A Case for Higher-Order Metaphysics

Resumen

Higher-order logic augments first-order logic with devices that let us generalize into grammatical positions other than that of a singular term. Some recent metaphysicians have advocated for using these devices to raise and answer questions that bear on many traditional issues in philosophy. In contrast to these `higher-order metaphysicians', traditional metaphysics has often focused on parallel, but importantly different, questions concerning special sorts of abstract objects: propositions, properties and relations. The answers to the higher-order and the property-theoretic questions may coincide sometimes but will often come apart. I argue that when they do, the higher-order questions are closer to the metaphysical action and so it would be better for these debates to proceed in higher-order terms.

Áreas y palabras clave

Cómo citar (APA 7)

Bacon, A. K. (2024). A Case for Higher-Order Metaphysics. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192894885.003.0002