ABOUT Dr. RICKABAUGH
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Research Scholar of Philosophy of Technology & Culture
Palm Beach Atlantic University, Florida.
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Founder and Director, Novus Center
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Cultura Fellow at the Martin Institute for Christianity & Culture.
I work on the nature of consciousness and what it reveals about:
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​Our knowledge of reality.
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The nature of human persons (thoughts, emotions, will, body, social, and soul).
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The impact of technology on human flourishing and culture.
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Knowing and being transformed by God.​
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In The Substance of Consciousness: A Comprehensive Defense of Contemporary Substance Dualism, two distinguished philosophers deliver a unique and powerful defense of contemporary substance dualism, which makes the claim that the human person is an embodied fundamental, immaterial, and unifying substance. Multidisciplinary in scope, the book explores areas of philosophy, cognitive science, neuroscience, and the sociology of mind-body beliefs. The authors present the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and rigorous non-edited work on substance dualism in the field, as well as a detailed history of how property and substance dualism have been presented and evaluated over the last 150 years. Alongside developing new and updated positive arguments for substance dualism, they also discuss key metaphysical notions and distinctions that inform the examination of substance dualism and its alternatives.
"This book is a tour de force on the topic of consciousness. The authors offer a depth of analysis that interacts with the latest and best work on this topic in recent years."
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- Joshua Rasmussen, PhD
Associate Professor of Philosophy, Azusa Pacific University
“Rickabaugh and Moreland have written the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and sophisticated defense of substance dualism available today. They tackle quite successfully every anti-dualist argument in the literature, demonstrating both the variety of options available to dualists and the fruitfulness of the dualist framework for future research, both scientific and philosophical. Especially impressive is their skill in drawing on Aristotelian, scholastic, and 19th century sources (Brentano, Husserl) to develop an attractive synthesis of dualism with hylomorphism. They bring to philosophy of mind theoretical resources, including the metaphysics of mereology, that are badly needed in today’s debates.”
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- Robert Koons, PhD
Professor of Philosophy, University of Texas, Austin
“Rickabaugh and Moreland have produced a tour de force in this brilliant, systematic case for substance dualism. It is a treasure trove of arguments, objections and replies that should be required reading in philosophy of mind today, challenging the current, ingrained prejudice against dualism.”
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- Charles Taliaferro, PhD
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Philosophy (St. Olof College)
Member, Cambridge Centre for the Study of Platonism, Cambridge University
"Moreland and Rickabaugh's monograph is a first-rate treatment of the important issues concerning the existence and nature of the soul. The book will be of interest to philosophers and theologians alike. I highly recommend it."
- Stewart Goetz, PhD
Professor of Philosophy Ursinus College