Metaphysics of Contingency, The: A Theory of Objects’ Abilities and Dispositions (Mind, Meaning and Metaphysics) - Softcover

Huoranszki, Ferenc

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1350277185 ISBN 13: 9781350277182

Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic, 2024

Synopsis

Philosophers approach the problem of possibility in two markedly different ways: with reference to worlds, whereby an event is possible if there is a world in which it occurs, and with reference to modal properties, whereby an event is a possible manifestation of a property of some substance or object. Showing how the world-account cannot properly explain the nature of possibilities within worlds, Ferenc Huoranszki argues that the latter approach is more plausible. He develops a theory of contingent possibilities grounded in a distinction between abilities and dispositions as real, first-order modal properties of objects, with fundamentally distinct ontological roles. By understanding abilities as first-order modal properties, and by linking such modal properties to counterfactual conditionals, Huoranszki argues we can distinguish between variably generic or specific abilities and identify more or less abstract possibilities in a world. In doing so, he furthers our understanding of how we reason with possibilities in both ordinary and theoretical contexts. Providing a novel account of dispositions, abilities and their capacity to explain modality, this book advances current debates in contemporary metaphysics.

About this title

About the Authors

Ferenc Huoranszki is Professor of Philosophy at the Central European University (Vienna Campus), Austria.

Max Kölbel is ICREA Research Professor at the University of Barcelona, Spain.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1350277185
• ISBN 13: 9781350277182
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 246