Jorge J. E. Gracia is Professor in the Department of Philosophy at State University of New York at Buffalo. His other works include Philosophy and Literature in Latin America: A Critical Assessment of the Current Situation (with Mireye Camurati); Individuality: An Essay on the Foundations of Metaphysics; Philosophy and Its History: Issues in Philosophical Historiography; Individuation in Scholasticism: The Later Middle Ages and the Counter-Reformation, 1150–1650; Individuation and Identity in Early Modern Philosophy: Descartes to Kant (with Kenneth F. Barber), and A Theory of Textuality: The Logic and Epistemology, all published by SUNY Press.

• Preface Introduction I. The Logic of TextsII. Outline1. Ontological Status I. Are Texts Individual or Universal?A. Individuality and Universality of ECTsB. Individuality and Universality of MeaningsC. Individuality and Universality of TextsII. Individuation of TextsIII. Are Texts Physical or NonPhysical?A. Physical TextsB. Mental TextsIV. Relation of Texts to Meanings and ECTsV. Are Texts Substances or Features?VI. Are Texts Aggregates or Nonaggregates?VII. Existence and Location of TextsVIII. Historicity of TextsIX. Conclusion2. Identity I. SamenessA. Achronic Sameness of TextsB. Synchronic Sameness of TextsC. Diachronic Sameness of TextsII. DifferenceIII. Identification and Reidentification of TextsIV. Conclusion3. Author I. Identity of the AuthorA. Historical AuthorB. Pseudo-Historical AuthorC. Composite AuthorD. Interpretative AuthorII. Function of the AuthorA. Function of the Historical AuthorB. Function of the Composite AuthorC. Function of the Pseudo-Historical AuthorD. Function of the Interpretative AuthorIII. Need for an AuthorA. Need for the Historical authorB.Need for the Pseudo-Historical AuthorC. Need for the Composite AuthorD. Need for the Interpretative AuthorIV. Repressive Character of the AuthorV. Subjectivity of the AuthorVI. Conclusion4. Audience I. Identity of the AudienceA. Types of AudienceB. Composition of the AudienceII. Function of the AudienceIII. Need for an AudienceIV. Character of the AudienceA. Subversive CharacterB. Repressive CharacterV. Subjectivity of the AudienceVI. ConclusionConclusion Notes Select Bibliography Index of Authors Index of Subjects

"Gracia's argument is impressively clear and to the point. He develops a complex taxonomy of the distinctions he must marshal in order to fully explain what a text is, describing and defending each distinction with care and in detail. His conclusions follow reasonably from his arguments and he does an excellent job anticipating criticisms and answering them. Gracia is fully informed by the relevant philosophical scholarship on texts and on the wide range of metaphysical issues of which he must take account in order to establish his position." — George Allan, Dickinson College