Ontology Without Borders

Ontology Without Borders
Author: Jody Azzouni
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2017
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0190622555

A new approach to the metaphysics, background logic, and semantics of ontological debate, Ontology Without Borders offers new solutions to perennial philosophical puzzles about constitution and the nonexistent. Book jacket.

Deflating Existential Consequence

Deflating Existential Consequence
Author: Jody Azzouni
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2004
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0195159888

If we take mathematical statements to be true, must we also believe in the existence of abstract invisible mathematical objects? This text claims that the way to escape such a commitment is to accept true statements which are about objects that don't exist in any sense at all.

Truth and the World

Truth and the World
Author: Jonathan Tallant
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2017-10-16
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1351388509

How do we explain the truth of true propositions? Truthmaker theory is the branch of metaphysics that explores the relationships between what is true and what exists. It plays an important role in contemporary debates about the nature of metaphysics and metaphysical enquiry. In this book Jonathan Tallant argues, controversially, that we should reject truthmaker theory. In its place he argues for an 'explanationist' approach. Drawing on a deflationary theory of truth he shows that it allows us to explain the truth of true propositions and respond to recent arguments that purport to show otherwise. He augments this with a distinction between internally and externally quantified claims: externally quantified claims are claims that quantify over elements of our ontology that play an indispensable explanatory role; internally quantified claims do not. He deploys this union of deflationism and a distinction between kinds of quantification to pursue metaphysical inquiry, sketching the implications for a number of first-order debates, including those in the philosophy of time, modality and mathematics, and also shows how this explanationist model can be used to solve the key problems that afflicted truthmaker theory. Truth and the World is an important contribution to debates about truth and truthmaker theory as well as metametaphysics, the metaphysics of time and the metaphysics of mathematics, and is essential reading for students and scholars engaged in the study of these topics.

New Waves in Metaphysics

New Waves in Metaphysics
Author: A. Hazlett
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2016-04-30
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0230297420

A collection of new essays by young scholars on the cutting edge of this ancient philosophical area. Diverse topics, including ontology, free will, fundamental properties, and causation, the volume will appeal both to specialists and to anyone interested in the present and future state of metaphysics in the English-speaking world.

Ontological Economy

Ontological Economy
Author: Dale Gottlieb
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 184
Release: 1980
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN:

Shows that when Qyuine's criterion of ontological commitment is modified to allow for the legitimacy of substitutional quantification, two consequences follow: (i) fundamental questions of ontology cease to be settled by mere appeal to logical form and truth, and (ii) a powerful method for reducing ontological commitments becomes available.

Ontology and Metaontology

Ontology and Metaontology
Author: Francesco Berto
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2015-01-29
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1472573307

Ontology and Metaontology: A Contemporary Guide is a clear and accessible survey of ontology, focusing on the most recent trends in the discipline. Divided into parts, the first half characterizes metaontology: the discourse on the methodology of ontological inquiry, covering the main concepts, tools, and methods of the discipline, exploring the notions of being and existence, ontological commitment, paraphrase strategies, fictionalist strategies, and other metaontological questions. The second half considers a series of case studies, introducing and familiarizing the reader with concrete examples of the latest research in the field. The basic sub-fields of ontology are covered here via an accessible and captivating exposition: events, properties, universals, abstract objects, possible worlds, material beings, mereology, fictional objects. The guide's modular structure allows for a flexible approach to the subject, making it suitable for both undergraduates and postgraduates looking to better understand and apply the exciting developments and debates taking place in ontology today.

Philosophy of Logics

Philosophy of Logics
Author: Susan Haack
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 300
Release: 1978-07-27
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780521293297

Publisher Description

Priority Nominalism

Priority Nominalism
Author: Guido Imaguire
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2018-08-06
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3319950045

This monograph details a new solution to an old problem of metaphysics. It presents an improved version of Ostrich Nominalism to solve the Problem of Universals. This innovative approach allows one to resolve the different formulations of the Problem, which represents an important meta-metaphysical achievement. In order to accomplish this ambitious task, the author appeals to the notion and logic of ontological grounding. Instead of defending Quine’s original principle of ontological commitment, he proposes the principle of grounded ontological commitment. This represents an entirely new application of grounding. Some metaphysicians regard Ostrich Nominalism as a rejection of the problem rather than a proper solution to it. To counter this, the author presents solutions for each of the formulations. These include: the problem of predication, the problem of abstract reference, and the One Over Many as well as the Many Over One and the Similar but Different variants. This book will appeal to anyone interested in contemporary metaphysics. It will also serve as an ideal resource to scholars working on the history of philosophy. Many will recognize in the solution insights resembling those of traditional philosophers, especially of the Middle Ages.

Plural Logic

Plural Logic
Author: Alex Oliver
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 399
Release: 2016
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0198744382

Alex Oliver and Timothy Smiley provide a new account of plural logic. They argue that there is such a thing as genuinely plural denotation in logic, and expound a framework of ideas that includes the distinction between distributive and collective predicates, the theory of plural descriptions, multivalued functions, and lists.

The Objects of Thought

The Objects of Thought
Author: Tim Crane
Publisher:
Total Pages: 195
Release: 2013-09
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0199682747

Tim Crane addresses the ancient question of how it is possible to think about what does not exist. He argues that the representation of the non-existent is a pervasive feature of our thought about the world, and that to understand thought's representational power ('intentionality') we need to understand the representation of the non-existent.