Abstract

I shall presuppose—but not here defend—three fundamental metaphysical theses. The first is that persons—such entities as ourselves—are substantival concrete things, in the strictest sense of the term “thing”, that persist through time, in the strictest sense of the expression “persist through time.” The second metaphysical thesis is that there are such entities as states of affairs, some of which occur, happen, obtain, or take place, and others of which do not occur, happen, obtain, or take place. And the third metaphysical thesis is this: the fact that we are—occasionally, at least—morally responsible for what we do, implies that we are causes, that persons are causes. I shall comment briefly on this third thesis.