Object and Property (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy) - Hardcover

Denkel, Arda

 
9780521550109: Object and Property (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy)
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0521550106 ISBN 13: 9780521550109
Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1996

Synopsis

Professor Arda Denkel argues here that objects are nothing more than bundles of properties. From this point of view he tackles some central questions of ontology: how is an object distinct from others; how does it remain the same while it changes through time? A second contention is that properties are particular entities restricted to the objects they inhabit. The appearance that they exist generally, in a multitude of things, is due to the way we conceptualize them. Other problems dealt with include how objects bear similarities by belonging to the same kinds, and how change in them is caused. Denkel defends a thoroughgoing particularism and offers purely qualitative accounts of individuation, identity, essences and matter. Throughout, the main alternative positions are surveyed, and the relevant historical background is traced.

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From the Back Cover

Arda Denkel develops a unified ontology of objecthood, essences and causation. A principal tenet is that while the basic units of the physical world are substances, particular properties are the analytic ultimates of existence. Although properties must inhere in objects, individual things are nothing more than compresences of properties at particular positions. There exist no mysterious substrata. Principles explaining how properties are held together in compresences are basically the same as those that account for essences and for causal relations. There exist no objective universals. Denkel defends a thoroughgoing particularism and offers purely qualitative accounts of individuation, identity, essences and matter. Throughout, the main alternative positions are surveyed, and the relevant historical background is traced. Since it is free of unnecessary technicalities, this book will be of interest both to specialists and to students of different levels. It can serve as a textbook in ontology courses.

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Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Publication date
1996
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0521550106
ISBN 13 
9780521550109
Binding
Hardcover
Number of pages
276

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780521042093: Object and Property (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy)

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0521042097 ISBN 13:  9780521042093
Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2008
Softcover