Abstract
In this chapter, a generic definition of fundamentality as an ontological minimality thesis is sought and its applicability examined. Many discussions of fundamentality are focused on a mereological understanding of the hierarchical structure of reality, which may be combined with an atomistic, object-oriented metaphysics. But recent work in structuralism, for instance, calls for an alternative understanding and it is not immediately clear that the conception of fundamentality at work in structuralism is commensurable with the mereological conception. However, it is proposed that once we understand fundamentality as an ontological minimality thesis, these two as well as further conceptions of fundamentality can all be treated on a par, including metaphysical infinitism of the ‘boring’ type, where the same structure repeats infinitely.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Reality and its Structure |
Subtitle of host publication | Essays in Fundamentality |
Editors | Ricki Bliss, Graham Priest |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Chapter | 12 |
Pages | 237-253 |
Number of pages | 17 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780198755630 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 5 Jun 2018 |
Keywords
- Composition
- Fundamentality
- Gunk
- Mereological atomism
- Mereology
- Metaphysical foundationalism
- Metaphysical infinitism
- Ontic structural realism
- Ontological dependence
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Dive into the research topics of 'Fundamentality and Ontological Minimality'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Profiles
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Professor Tuomas Tahko
- Department of Philosophy - Professor of Metaphysics of Science
- School of Arts - Head of School
Person: Academic