Synopses & Reviews
Theories about the ontological structure of the world have generally been described in informal, intuitive terms. This book offers an account of the general features and methodology of formal ontology. The book defends conceptual realism as the best system to adopt based on a logic of natural kinds. By formally reconstructing an intuitive, informal ontological scheme as a formal ontology we can better determine the consistency and adequacy of that scheme.
Review
"This book is a significant contribution to the field of formal ontology, and to analytical ontology in general - it presents an original and powerful systematic position with a host of important technical results." Johanna Seibt, University of Aarhus, Denmark
Table of Contents
From the contents
Introduction.- I Formal Ontology. 1. Formal Ontology and Conceptual Realism. 2. Time, Being, and Existence. 3. Logical Necessity and Logical Atomism. 4. Formal Theories of Predication. 5. Formal Theories of Predication Part II. 6. Intensional Possible Worlds.- II Conceptual Realism. 7. The Nexus of Predication. 8. Medieval Logic and Conceptual Realism. 9. On Geach Against General Reference. 10. Lesniewski's Ontology. 11. Plurals and the Logic of Classes as Many. 12. The Logic of Natural Kinds. Afterword.- Bibliography.- Index.