The authors give a critical introduction to the topics touched on in the volume, which collects essays by an international team of philosophers aimed at elucidating three fundamental and interconnected themes in ontology. In the first instance, there is the issue of the kind of thing that, in the primary sense, is or exists: must the primitive terms be particular or universal? Any reply will itself raise the question of how to treat discourse that appears to refer to things that cannot be met with in space and time: what difference is there between saying that someone is not sad and saying that something does not exist? If we can speak meaningfully about fictions, what makes those statements true (or false) and how can the entities in question be identified? Assessment of the options that have been opened up in these fields since the work of Bertrand Russell and Alexius Meinong at the beginning of the twentieth century remains an important testing-ground for metaphysical principles and intuitions.

(2006). Introduction [a Modes of Existence. Papers in Ontology and Philosophical Logic] . Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10446/19699

Introduction [a Modes of Existence. Papers in Ontology and Philosophical Logic]

BOTTANI, Andrea Clemente Maria;DAVIES, Richard William
2006-01-01

Abstract

The authors give a critical introduction to the topics touched on in the volume, which collects essays by an international team of philosophers aimed at elucidating three fundamental and interconnected themes in ontology. In the first instance, there is the issue of the kind of thing that, in the primary sense, is or exists: must the primitive terms be particular or universal? Any reply will itself raise the question of how to treat discourse that appears to refer to things that cannot be met with in space and time: what difference is there between saying that someone is not sad and saying that something does not exist? If we can speak meaningfully about fictions, what makes those statements true (or false) and how can the entities in question be identified? Assessment of the options that have been opened up in these fields since the work of Bertrand Russell and Alexius Meinong at the beginning of the twentieth century remains an important testing-ground for metaphysical principles and intuitions.
2006
Bottani, Andrea Clemente Maria; Davies, Richard William
File allegato/i alla scheda:
Non ci sono file allegati a questa scheda.
Pubblicazioni consigliate

Aisberg ©2008 Servizi bibliotecari, Università degli studi di Bergamo | Terms of use/Condizioni di utilizzo

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10446/19699
Citazioni
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact