Ontology, Identity, and Modality
Subtitle: Essays in Metaphysics (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: April 2, 2001
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 272
ISBN-13: 9780521791649
Subjects: Metaphysics & ontology; Philosophy; Metaphysics; Philosophy / Epistemology; Philosophy / Metaphysics; Identity (Philosophical concep; Identity (Philosophical concept); Modality (Theory of knowledge); Ontology
First sentence: Quine has called the question "What is there?" "the ontological question."
Description: "This book gathers together thirteen of Peter van Inwagen's essays on metaphysics, several of which have acquired the status of modern classics in their field. They range widely across such topics as Quine's philosophy of quantification, the ontology of fiction, the part-whole relations, the theory of "temporal parts," and human knowledge of modal truths. In addition, van Inwagen considers the question as to whether the psychological continuity theory of personal identity is compatible with materialism, and defends the thesis that possible states of affairs are abstract objects, in opposition to David Lewis's "extreme model realism." A specially written introduction completes the collection, which will be a valuable resource for anyone interested in metaphysics."--Jacket.