The Theory of Ontic Modalities

The Theory of Ontic Modalities
Author: Uwe Meixner
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 379
Release: 2013-05-02
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3110326892

Download The Theory of Ontic Modalities Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

This book presents a comprehensive, non-model-theoretic theory of ontic necessity and possibility within a formal (and formalized) ontology consisting of states of affairs, properties, and individuals. Its central thesis is that all modalities are reducible to intrinsic (or "logical") possibility and necessity if reference is made to certain states of affairs, called "bases of necessity." The viability of this Bases-Theory of Modality is shown also in the case of conditionals, including counterfactual conditionals. Besides the ontological aspects of the philosophy of modality, also the epistemology of modality is treated in the book. It is shown that the Bases-Theory of Modality provides a satisfactory solution to the epistemological problem of modality. In addition to developing that theory, the book includes detailed discussions of positions in the philosophy of modality maintained by Alvin Plantinga, David Lewis, Charles Chihara, Graeme Forbes, David Armstrong, and others. Among the themes treated are: possibilism vs. actualism; the theory of essences; conceivability and possibility; the nature of possible worlds; the nature of logical, nomological, and metaphysical possibility and necessity.

A Philosophy of the Possible

A Philosophy of the Possible
Author: Mikhail Epstein
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 379
Release: 2019-06-07
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9004398341

Download A Philosophy of the Possible Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

In this book, Mikhail Epstein offers a systematic theory of modalities (possible, actual, necessary) and their impact on the philosophy and culture of modernity and postmodernity, focusing on the creative potentials of possibilistic thinking for the humanities.

Quo Vadis, Metaphysics?

Quo Vadis, Metaphysics?
Author: Mirosław Szatkowski
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 495
Release: 2019-11-18
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3110662647

Download Quo Vadis, Metaphysics? Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The old philosophical discipline of metaphysics – after having been pronounced dead by many – has enjoyed a significant revival within the last thirty years, due to the application of the methods of analytic philosophy. One of the major contributors to this revival is the outstanding American metaphysician Peter van Inwagen. This volume brings together twenty-two scholars, who, in commemoration of Prof. van Inwagen's 75th birthday, ponder the future prospects of metaphysics in all the richness to which it has now returned. It is only natural that logical and epistemological reflections on the significance of metaphysics – sometimes called “meta-metaphysics” – play a considerable role in most of these papers. The volume is further enriched by an interview with Peter van Inwagen himself.

Modality and Explanatory Reasoning

Modality and Explanatory Reasoning
Author: Boris Kment
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2014-09-18
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0191056715

Download Modality and Explanatory Reasoning Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Since the ground-breaking work of Saul Kripke, David Lewis, and others in the 1960s and 70s, one dominant interest of analytic philosophers has been in modal truths, which concerns the questions of what is possible and what is necessary. However, there is considerable controversy over the source and nature of necessity. In Modality and Explanatory Reasoning, Boris Kment takes a novel approach to the study of modality that places special emphasis on understanding the origin of modal notions in everyday thought. Kment argues that the concepts of necessity and possibility originate in a common type of thought experiment—counterfactual reasoning—that allows us to investigate explanatory connections. This procedure is closely related to the controlled experiments of empirical science. Necessity is defined in terms of causation and other forms of explanation such as grounding, the relation that connects metaphysically fundamental facts to non-fundamental ones. Therefore, contrary to a widespread view, explanation is more fundamental than modality. The study of modal facts is important for philosophy, not because these facts are of much metaphysical interest in their own right, but because they provide evidence about explanatory relationships. In the course of developing this position, the book offers new accounts of possible worlds, counterfactual conditionals, essential truths and their role in grounding, and a novel theory of how counterfactuals relate to causation and explanation.

Mind, Modality, Meaning, and Method

Mind, Modality, Meaning, and Method
Author: Richard M. Martin
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 248
Release: 1983-01-01
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780873957229

Download Mind, Modality, Meaning, and Method Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Contemporary Dualism

Contemporary Dualism
Author: Andrea Lavazza
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 301
Release: 2014-02-03
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1136682406

Download Contemporary Dualism Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Ontological materialism, in its various forms, has become the orthodox view in contemporary philosophy of mind. This book provides a variety of defenses of mind-body dualism, and shows (explicitly or implicitly) that a thoroughgoing ontological materialism cannot be sustained. The contributions are intended to show that, at the very least, ontological dualism (as contrasted with a dualism that is merely linguistic or epistemic) constitutes a philosophically respectable alternative to the monistic views that currently dominate thought about the mind-body (or, perhaps more appropriately, person-body) relation.

States of Affairs

States of Affairs
Author: Maria Elisabeth Reicher
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2013-05-02
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3110326027

Download States of Affairs Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

States of affairs raise, among others, the following questions: What kind of entity are they (if there are any)? Are they contingent, causally efficacious, spatio-temporal and perceivable entities, or are they abstract objects? What are their constituents and their identity conditions? What are the functions that states of affairs are able to fulfil in a viable theory, and which problems and prima facie counterintuitive consequences arise out of an ontological commitment to them? Are there merely possible (non-actual, non-obtaining) states of affairs? Are there molecular (i.e., negative, conjunctive, disjunctive etc.) states of affairs? Are there modal and tensed states of affairs? In this volume, these and other questions are addressed by David M. Armstrong, Marian David, Herbert Hochberg, Uwe Meixner, L. Nathan Oaklander, Peter Simons, Erwin Tegtmeier and Mark Textor.

Untying the Gordian Knot

Untying the Gordian Knot
Author: Timothy E. Eastman
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 355
Release: 2020-12-10
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1793639175

Download Untying the Gordian Knot Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

In Untying the Gordian Knot: Process, Reality, and Context, Timothy E. Eastman proposes a new creative synthesis, the Logoi framework—which is radically inclusive and incorporates both actuality and potentiality—to show how the fundamental notions of process, logic, and relations, woven with triads of input-output-context and quantum logical distinctions, can resolve a baker’s dozen of age-old philosophic problems. Further, Eastman leverages a century of advances in quantum physics and the Relational Realism interpretation pioneered by Michael Epperson and Elias Zafiris and augmented by the independent research of Ruth Kastner and Hans Primas to resolve long-standing issues in understanding quantum physics. Adding to this, Eastman makes use of advances in information and complex systems, semiotics, and process philosophy to show how multiple levels of context, combined with relations—including potential relations—both local and local-global, can provide a grounding for causation, emergence, and physical law. Finally, the Logoi framework goes beyond standard ways of knowing—that of context independence (science) and context focus (arts, humanities)—to demonstrate the inevitable role of ultimate context (meaning, spiritual dimension) as part of a transformative ecological vision, which is urgently needed in these times of human and environmental crises.

Johanssonian Investigations

Johanssonian Investigations
Author: Christer Svennerlind
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 758
Release: 2013-05-02
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3110322501

Download Johanssonian Investigations Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Inthe last decades, Ingvar Johansson has made a formidable contribution to the development of philosophy in general and perhaps especially to the development of metaphysics. This volume consists of original papers written by 50 philosophers from all over the world in honour of Ingvar Johansson to celebrate his 70th birthday. The papers cover traditional issues in metaphysics and the philosophy of mind, applied ethics and applied metaphysics, the nature of human rights, the philosophy of economics and sports. Some of the papers study the philosophy of Ingvar Johansson. All of them studies subjects which he has shown an interest in. The variety of subjects covered, testifies to the extraordinary wide range of issues his thought has had a bearing on.

Metaphysics

Metaphysics
Author: Lukáš Novák
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 287
Release: 2013-05-02
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3110322447

Download Metaphysics Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

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.