Varieties of Things: Foundations of Contemporary Metaphysics

Preface vii

Part I: Metaphysics and Its Tools

1 The Nature and Function of Metaphysics 3

The Methodology and Subject Matter of Metaphysics 4

Aristotle’s Conception of Metaphysics 8

Kant’s Conception of Metaphysics 11

A Working Conception of Metaphysics 14

2 Some Tools of Metaphysics 36

Criteria of Ontological Commitment: Two Examples 36

‘No Entity without Identity’: Identity Conditions for Objects 56

Individuation Conditions, Identity Conditions, and Metaphysical Kinds 59

Principles and Criteria of Identity 63

Part II: Particulars

3 Material Substances 79

Our Ontological Commitment to Material Substances 79

The Bundle Theory and the Principle of the Identity of Indiscernibles 81

Problems with the Bundle Theory 84

The Bare Substratum Theory and the Principle of Acquaintance 110

Objections to the Bare Substratum Theory 113

An Alternative 114

4 Persons and Personal Identity 135

Our Ontological Commitment to Persons 135

Candidates for Persistence Conditions for Persons 138

The Closest Continuer Theory and Its Problems 150

Does the Concept of Identity Apply to Persons? 155

The Multiple Occupancy Thesis 162

Back to Basics: Continuity and Fission 164

A Suggestion 169

5 Events 181

Our Ontological Commitment to Events 183

Three Criteria: Spatio-temporal Coincidence, Necessary Spatio-temporal Coincidence, and Sameness of Cause and Effect 186

The Property Exemplification Account of Events (PEE) 193

Part III: Universals

6 Universals and the Realism/Nominalism Dispute 219

The Issue 223

Varieties of Nominalism 225

Two Conceptions of Universals 236

The Regress Charge and Two Unsuccessful Attempts to Meet It 239

An Alternative 245

Bibliography 260

Index 272