The PSR and the folk metaphysics of explanation

Shaun Nichols (Cornell University)

Oct 9, 16-18 UTC+1, Shaun Nichols (Cornell), The PSR and the folk metaphysics of explanation

Abstract: There just has to be an explanation. This familiar commonsense refrain resonates with the Principle of Sufficient Reason (PSR), according to which, for every fact, there must be an explanation of that fact. In this talk, I’ll report several studies which indicate that people’s judgments conform to the PSR. This holds for adults in the US and children in the US; it also seems to hold for adults in China and India. However, we have found that judgments vary by domain: people are less committed to the idea that aesthetic and moral facts must have explanations.