Aristotle and the Metaphysics
About: This article is published in International Philosophical Quarterly.The article was published on 2008-11-01. It has received 14 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Metaphysics.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the unity of the concept of being in general, the integrity of the very notion of Dasein, and the possibility of a perspective from which the philosopher can do her work are identified.
Abstract: This paper identifies a problem which the project that Heidegger set himself in Being and Time aimed to solve. The problem concerns the unity of the concept of “Being in general,” the integrity of the very notion of “Dasein,” and the possibility of a perspective from which the philosopher can do her work. Heidegger’s own attempt to solve this problem turns on the claim that time is “the possible horizon for any understanding whatsoever of Being” (Sein und Zeit 1), time supposedly thereby ‘mak[ing] ontology possible” (Basic Problems of Phenomenology 228). I elucidate the problem by discussing how it emerges also in Russell (in reflecting on types) and Aristotle (in discussing whether Being is 'said in many ways'), by identifying challenges that attempted solutions to it face, and by juxtaposing the issues it raises with ones faced by McDaniel’s and Turner’s recent attempts to defend what they call “ontological pluralism”.
13 citations
Dissertation•
28 Feb 2020
TL;DR: The mereological bundle theory is taken to offer the best systematic metaphysics of properties and objects, one that is not only metaphysically coherent but also one that accords well with empirical considerations on the nature of spacetime in physical science.
Abstract: The thesis sets out to accomplish three related tasks at different levels of generality. The first is articulating and defending two problems: The Problem of Resemblance and The Problem of Character, pushing for a shift of focus to the latter. The second level is to consider a general approach to dealing with these problems, the constituent ontology, with a focus on The Problem of Character. I argue that the constituent ontology is a valuable and coherent general approach to giving an answer to these problems. Finally, at the last level of the greatest degree of specificity, I consider particular versions of the constituent approach: one that takes properties to be non-mereological constituents of objects and the other that takes properties to be ontological parts of objects operating under a property mereology. I argue for the latter, which is known as the mereological bundle theory. I argue that this version of the constituent ontology offers a powerful theory of exactly how properties and objects are related by proper ontological parthood. I take the mereological bundle theory to offer the best systematic metaphysics of properties and objects, one that is not only metaphysically coherent but also one that accords well with empirical considerations on the nature of spacetime in physical science. If I am correct, then the world is nothing but a world of properties and fusions of those properties.
12 citations
Cites background from "Aristotle and the Metaphysics"
...He argues that to the extent that an object x has some character F , x has F only in virtue of a relation of participation in or communion with the changeless, eternal form F (Politis 2004, 303-305)....
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...14 See in particular Quines Word and Object (1960) in particular chapter 3 The Ontogenesis of Reference (1960, 80-124) and also chapter 6 Flight from Intension (1960,191 – 232)....
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Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that this model is built on fundamental philosophical assumptions (Platonic idealism, hierarchy among states of matter, atomism/individualism, and the negligence of interrelationships among parts and of their embodiment) that have been problematized by feminist scholarship and that it is possible to imagine a theory that utilizes different philosophical ideas and which therefore would be more compatible with feminist values.
Abstract: This two-part paper is about the possibility of analyzing the content of chemistry from a gender perspective. The first part provides an example of what such an analysis would look like. The second part is an outline of the theoretical perspective that makes the analysis possible. The example is the model of the ideal gas, the cornerstone of the theory of matter in chemical thermodynamics. I argue that this model is built on fundamental philosophical assumptions (Platonic idealism, hierarchy among states of matter, atomism/ individualism, and the negligence of interrelationships among parts and of their embodiment) that have been problematized by feminist scholarship. The same patterns are evident in the treatment of ideal and real solutions in chemi- cal thermodynamics. I argue that it is possible to imagine a theory that utilizes different philosophical ideas and which therefore would be more compatible with feminist values.
11 citations
Cites background from "Aristotle and the Metaphysics"
...10 My reading of Aristotle’s Metaphysics is informed by Politis 2004, pp. 295-330 and Ross 2004, pp. 161-94....
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01 Jan 2007
6 citations