Abstract

In Analysis and Metaphysics, Peter F. Strawson presents a proposal for an analysis of the conceptual structure of our thinking and speaking about the world that should enable us to determine what is conceptually fundamental and ontologically primary. With “presupposition”, “ontological commitment” and “judgment”, his analytical procedure comprises a series of expressions that are characterized by an act/object ambiguity. On the one hand, they denote semantic or non-epistemic terms that capture the ontological conditions of the possibility of the use of basic concepts. On the other hand, they express normative or epistemic terms that define the conditions of correctness for the use of these concepts. This can have different ontological consequences, but at least suggests a more differentiated understanding of these terms.