Robert C Koons

About

Robert C. Koons is a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin, where he has taught for 35 years. He holds degrees from Michigan State, Oxford (M.A.), and UCLA (Ph.D.). His academic specialization lies in metaphysics and philosophical logic, with particular interests in philosophical theology and the foundations of both science and ethics. Koons is the author or co-author of five books, including Realism Regained and The Atlas of Reality: A Comprehensive Guide to Metaphysics. He has also co-edited several collections addressing topics such as materialism, Neo-Aristotelian perspectives on contemporary science, and metaphysics and the philosophy of nature. Recently, Koons has focused on an Aristotelian interpretation of quantum theory, defending and articulating Thomism in contemporary terms, and developing arguments for classical theism. His forthcoming works include titles on Thomas Aquinas's philosophy of nature and classical theism. Koons's scholarship reflects a deep engagement with Aristotelian and Thomist philosophy, as well as a commitment to exploring the philosophical foundations of science and religion.

Research topics

• Epistemology
• Philosophy
• Physics
• Quantum mechanics
• Theology
• Theoretical physics

Selected publications

• Skepticism and the principle of sufficient reason

  Philosophical Studies · 2020 · 28 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract The Principle of Sufficient Reason must be justified dialectically: by showing the disastrous consequences of denying it. We formulate a version of the Principle that is restricted to basic natural facts, which entails the obtaining of at least one supernatural fact. Denying this principle results in extreme empirical skepticism. We consider six current theories of empirical knowledge, showing that on each account we cannot know that we have empirical knowledge unless we all have a prio…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Neo-Aristotelian Metaphysics and the Theology of Nature

  Routledge eBooks · 2021 · 18 citations

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Powers ontology and the quantum revolution

  European Journal for Philosophy of Science · 2020 · 9 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract An Aristotelian philosophy of nature rejects the modern prejudice in favor of the microscopic, a rejection that is crucial if we are to penetrate the mysteries of the quantum world. I defend an Aristotelian model by drawing on both quantum chemistry and recent work on the measurement problem. By building on the work of Hans Primas, using the distinction between quantum and classical properties that emerges in quantum chemistry at the thermodynamic or continuum limit, I develop a new ver…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Prime Matter and the Quantum Wavefunction

  Ancient Philosophy Today · 2024-04-01 · 7 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Prime matter plays an indispensable role in Aristotle’s philosophy, enabling him to avoid the pitfalls of both naïve Platonism and nominalism. Prime matter is best thought of as a kind of infinitely divisible and atomless bare particularity, grounding the distinctness of distinct members of the same species. Such bare particularity is needed in symmetrical situations, like a world consisting of indistinguishable Max Black spheres. Bare particularity is especially important in modern physics, giv…

  PublisherDOI

• The Entanglement Problem for Psychological Hylomorphism

  Res Philosophica · 2025-01-01 · 3 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  The theory of psychological hylomorphism has recently been advanced by David Charles as a viable alternative to physicalist and dualist theories of mind. According to Charles, a human or animal is a psycho-physical whole whose mental and physical properties are defined with reference to the whole. This is because it is a hylomorphic composite of matter and form, where the form contains the material principles of the composite in its definition. In this paper, we raise a difficulty concerning the…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• William M. Simpson

  Durham University

  4 shared

• Timothy H. Pickavance

  Biola University

  3 shared

• Daniel Bonevac

  3 shared

• Nicholas Asher

  2 shared

• Beishui Liao

  2 shared

• Jonathan Fuqua

  2 shared

• Alexander R. Pruss

  Baylor University

  2 shared

• T. K. Seung

  2 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Philosophy

  University of California Los Angeles College of Letters and Science

  1987

• M.A., Philosophy and Theology

  University of Oxford

  1981

Similar researchers at University of Texas at Austin

• Sahotra Sarkarh-51
• Michael Tyeh-44
• Galen Strawsonh-33