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

• Teaching The Abolition of Man

  Sehnsucht The C S Lewis Journal · 2026-01-14

  article

  The authors also hope that this article will help readers better understand The Abolition of Man and raise the level of interest in teaching this important book in schools, churches, and in many other venues and that many will find here helpful practical ideas for such teaching.

  PublisherDOI

• The Two Faces of Semi-Physicalism

  Scientia et Fides · 2025-10-31

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  This paper responds to Halvorson’s reflections on hylomorphism by addressing its quantum application (Koons and Simpson) and contextually emergent physics (Ellis and Drossel). It also critiques physicalist interpretations of quantum mechanics and argues for the fundamental nature of thermodynamic phenomena. Koons, Simpson, Ellis and Drossel defend hylomorphism as a framework that challenges dogmatic semi-physicalism. They examine causal pluralism, semantic indeterminacy and the limited validity of quantum mechanics, emphasising the role of micro and macroscopic elements in shaping a consistent worldview.

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• Staunch Transubstantiation and the Metaphysics of Middle-Sized Things

  Scientia et Fides · 2025-10-31

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  An Aristotelian natural philosophy, with its account of substantial form as the organizing and unifying principle of all substances, including living human beings, is essential to a coherent and theologically accurate formulation of the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation. I demonstrate this fact by considering a recent proposal by Howard Robinson, which attempts to re-formulate the doctrine within a Cartesian or substance dualist framework. Robinson’s proposal cannot explain the presence of the sensible qualities of the bread and wine, nor the presence of Christ’s body, blood, soul, and divinity, as requird by the Council of Trent.

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• A Metaphysician's Take on Strict vs. Narrow Conceptions of Intention

  The Journal of Natural Law · 2025-01-01

  article1st authorCorresponding
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• Introduction: The Definition of Life

  BioCosmos · 2025-01-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract In this special issue of BioCosmos, we address the problem of the definition of life. If we assume that biology is a genuine science, with its own distinctive subject matter, then there must be a real distinction between living and non-living things. We are concerned not merely with the meaning of the word ‘life’ or with merely clarifying our biological concepts, but with uncovering what it is (if anything) in the world that unifies the domain of living things and separates it from the rest of the cosmos. Six distinguished philosophers have contributed their answers to this problem.

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• 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 individuation of forms in light of the quantum theory of matter, asking whether the phenomenon of quantum entanglement gives us reason to doubt that the micro-physical properties of a human or animal derive (solely) from the psycho-physical properties of a middle-sized whole. We suggest several ways of amending the theory of psychological hylomorphism to accommodate entanglement, including a proposal by Simpson, in which the cosmos counts as a psycho-physical whole, and a proposal by Koons, in which distinct substances share a ‘group form.’

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• 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, given the homogeneity and isotropy of space. With the importance of fields in classical, relativistic, and quantum physics, we have good reason to prefer something like Aristotle’s continuous, infinitely divisible matter over indivisible particles. Mass and energy in relativistic physics also points in the direction of prime matter as the enduring substrate of these quantities. Recent work on Aristotelian interpretations of quantum mechanics, further underscores the contemporary relevance of prime matter.

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• Parts and Grounds of Powers

  2023-07-10

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Powers ontology requires us to take powers seriously. But it is one thing to accept the irreducibility of causal powers (contra both neo-Humeanism and the Dretsky–Armstrong–Tooley account of laws), and another to reify powers, to add them to our fundamental domain of first-order quantification. In fact, a powers ontology could be combined with extreme nominalism, denying the fundamental existence of any properties at all, whether categorical or dispositional. Suppose that we adopt such a nominalist perspective: Can we still have powers as derived entities? And can we still make sense of part-whole relations among powers? Using the theory of grounding as an operation on facts, this chapter develops a formal nominalistic theory of powers that includes the part–whole relation of standard mereology.

  PublisherDOI

• Chapter 2 Does the God of Classical Theism Exist?

  Directory of Open access Books (OAPEN Foundation) · 2023-01-01

  otherOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The God of classical theism can be characterized by four features: uncausedness, atemporality, pure actuality, and the identity of divine essence and existence. A certain long-standing program in natural theology provides good grounds for accepting the existence of such a being. In this chapter, I focus on three arguments from St. Thomas Aquinas: the First and Second Ways (from the Summa Theologiae Part I), and his analysis of essence and existence in De Ente. These arguments provide support for the existence of a First Cause with all four of the characteristics of classical theism. I also argue that we can go on to infer God's personality, intelligence, infinity, and perfection. Finally, there is little doubt that, if the God of classical theism exists, that unique Being must be identified with the God of the Bible.

  Publisher

• Some Puzzles about Molinist Conditionals

  Roczniki Filozoficzne · 2022-03-31 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  William Hasker has been one of the most trenchant and insightful critics of the revival of Molinism. He has focused on the “freedom problem”, a set of challenges designed to show that Molinism does not secure a place for genuinely free human action (Hasker 1986, 1995, 1999, 2000a, 2000b, 2011). These challenges focus on a key element in the Molinist story: the counterfactual (or subjunctive) conditionals of creaturely freedom. According to Molinism, these conditionals have contingent truth-values that are knowable to God prior to His decision of what world to actualize. This divine “middle knowledge” is supposed to enable God to execute a detailed plan for world history without any loss of creaturely freedom. Hasker has argued that this middle knowledge nonetheless deprives us of the power to do otherwise than we do, a crucial element in human freedom and responsibility.
 I hope to accomplish three things in this paper. First, I want to step back a bit and explore the nature of the conditionals of creaturely free decision-making (the CCFs), bringing out some of the difficulties in delimiting their scope and nature. Second, I will explore the implications of different answers to an important question that has not been addressed in the literature: whether we have counterfactual power over the conditionals of divine freedom. And, third, I would like to recommend to Molinists a revision that offers a solution to the freedom problem.

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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