Ontology and Metaontology

Francesco Berto is Structural Chair of Metaphysics at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Research Leader at the Northern Institute of Philosophy, University of Aberdeen, UKMatteo Plebani is Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Basilicata, Italy

• AcknowledgementsIntroduction: What Is Ontology? What Is Metaontology?Part I: Quinean Metaontology1. On Denoting 2. 1948: On What There Is3. The Standard ViewPart II: Alternative Metaontologies4. Ontological Pluralism and Neo-Fregeanism 5. Carnap’s View of Ontology and Neo-Carnapians6. Fictionalism7. Meinongianism8. The Grounding ApproachPart III: Ontology 9. Abstract Objects I: Numbers & Co.10. Abstract Objects II: Linguistic Types, Propositions, and Values11. Possible Worlds12. Material Objects13. Fictional Objects14. Beyond Particulars: Properties and EventsBibliography Index

This recent guidebook by Francesco Berto and Matteo Plebani succeeds remarkably in bringing the reader up to speed on the state of debates on [the] issues in contemporary analytic philosophy. The authors easily strike the appropriate balance between clarity and simplicity of presentation on the one hand and depth and breadth of content on the other. Moreover, the way that topics are elaborated by considering the motivations for positions, the objections put to them, and the prospects for responses to those objections is particularly satisfying. Consequently, any students or scholars wishing to acquaint themselves with this growing area of interest cannot afford to neglect this book.