Author : Ramon M. Lemos
Publisher : Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press
Page : 300 pages
File Size : 41,53 MB
Release : 1988
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780838633076
By proposing solutions to a number of fundamental metaphysical problems, this work develops and vindicates an objective, realistic, rationalistic approach to metaphysics. Attention is given to language and meaning, international objects and formal realities, universals and particulars, prediction and predictables.
Author : Yaron M. Senderowicz
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
Page : 249 pages
File Size : 36,70 MB
Release : 2010
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9027218889
Since ancient times, metaphysical theories have been shaped by the dialectical relations between metaphysical positions. The present book offers a new account of the role of controversies in the evolution of ideas in current metaphysics of mind. Part One develops a pragmatic theory of metaphysical controversies that combines Kantian themes and themes from current argumentation theory. The theory developed in this book underscores the role of a unique type of dialectical arguments which establish metaphysical positions as "controversial relevant alternatives "in the evolution of "chains of debates" in metaphysics. In Part Two and Part Three, this theory is applied to chains of debates in present day metaphysics of mind which address the problems of consciousness and personal identity. One of the contentions defended in this book is that the intellectual history of metaphysics is not a process in which positions are replaced by opposite positions, but rather, "a history of their status as relevant alternatives." The book analyzes in detail and demonstrates how "progress" in contemporary metaphysics of mind consists in a dialectical process through which challenges to extant positions lead to innovative alternatives that are intrinsically relevant to advancing the understanding of the issues under discussion.
Author : Heather Dyke
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 201 pages
File Size : 42,45 MB
Release : 2012-07-26
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 1135910294
This book is an investigation into metaphysics: its aims, scope, methodology and practice. Dyke argues that metaphysics should take itself to be concerned with investigating the fundamental nature of reality, and suggests that the ontological significance of language has been grossly exaggerated in the pursuit of that aim.
Author : Douglas Owain Edwards
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 209 pages
File Size : 44,90 MB
Release : 2018
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 0198758693
What is truth? What role does truth play in the connections between language and the world? What is the relationship between truth and being? The Metaphysics of Truth tackles these fundamental philosophical questions and develops a distinctive metaphysical worldview. Moreover, it does so in a climate where the traditionally central issue of the nature of truth has diminished in significance due to the rise of deflationary and primitivist views, which deny that there are interesting and informative things to say about truth. Douglas Edwards responds to these views, and demonstrates the importance of the metaphysics of truth with regard to both the study of truth itself, and metaphysical debates more generally. He also develops a detailed pluralist metaphysical approach, which starts with the diversity of different subject areas, and holds that there are different relationships between language and the world in different areas, or 'domains'. He develops a pluralist approach which explains what domains are; how different domains are individuated; which metaphysical frameworks apply in different domains; and how truth plays a key role in the picture. The picture is extended to incorporate ontological pluralism - the idea that there are different ways of being - which increases the explanatory power of the view. Edwards gives particular attention to important domains which have not yet received a great deal of attention in debates about truth, namely the institutional and social domains, and thus connects work on the metaphysics of truth and being to key issues in social construction.
Author : Kris McDaniel
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 206 pages
File Size : 47,97 MB
Release : 2020-05-07
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 111840078X
Metaphysics—the philosophical study of the nature of reality—is a dynamic sub-field which encompasses many of the most fundamental and elusive questions in contemporary analytic philosophy. A concise and focused introduction to contemporary metaphysics, This is Metaphysics: An Introduction takes readers with minimal technical knowledge of the field on a guided tour of the intellectual landscape of the discipline. Approachable and engaging, the book covers a broad range of key topics and principles in metaphysics, including classification, the nature and existence of properties, ontology, the nature of possibility and necessity, and fundamental questions concerning being and existence. Each chapter challenges readers to grapple with thought-provoking examples that build upon the seminal theoretical contributions of contemporary metaphysicians like Peter van Inwagen and David Lewis, and concludes with a “Doing Metaphysics” section encouraging readers to think through substantive metaphysical questions while weighing possible arguments and objections. A thoughtful and comprehensive introduction provides a framework for author Kris McDaniel’s pedagogical approach, and each section incorporates multi-platform online resources and plentiful footnotes to support further reading and deeper conceptual engagement. A welcome addition to the popular This is Philosophy series, This is Metaphysics is a reader-friendly survey of metaphysics for philosophy majors, undergraduates in introductory philosophy courses, and curious members of the general public interested in investigating this expansive and enigmatic area of study.
Author : Robert C. Koons
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 277 pages
File Size : 25,86 MB
Release : 2015-01-20
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 1405195738
Metaphysics: The Fundamentals presents readers with a systematic, comprehensive introductory overview of modern analytic metaphysics. Presents an accessible, up-to-date and broad-ranging survey of one of the most dynamic and often daunting sub-fields in contemporary philosophy Introduces readers to the seminal works of contemporary and historic philosophers, including Descartes, Leibniz, Russell, David Lewis, Alvin Plantinga, Kit Fine, Peter van Inwagen, John Hawthorne and many others Explores key questions while identifying important assumptions, axioms, and methodological principles Addresses topics in ontology, modality, causality, and universals; as well as issues surrounding material composition, persistence, space, and time
Author : Rasmus Ugilt
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 241 pages
File Size : 48,64 MB
Release : 2014-03-13
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 1628920564
This groundbreaking study aims to provide a philosophical analysis of the phenomenon of terror, in particular the political reactions to it, such as public anxiety and pre-emptive wars, and to re-articulate the understanding of metaphysics through a consideration of its political implications. The book reveals that the key feature of terror is "potentiality," that is, terror is always about "what could happen" as opposed to "what is likely to happen." This notion helps broaden the scope of the investigation, as the argument spans the ontology, political psychology, political cosmology, and political theology of terror. Each chapter begins with an empirical discussion, examining such topics as the political practices in reaction to terror, the politics of fear, warfare, sovereignty, and the debates about the state of exception in relations to anti-terrorism laws. This unique examination of our political reality uncovers the axiom of terrorism, namely its "potentiality." Going beyond the scope of terrorism studies, it explains the philosophical underpinnings of terror without compromising on the empirical facts drawn from policymaking, jurisprudence and related fields.
Author : Lukáš Novák
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter
Page : 287 pages
File Size : 20,17 MB
Release : 2013-05-02
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 3110322447
Throughout the greater part of the twentieth century, both in the analytic and continental traditions, metaphysics was deemed to be passé. The last few decades, however, have witnessed a remarkable growth of interest among analytic philosophers in various traditional metaphysical topics, such as modality, truth, causality, etc. which resulted in the emergence of various forms of analytic metaphysics. The new forms of metaphysics differ from its traditional forms mostly in their methodology (we may notice various applications of contemporary formal logical techniques) and in the range of proposed solutions to particular problems. Besides these and other differences, however, there are also many similarities and there are even some who intentionally develop traditional metaphysical themes using the contemporary analytical methods. All these developments call for detailed exploration, which is the general goal of the present publication Metaphysics: Aristotelian, Scholastic, Analytic. The publication is the fruit of the conference which took place in Prague in 2010 and which had for its aim to bring together those willing to explore relations between the traditional and contemporary concerns, both from among the leading analytic philosophers working in metaphysics and the historians of philosophy devoted to the study of the metaphysical tradition. The specific focus of the conference was a re-examination of topics such as categories, metaphysical structure, substance and accident, existence, modalities, and predication.
Author : Christopher Hookway
Publisher : Clarendon Press
Page : 322 pages
File Size : 42,28 MB
Release : 2002-12-05
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0191037028
Christopher Hookway presents a series of studies of themes from the work of the great American philosopher Charles S. Peirce (1839-1913), often described as the founder of pragmatism. These themes concern how we are able to investigate the world rationally; and, as Hookway shows, the ideas introduced by Peirce can still make fruitful contributions to research in philosophy, logic and semiotics. After an extended examination of Peirce's account of truth, and of its relations to his ideas about logic, reference, and representation, Hookway discusses his claims that rationality requires a system of 'scientific metaphysics'. The second half of the book studies the role of common sense, sentiments, and emotions in rationality. It concludes with discussions of Peirce's approach to religious belief and the role of pragmatism in his thought. These compelling essays present the fruits of fifteen years of research on Peirce, but do so in a way that makes his ideas accessible and relevant for philosophers who are not specialists in the history of American thought. The introduction offers a general sketch of Peirce's philosophy as a way into the book for such readers, and draws together the themes of the essays.
Author : Immanuel Kant
Publisher : Livraria Press
Page : 189 pages
File Size : 25,61 MB
Release : 2024-05-09
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 3989883577
A new translation of Immanuel Kant's "Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics" from the original German manuscript first published in 1783. This new edition contains an afterword by the translator, a timeline of Kant's life and works, and a helpful index of Kant's key concepts and intellectual rivals. This translation is designed for readability, rendering Kant's enigmatic German into the simplest equivalent possible, and removing the academic footnotes to make this critically important historical text as accessible as possible to the modern reader. The Prolegomena was published two years after the first edition of the Critique of Pure Reason and summarizes the Critique's essential arguments utilizing phraseology and lines of though not present in the first edition. This was intended by Kant as a simplified and clear presentation of the Critique, and he would later work some of these summaries back into later versions of the Critique. It is a hostile polemic against the initial criticisms from specific authors and broadly against the Empiricism of Deterministic Causality and attempts to charta an Ontotheology based on the internal ordering of the mind and soul. Here he returns to the basic ideas of his Metaphysics and lays the foundation for a Metaphysical science that is as respected as mathematics or physics. Just like the Critique, the Prolegomena is Epistemological in nature, focusing on questions on the perception and acquisition of knowledge. Kant muses on a range of Cosmological and Noetic questions, such as how are a priori assumptions possible, or how is knowledge from pure reason possible? How is our numinal consciousness structured, and how does it “know” the world”? What is Space, time, and the cosmos, and how does God interact with or is known by the material world and its inhabitants?
