Dispositionalism and the Metaphysics of Science
Cambridge University Press, 4/8/2021
EAN 9781108727068, ISBN10: 1108727069
Paperback, 232 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.3 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
Dispositionalism is the view that causal powers are among the irreducible properties of nature. It has long been among the core competing positions in the metaphysics of laws, but its potential implications for other key debates within metaphysics and the philosophy of science have remained under-explored. Travis Dumsday fills this major gap in the literature by establishing new connections between dispositionalism and such topics as substance ontology, ontic structural realism, material composition, emergentism, natural-kind essentialism, perdurantism, time travel, and spacetime substantivalism. He also puts forward a novel view concerning the precise relationship between causal powers and the fundamental laws of nature. His rich and accessible study will appeal to readers interested in contemporary analytic metaphysics and philosophy of science.
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
2. Dispositionalism and the laws of nature
3. Dispositionalism and ontic structural realism
4. Dispositionalism and material composition
5. Dispositionalism and substance ontology
6. Dispositionalism and natural-kind essentialism
7. Dispositionalism and spacetime
8. Dispositionalism and essentially active objects
9. Dispositionalism and emergentism
10. Conclusion
Works cited
Index.