About this topic
Summary | Following Quine, ontology is here understood as the study of what there is. (Re: neo-Aristotelian ontology, the study of what grounds what, see the "Fundamentality" category.) Our focus is on the existence of the most generic things that populate many philosophers' ontologies, e.g., objects, properties, natural kinds, states-of-affairs, events, etc. We often talk of these things without thinking twice, but the existence of such entities can seem odd on reflection. For instance, it is natural to say that red roses and red firetrucks have something in common, the property of being red. But does this mean there is a single entity that is a constituent of *every* such rose and firetruck? A second example concerns composite objects: Suppose Abe Lincoln replaces the handle of his axe in 1825, and later in 1860 replaces the head. Does this mean he has owned more than one axe in his lifetime? In general, given a puzzling entity X, Realists about X will strive to minimize such oddities--whereas Anti-Realists often try to preserve ordinary talk of X, despite excluding X from their ontology. Questions about ontology can also lead to questions about these questions. Thus, ontology often bleeds into metaontology, the study of the study of what there is. In recent years, the ontology literature has grown dramatically, especially on metaontology and on composition. |
Key works | Besides Quine 1953, the articles in Wasserman et al 2009 are central to current metaontology. Lewis 1990 is a classic on mereology; see also ch. 4 of Lewis 1986. Other key works on composition are van Inwagen 1990, Sider 2001, and the selections in Rea 1997. Armstrong is the most important author on properties and universals; see Armstrong 1978 (two vols.) and Armstrong 1989. (These also are informative about Armstrong's influential view of states-of-affairs.) Lewis' critical studies of Armstrong are also must reads: Lewis 1983 and Lewis 1986. Some other important works in ontology are Meinong 1904, Benacerraf 1965, Quine 1968, Lewis & Lewis 1970, and Field 1980. An especially important, currently active ontologist is Thomasson; see especially Thomasson 1998 and Thomasson 2007. |
Introductions | Hofweber 2008, Rosen 2008, and Korman 2011 are especially recommended. Additional entries in the Stanford Encyclopedia are also relevant, e.g., "object," "properties," "intrinsic vs. extrinsic properties," "essential vs. accidental properties," "tropes," "natural kinds," etc. The pertinent chapters in Loux & Zimmerman 2003, Gale 2002, and Kim et al 2009 are also recommended. |
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Related categories
Subcategories: See also:
Applied Ontology (140 | 84)
Top-Level Ontologies (13)
Domain Ontology (13)
Biomedical Ontology* (42)
Ontology of Finance* (48)
Cognitive Ontologies* (60)
Semantic Web (2)
Events (273)
Existence (405)
Metaontology* (1,952 | 4)
Natural Kinds (564)
Propositions* (1,258 | 1)
Objects* (6,899)
Properties* (3,461 | 157)
Ontological Categories (147)
Substance (692)
Truthmakers (659)
Ontology of Specific Domains (8 | 5)
Food Ontology* (26)
Ontology of Concepts* (50)
Social Ontology* (921 | 14)
Biomedical Ontology* (42)
Ontology of Sets* (56)
Ontology of Mathematics* (2,468 | 333)
Ontology of Literature* (211)
Ontology of Music* (564 | 334)
Ontology of Film* (63)
Ontology of Finance* (48)
Temporal Ontology* (1,205 | 16)
Ontology, Misc (420)
- Fundamentality (395)
- Realism and Anti-Realism (2,050 | 1,015)
- Persons (7,790 | 700)
- Time (5,131 | 588)
- Global Metaphysical Theories (2,101 | 93)
- Kant: Ontology (139)
- Carnap: Ontology (58)
- Husserl: Ontology (80)
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