Atlas of Reality - A Comprehensive Guide to Metaphysics

Informationen zum Autor ROBERT C. KOONS is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of Paradoxes of Belief and Strategic Rationality (1993) and Realism Regained (2000), co-author of Metaphysics: The Fundamentals (with Tim Pickavance, 2014), and co-editor of The Waning of Materialism (with George Bealer, 2010). TIMOTHY PICKAVANCE is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Talbot Department of Philosophy at Biola University. He is co-author of Metaphysics: The Fundamentals (with Robert Koons, 2014). Klappentext The Atlas of Reality: A Comprehensive Guide to Metaphysics presents an extensive examination of the key topics, concepts, and guiding principles of metaphysics.* Represents the most comprehensive guide to metaphysics available today* Offers authoritative coverage of the full range of topics that comprise the field of metaphysics in an accessible manner while considering competing views* Explores key concepts such as space, time, powers, universals, and composition with clarity and depth* Articulates coherent packages of metaphysical theses that include neo-Aristotelian, Quinean, Armstrongian, and neo-Humean* Carefully tracks the use of common assumptions and methodological principles in metaphysics Zusammenfassung The Atlas of REALITYThe Atlas of Reality: A Comprehensive Guide to Metaphysics presents an extensive examination of the key concepts, principles, and arguments of metaphysics, traditionally the very core of philosophical thought. Representing the first exhaustive survey of metaphysics available, the book draws from historic sources while presenting the latest cutting-edge research in the field. Seminal works of philosophers such as David Lewis, Alvin Plantinga, Kit Fine, Peter van Inwagen, John Hawthorne and many others are covered in depth, without neglecting the critical contributions of historical figures like René Descartes, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Bertrand Russell, and more.Written in an accessible manner without sacrificing rigor, readers at all levels will gain illuminating insights into metaphysical topics ranging from the problem of universals, individuation and composition, and relations and qualities, to time, space, causation, existence, modality, and idealism. The authors also articulate the emergence of several coherent metaphysical theses, including neo-Aristotelian, neo-Humean, and more recent alternatives put forth by W. V. O. Quine and David M. Armstrong. Competing views are clearly and fairly represented, and key axioms and methodological assumptions are flagged and cross-referenced, providing scholars with an invaluable tool for future research in metaphysics.Unprecedented in breadth of topic coverage and depth of analyses, The Atlas of Reality is an essential resource for those seeking a thorough understanding of one of the most compelling, influential, and enlightening sub-fields of philosophy in today's world. Inhaltsverzeichnis Acknowledgements xvii Part I Foundations 1 Introduction 3 1.1 A Brief History of Metaphysics 3 1.2 Why Do Metaphysics? 5 1.3 How to Use the Book 9 2 Truthmakers 13 2.1 Introduction 13 2.2 Five Arguments for Classical Truthmaker Theory 19 2.3 The Challenge of Deflationism 25 2.4 Truthmaker Maximalism 30 2.5 Alternatives to Truthmaker Maximalism 36 2.6 Conclusion and Preview 44 Notes 45 3 Grounding, Ontological Dependence, and Fundamentality 47 3.1 Is Grounding Real? 49 3.2 Relation between Grounding and Truthmaking 55 3.3 Relation between Grounding and Ontological Dependence 58 3.4 Conceptual vs. Extra-Conceptual Grounding 62 3.5 Alternatives to Grounding? 65 3.6 Can Grounding Relations be Grounded? 69 3.7 Connections between Grounding and Enta...

List of contents

Acknowledgements xvii
 
Part I Foundations
 
1 Introduction 3
 
1.1 A Brief History of Metaphysics 3
 
1.2 Why Do Metaphysics? 5
 
1.3 How to Use the Book 9
 
2 Truthmakers 13
 
2.1 Introduction 13
 
2.2 Five Arguments for Classical Truthmaker Theory 19
 
2.3 The Challenge of Deflationism 25
 
2.4 Truthmaker Maximalism 30
 
2.5 Alternatives to Truthmaker Maximalism 36
 
2.6 Conclusion and Preview 44
 
Notes 45
 
3 Grounding, Ontological Dependence, and Fundamentality 47
 
3.1 Is Grounding Real? 49
 
3.2 Relation between Grounding and Truthmaking 55
 
3.3 Relation between Grounding and Ontological Dependence 58
 
3.4 Conceptual vs. Extra-Conceptual Grounding 62
 
3.5 Alternatives to Grounding? 65
 
3.6 Can Grounding Relations be Grounded? 69
 
3.7 Connections between Grounding and Entailment 71
 
3.8 How is Grounding Different from Causal Explanation? 72
 
3.9 Conclusion: Grounding and Ontological Economy 72
 
Notes 73
 
Part II Dispositions
 
4 Conditionals 77
 
4.1 Counterfactual Conditionals: Semantics, Logic, and Metaphysics 78
 
4.2 Hypotheticalism 84
 
4.3 Anti-Hypotheticalism and Laws of Nature 86
 
4.4 Strong Hypotheticalism: Counterfactual Accounts of Powers and Dispositions 90
 
Notes 92
 
5 Laws of Nature 94
 
5.1 Strong Nomism: The Dretske-Armstrong-Tooley (DAT) Theory of Laws 94
 
5.2 Neo-Humeism: Reduction of Conditionals, Laws, and Powers 99
 
Notes 105
 
6 Powers and Properties 106
 
6.1 Advantages of Strong Powerism 106
 
6.2 The Individuation of Properties 108
 
6.3 Objections to Strong Powerism 118
 
6.4 Conclusion 121
 
Notes 121
 
Part III Universals and Particulars
 
7 Universals 125
 
7.1 Introduction 125
 
7.1.1 What properties must explain 126
 
7.2 Realism 128
 
7.3 Universals and the Problem of Intentionality 142
 
7.4 Properties as the Ground of Causal Powers 145
 
Notes 145
 
8 Reductive Nominalism and Trope Theory 147
 
8.1 Reductive Nominalism 147
 
8.2 Trope Theory 165
 
8.3 Conclusion 169
 
Notes 169
 
9 Particulars and the Problem of Individuation 171
 
9.1 Introduction 171
 
9.2 Facts 172
 
9.3 Substances 175
 
Notes 200
 
10 Relations, Structures, and Quantities 201
 
10.1 Accounts of Relational Facts 201
 
10.2 Non-Symmetrical Relations and the Problem of Order 206
 
10.3 Structural Universals and Constituent Ontology 215
 
10.4 Determinables, Quantities, and Real Numbers 219
 
10.5 Conclusion and Preview 225
 
Notes 225
 
Part IV The Nature of Reality
 
11 Nihilism and Monism 229
 
11.1 Nihilism and Aliquidism 229
 
11.2 Monism 237
 
Note 252
 
12 The Non-Existent and the Vaguely Existing 253
 
12.1 Does Everything Exist? 253
 
12.2 Ontic Vagueness 271
 
12.3 Conclusion 280
 
13 Solipsism, Idealism, and the Problem of Perception 281
 
13.1 Defining the Mental and the External 282
 
13.2 Solipsism and Phenomenalism 284
 
13.3 Theories of Perception 286
 
13.4 Arguments against Phenomenalism 306
 
13.5 Arguments against Solipsism 309
 
13.6 Conclusion and Preview 312
 
Notes 313
 
Part V Modality
 
14 Possibility, Necessity, and Actuality: Concretism 317
 
14.1 Int

Product details

• Authors: Robert C Koons, Robert C. Koons, Robert C. (University of Texas At Austin) P Koons, Robert C. Pickavance Koons, Koons Robert C., Timothy Pickavance
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 14.11.2023
• EAN: 9781119116264
• ISBN: 978-1-119-11626-4
• No. of pages: 720
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Philosophy; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: general, reference works; Philosophie, Metaphysik, Philosophy, Metaphysics