Contemporary Readings in the Foundations of Metaphysics

Acknowledgements.

Introduction: Metaphysics and Ontology: Stephen Laurence and Cynthia MacDonald.

Part I: Methodology and Ontological Commitment: .

State of the Art Essay.

1. The Nature of Metaphysics: Peter van Inwagen.

Readings.

2. Descriptive and Revisionary Metaphysics: Susan Haack.

3. On What There Is: W. V. O. Quine.

4. Ontological Commitments: William P. Alston.

5. Quantifiers: Susan Haack.

6. Identity and Substitutivity: Richard Cartwright.

Part II: Possible Worlds and Possibilia:.

State of the Art Essay.

7. Possible Worlds and Possibilia: William G. Lycan.

Readings.

8. Possible Worlds: David Lewis.

9. Possible Worlds: Robert Stalnaker.

10. Ways Worlds Could Be: Peter Forrest.

Part III: Universals and Properties: .

State of the Art Essay.

11. Universals and Properties: George Bealer.

Readings.

12. On Properties: Hilary Putnam.

13. New Work for a Theory of Universals: David Lewis.

15. A Theory of Structural Universals: John Bigelow and Robert Pargetter.

Part IV: Substances:.

State of the Art Essay.

16. Beyond Substrata and Bundles: A Prolegomenon to a Substance Ontology: Michael J. Loux.

Readings.

17. Bare Particulars: Edwin B. Allaire.

18. Particulars Re-Clothed: V. C. Chappell.

19. Another Look at Bare Particulars: Edwin B. Allaire.

20. Three Versions of the Bundle Theory: James Van Cleve.

Part V: Events:.

State of the Art Essay.

21. Ontologies of Events: Lawrence Brian Lombard.

Readings.

22. The Individuation of Events: Donald Devidson.

23. Events as Property Exemplifications: Jaegwon Kim.

Part VI: Tropes:.

State of the Art Essay.

24. Tropes and Other Things: Cynthia Macdonald.

Readings.

25. The Metaphysic of Abstract Particulars: Keith Campbell.

26. Particulars in Particular Clothing: Three Trope Theories of Substance: Peter Simmons.

Part VII: Mathematical Objects:.

State of the Art Essay.

27. Mathematical Objectivity and Mathematical objects: Hartry Field.

Readings.

28. Philosophy of Logic: Hilary Putnam.

29. What Numbers Could Not Be: Paul Benacerraf.

Index.