The Four-Category Ontology

The Four-Category Ontology
Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Total Pages : 237
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780199254392
ISBN-13 : 0199254397
Rating : 4/5 (92 Downloads)

Book Synopsis The Four-Category Ontology by : E. J. Lowe

Download or read book The Four-Category Ontology written by E. J. Lowe and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: E. J. Lowe sets out and defends his theory of what there is. His four-category ontology is a metaphysical system that recognizes two fundamental categorial distinctions which cut across each other to generate four fundamental ontological categories. The distinctions are between the particular and the universal and between the substantial and the non-substantial. The four categories thus generated are substantial particulars, non-substantial particulars, substantial universals andnon-substantial universals. Non-substantial universals include properties and relations, conceived as universals. Non-substantial particulars include property-instances and relation-instances, otherwise known as non-relational and relational tropes or modes. Substantial particulars include propertiedindividuals, the paradigm examples of which are persisting, concrete objects. Substantial universals are otherwise known as substantial kinds and include as paradigm examples natural kinds of persisting objects.This ontology has a lengthy pedigree, many commentators attributing it to Aristotle on the basis of certain passages in his apparently early work, the Categories. At various times during the history of Western philosophy, it has been revived or rediscovered, but it has never found universal favour, perhaps on account of its apparent lack of parsimony as well as its commitment to universals. In pursuit of ontological economy, metaphysicians have generally preferred to recognize fewerthan four fundamental ontological categories. However, Occam's razor stipulates only that we should not multiply entities beyond necessity; Lowe argues that the four-category ontology has an explanatory power unrivalled by more parsimonious systems, and that this counts decisively in its favour. He shows thatit provides a powerful explanatory framework for a unified account of causation, dispositions, natural laws, natural necessity and many other related matters, such as the semantics of counterfactual conditionals and the character of the truthmaking relation. As such, it constitutes a thoroughgoing metaphysical foundation for natural science.


The Four-Category Ontology Related Books

The Four-Category Ontology
Language: en
Pages: 237
Authors: E. J. Lowe
Categories: Philosophy
Type: BOOK - Published: 2006 - Publisher: Oxford University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

E. J. Lowe sets out and defends his theory of what there is. His four-category ontology is a metaphysical system that recognizes two fundamental categorial dist
More Kinds of Being
Language: en
Pages: 240
Authors: E. J. Lowe
Categories: Philosophy
Type: BOOK - Published: 2015-02-23 - Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Taking into account significant developments in the metaphysical thinking of E. J. Lowe over the past 20 years, More Kinds of Being: A Further Study of Individu
E.J. Lowe and Ontology
Language: en
Pages: 326
Authors: Miroslaw Szatkowski
Categories: Philosophy
Type: BOOK - Published: 2022-03-18 - Publisher: Routledge

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This volume collects fifteen original essays on E. J. Lowe’s work on metaphysics and ontology. The essays connect Lowe’s insights with contemporary issues i
Studies in the Ontology of E.J. Lowe
Language: en
Pages: 210
Authors: Timothy Tambassi (Ed.)
Categories: Philosophy
Type: BOOK - Published: 2022-11-22 - Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

With the death of Edward Jonathan Lowe (1950-2014), the analytical philosophy lost one of the most influential thinkers of the last thirty-five years. His contr
Ontological Categories
Language: en
Pages: 234
Authors: Javier Cumpa
Categories: Philosophy
Type: BOOK - Published: 2011 - Publisher:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This volume explores crucial ontological categories that are designed to classify all existents. The contributors discuss three major categories: substance onto