The Department of Philosophy is delighted to announce that Erik Van Aken has completed his Phd in Philosophy under the supervision of Professor John Williamson and Dr David Corfield.

In his thesis, titled ‘Causal Interactionism: A New Agency Approach to Causation’, Erik proposes that causation is dependent on the interaction between human agents and the physical world. He argues against the influential ‘objectivist’ claim that causation is a mind-independent, natural phenomenon, and instead demonstrates that causation is connected to human activities (including a specific form of reasoning). He defends the proposition that causation is relative to context, or a ‘frame of reference’, which is ground by human agency. The emerging picture reveals that the causal relation is objective and consistent with scientific theory, but visible only by assimilating the contours of human agency.

Our congratulations to Dr Van Aken.

Interested in postgraduate study at the University of Kent? Find out more about the PhD in Philosophy.