Essays Metaphysical and Moral

This collection brings together J.J. Smart's influential essays spanning three decades of philosophical inquiry, showcasing his distinctive approach to metaphysical questions through the lens of scientific materialism. Smart, a prominent figure in Australian philosophy and a key architect of physicalist philosophy of mind, presents arguments that consistently challenge dualist and theistic worldviews while advancing a naturalistic understanding of reality.

The essays demonstrate Smart's commitment to what he terms "scientific plausibility" as the primary criterion for evaluating metaphysical claims. His approach combines rigorous logical analysis with an insistence that philosophical theories must cohere with the findings of modern physics and neuroscience. Throughout the collection, Smart employs his characteristic method of reductive explanation, arguing that phenomena traditionally attributed to immaterial causes can be fully accounted for within a materialist framework.

Several essays directly address religious and theological questions, with Smart mounting sustained critiques of arguments for God's existence. He examines classical proofs, particularly the cosmological and teleological arguments, demonstrating what he sees as their logical inadequacies and their incompatibility with scientific understanding. His treatment of the problem of evil receives extended attention, where he argues that the existence of gratuitous suffering provides compelling evidence against theistic hypotheses. Smart's analysis is notable for its engagement with contemporary theistic philosophers, including detailed responses to Richard Swinburne and Alvin Plantinga.

The moral essays in the collection reveal Smart's utilitarian ethics, which he grounds in naturalistic assumptions rather than divine command or natural law theories. He argues that moral facts, like all facts, must ultimately reduce to physical facts, rejecting any need for transcendent moral authority. This position leads him to critique religious ethics as both unnecessary and potentially harmful to moral reasoning.

Smart's work represents a significant contribution to twentieth-century atheistic philosophy, distinguished by its systematic integration of scientific materialism with traditional philosophical analysis. His essays exemplify the analytical tradition's capacity to address perennial questions about God and reality while maintaining strict adherence to naturalistic methodology. The collection's enduring value lies in its demonstration of how physicalist philosophy can provide comprehensive explanations for phenomena often cited as evidence for theism, thereby advancing the case for a purely materialistic worldview.