important but least discussed components of an evidentialist case for or against theism: its intrinsic plausibility and simplicity as a theory aside from the evidence. This is a crucial consideration in any inductive framework, whether Inference to the Best Explanation, probabilism, or another. In the context of Bayesian reasoning, this corresponds to an assessment of theism's intrinsic probability. I offe…
Is theism a simple hypothesis? The simplicity of omni-properties
One reason for thinking that theism is a relatively simple theory – and that it is thereby more likely to be true than other theories, ceteris paribus – is to insist that infinite degrees of properties are simpler than extremely large, finite degrees of properties. This defence of theism has been championed by Richard Swinburne in recent years. I outline the objections to this line of argument present in the literature, and suggest some novel res…
A Bayesian formulation of the kalam cosmological argument
There has been a trend within natural theology to present arguments for theism deductively, such that at least one of the premises is likely to be extremely controversial. For those arguments with less controversial premises, the conclusion is usually something short of theism. On these grounds, some have employed probabilistic reasoning to revive classical arguments – to use less controversial premises in achieving a conclusion directly relevant…
The Mitigation of Climate Change
Pathways Through Financial Crisis
Turkey's deep financial crisis in 2000-2001 implicated the International Monetary Fund program, adopted in 1999, while the IMF was associated with the successful 2001 recovery program. This article, through studying three critical interventions, finds that the IMF's impact on the policy choices available to Turkey's policymakers varied according to the history of the IMF's engagement with Turkey, the interests of major shareholders in the IMF, an…
The intrinsic probability of theism
In this paper, I explore one of the most important but least discussed components of an evidentialist case for or against theism: its intrinsic plausibility and simplicity as a theory aside from the evidence. This is a crucial consideration in any inductive framework, whether Inference to the Best Explanation, probabilism, or another. In the context of Bayesian reasoning, this corresponds to an assessment of theism's intrinsic probability. I offe…
The Mitigation of Climate Change
Pathways Through Financial Crisis
Turkey's deep financial crisis in 2000-2001 implicated the International Monetary Fund program, adopted in 1999, while the IMF was associated with the successful 2001 recovery program. This article, through studying three critical interventions, finds that the IMF's impact on the policy choices available to Turkey's policymakers varied according to the history of the IMF's engagement with Turkey, the interests of major shareholders in the IMF, an…
Pathways Through Financial Crisis
Turkey's deep financial crisis in 2000-2001 implicated the International Monetary Fund program, adopted in 1999, while the IMF was associated with the successful 2001 recovery program. This article, through studying three critical interventions, finds that the IMF's impact on the policy choices available to Turkey's policymakers varied according to the history of the IMF's engagement with Turkey, the interests of major shareholders in the IMF, an…
The Mitigation of Climate Change
A Bayesian formulation of the kalam cosmological argument
There has been a trend within natural theology to present arguments for theism deductively, such that at least one of the premises is likely to be extremely controversial. For those arguments with less controversial premises, the conclusion is usually something short of theism. On these grounds, some have employed probabilistic reasoning to revive classical arguments – to use less controversial premises in achieving a conclusion directly relevant…
Is theism a simple hypothesis? The simplicity of omni-properties
One reason for thinking that theism is a relatively simple theory – and that it is thereby more likely to be true than other theories, ceteris paribus – is to insist that infinite degrees of properties are simpler than extremely large, finite degrees of properties. This defence of theism has been championed by Richard Swinburne in recent years. I outline the objections to this line of argument present in the literature, and suggest some novel res…
The intrinsic probability of theism
In this paper, I explore one of the most important but least discussed components of an evidentialist case for or against theism: its intrinsic plausibility and simplicity as a theory aside from the evidence. This is a crucial consideration in any inductive framework, whether Inference to the Best Explanation, probabilism, or another. In the context of Bayesian reasoning, this corresponds to an assessment of theism's intrinsic probability. I offe…
What's wrong with Tooley's argument from evil
Michael Tooley has recently advanced a novel formulation of the problem of evil. The argument primarily intends to address sceptical theist responses to the problem of evil by giving a theoretical argument that prima facie evils are probably ultima facie evils. He thus argues from a single prima facie evil to the conclusion that God probably does not exist, before extending his argument to encompass many prima facie evils using Carnapian inductiv…
Why God is probably good
A number of philosophers have recently defended the evil-god challenge, which is to explain relevant asymmetries between believing in a perfectly good God and believing in a perfectly evil god, such that the former is more reasonable than the latter. In this article, I offer a number of such reasons. I first suggest that certain conceptions of the ontology of good and evil can offer asymmetries which make theism a simpler hypothesis than ‘malthei…
Maternal Mortality from Induced Abortion in Malawi
It is commonly claimed that thousands of women die every year from unsafe abortion in Malawi. This commentary critically assesses those claims, demonstrating that these estimates are not supported by the evidence. On the contrary, the latest evidence-itself from 15 to 20 years ago-suggests that 6-7% of maternal deaths in Malawi are attributable to induced and spontaneous abortion combined, totalling approximately 70-150 deaths per year. I then of…
Human equality arguments against abortion
In this paper, I argue that a commitment to a very modest form of egalitarianism—equality between non-disabled human adults—implies fetal personhood. Since the most plausible bases for human value are in being human, or in a gradated property, and since the latter of which implies an inequality between non-disabled adult humans, I conclude that the most plausible basis for human equality is in being human—an attribute which fetuses have
Must we be perfect
In this paper we offer an argument against supererogation and in favour of moral perfectionism. We argue three primary points: (1) That the putative moral category is not generated by any of the main normative ethical systems, and it is difficult to find space for it in these systems at all; (2) That the primary support for supererogation is based on intuitions, which can be undercut by various other pieces of evidence; and (3) That there are bet…
Subhumans, human flourishing and abortion
In a recent article, I argued that all humans are morally equal, and that this generates an argument against abortion. Here, I defend my argument against two objections from Räsänen: that it is possible to ground equal human value in the ability to flourish in a particular kind of way, and that being human is not, in fact, a binary property in the way needed for the argument to work. I show that this proposed criterion for grounding human value f…
Human equality and the impermissibility of abortion
I have recently offered a defence of human equality, and consequently an argument against abortion. This has been objected to by Bozzo, on the grounds that my account of human equality is unclear and could be grounded in utilitarian or Kantian ethics, that my account struggles to ground the permissibility of therapeutic abortions, and that my proposed foundation for human equality itself is parasitic on a scalar property which generates the same …
Epistemology (8 works) · Philosophy (8 works) · Theology and Philosophy of Evil (6 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Theism (5 works) · Abortion (4 works) · Argument (complex analysis) (4 works) · Medicine (4 works) · Artificial Intelligence (3 works) · Biology (3 works)