Kategoria BISAC: Philosophy >> Metaphysics

Morality has traditionally been understood to be tied to certain metaphysical beliefs: notably, in the freedom of human persons (to choose right or wrong courses of action), in a god (or gods) who serve(s) as judge(s) of moral character, and in an afterlife as the locus of a "final judgment" on individual behavior. Some scholars read the history of moral philosophy as a gradual disentangling of our moral commitments from such beliefs. Kant is often given an important place in their narratives, despite the fact that Kant himself asserts that some of such beliefs are necessary (necessary, at...

The philosophical treatment of space and time has had a long history. This continuing interest stems not least from the fact that space and time form the basis of movement. Space-time philosophy encompasses a wide range of subjects, many of which, on first inspection, do not seem to have anything to do with space and time. Space-time philosophy is a matter of causality and probability, the Big Bang and Heat Death. It is a matter of the origins of each term's meaning and the inability to experience space-time theory first hand. It is a matter of Achilles and the turtle, as well as,...

Infinite regresses (e.g., event₃ caused event₂, event₂ caused event₁, ad infinitum; statement₃ justifies statement₂, statement₂ justifies statement₁, ad infinitum) have been used as premises in arguments on a great variety of topics in both Eastern and Western philosophy since ancient times. They are part of a philosopher's tool kit of argumentation. But how sharp or strong is this tool? How effectively is it used? The typical presentation of infinite regress arguments throughout history is so succinct...

Singular reference to ourselves and the ordinary objects surrounding us is a most crucial philosophical topic, for it looms large in any attempt to understand how language and mind connect to the world. This book explains in detail why in the past philosophers such as Frege, Russell and Reichenbach have favoured a descriptivist approach to this matter and why in more recent times Donnellan, Kripke, Kaplan and others have rather favoured a referentialist standpoint. The now dominant referentialist theories however still have a hard time in addressing propositional attitudes and empty...