Peter Menzies (philosopher)

{{Short description|Australian philosopher (1953–2015)}}

{{About|the philosopher|the cinematographer|Peter Menzies Jr.}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

Peter Charles Menzies (5 Feb 1953 – 6 Feb 2015) was an Australian philosopher and past president of the Australasian Association of Philosophy, who held teaching positions at Macquarie University, University of Sydney, and Australian National University.{{cite web|title = Professor Peter Menzies| publisher = Australasian Association of Philosophy| url = https://aap.org.au/blog/3226205 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160801042454/https://aap.org.au/blog/3226205 | archive-date = 1 August 2016 | access-date = 21 Dec 2017}} He specialized in metaphysics, especially the philosophy of causation.{{cite journal | last1 = Menzies | first1 = P. | last2 = Price | first2 = H. | year = 1993 | title = Causation as a Secondary Quality | journal = British Journal for the Philosophy of Science | volume = 44 | issue = 2| pages = 187–203 | doi=10.1093/bjps/44.2.187| citeseerx = 10.1.1.28.9736 }}{{cite journal | last = Price | first = Huw | title = Obituary, Peter Menzies (1953 - 2015) | journal = Australasian Journal of Philosophy | volume = 93 | issue =2 | date = 2015| doi = 10.1080/00048402.2015.1023889 }} He became a fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 2007.

Menzies was a student of Nancy Cartwright at Stanford University where he received his PhD in 1984.{{cite web | title = Peter Menzies CV | url = https://www.mq.edu.au/pubstatic/public/download.jsp?id=63536 | access-date = 21 Dec 2017}}

He and philosopher Huw Price developed a version of Agency Theory of Causation, which is statement of manipulability theory of causation. In this view, human actors play an important role in cause and effect.{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Woodward |first1=James |title= Causation and Manipulability |url= https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2016/entries/causation-mani/ |encyclopedia= Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2016 Edition) | access-date= 21 Dec 2017}}