Worldviews, Science And Us: Studies Of Analytical Metaphysics - A Selection Of Topics From A Methodological Perspective - Proceedings Of The 5th Metaphysics Of Science Workshop

by Robrecht Vanderbeeken, Bart D'hooghe

Overview

This volume brings together the lectures presented at the 5th Metaphysics of Science Workshop held from June 2 to 3, 2005, in Ghent, Belgium. The aim of this volume is twofold. First, it fields a selection of ongoing discussions on a central topic in contemporary analytical metaphysics. Authors were asked to encapsulate their lecture topic into a précis, highlighting the contesting views, accentuating the pro and contra of the main arguments, and shedding light on the origin, the evolution and the eventual offspring of a respective discussion. Second, this volume addresses the methodological question by examining what can be learned if we compare these discussions from a methodological perspective. What are the red herrings and shortcomings? Is an integrated methodology possible? Does each discussion finally await a pluralism of plausible positions or will an overall convincing account be expected? And finally, can analytical metaphysics methodologically assert and investigate their basic assumptions, if not from a common sense stance?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789814295819
Publisher:	World Scientific Publishing Company, Incorporated
Publication date:	12/02/2009
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

Table of Contents

Worldviews, Science and Us: Studies of Analytical Metaphysics. A Selection of Topics from a Methodological Perspective Robrecht Vanderbeeken Bart D 'Hooghe 1

Introduction: Contemporary Analytic Metaphysics, its Crisis and Challenge Robrecht Vanderbeeken 4

Holism and Structural Realism Michael Esfeld Vincent Lam 10

Common Sense, Relativity and Theories of Time Phil Dowe 32

Purely Dispositional Worlds Sungho Choi 44

Natural Kinds - What Are They? Joanna Odrow&acedil;ż-Sypniewska 64

Personal Identity, Conceptual Analysis and No-Fault Disagreement Caroline West 87

A World of Tropes? Anna-Sofia Maurin 107

Causal Pluralism Stathis Psillos 131

Why Social Emergence? Discussing the Use of Analytical Metaphysics in Social Theory Jeroen Van Bouwel 152

Counterfactuals, Causation and Humean Supervenience Paul Noordhof 167

Disentangling Causal Pluralism Leen de Vreese 207

Mathematical Entities Lieven Decock 224