Higher‐order metaphysics

Philosophy Compass 16 (10):1-11 (2021)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Subverting a once widely held Quinean paradigm, there is a growing consensus among philosophers of logic that higher-order quantifiers (which bind variables in the syntactic position of predicates and sentences) are a perfectly legitimate and useful instrument in the logico-philosophical toolbox, while neither being reducible to nor fully explicable in terms of first-order quantifiers (which bind variables in singular term position). This article discusses the impact of this quantificational paradigm shift on metaphysics, focussing on theories of properties, propositions, and identity, as well as on the metaphysics of modality.

Author's Profile

Lukas Skiba
University of Bergen

Analytics

Added to PP
2021-09-04

Downloads
827 (#15,369)

6 months
203 (#10,909)

Historical graph of downloads since first upload
This graph includes both downloads from PhilArchive and clicks on external links on PhilPapers.
How can I increase my downloads?