Abstract:
In this thesis we attempt to undercut the debate between those
who argue that because humans are rational and moral creatures
it follows that they have to be viewed and studied in a different
way to (other) natural beings, and those who argue that because
humans are natural beings they can be viewed and studied in
much the same way as other natural beings. We claim that the
reasons/causes distinction which plays a central role in this
debate derives from the Cartesian thought/reality distinction,
and argue that a rejection of this undermines the reasons/causes
distinction, and with it, the modern humanist-naturalist debate.