Overview
- Elucidates the ontological profile of dispositionalism
- Brings together perspectives from metaphysics and the philosophy of science
- Collects essays written by both proponents of dispositionalism and sceptics
Part of the book series: Synthese Library (SYLI, volume 417)
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Table of contents (13 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
- Carnap and the Anglo-Austrian Conspiracy against Dispositions
- Causation, Powers and Probability
- Dispositionalism
- Dispositions and powers
- Dispositions Need Substances
- Humeanism
- Ontological categories for dispositionalism
- Ontology of Mental Dispositions
- Ontology of Powers
- Persistence and dispositionalism
- Powers as Instrumental Causes
- Powers are not Vectors
- Powers in the context of modern physics
- Substance ontology
About this book
According to dispositional realism, or dispositionalism, the entities inhabiting our world possess irreducibly dispositional properties – often called ‘powers’ – by means of which they are sources of change. Dispositionalism has become increasingly popular among metaphysicians in the last three decades as it offers a realist account of causation and provides novel avenues for understanding modality, laws of nature, agency, free will and other key concepts in metaphysics. At the same time, it is receiving growing interest among philosophers of science. This reflects the substantial role scientific findings play in arguments for dispositionalism which, as a metaphysics of science, aims to unveil the very foundations of science.
The present collection of essays brings together both strands of interest. It elucidates the ontological profile of dispositionalism by exploring its ontological commitments, and it discusses these from the perspective of the philosophy of science. The essays are written by both proponents of dispositionalism and sceptics so as to initiate an open-minded, constructive dialogue.
Editors and Affiliations
About the editor
Anne Sophie Meincke is a Senior Research Fellow at the Philosophy Department of the University of Vienna, Austria, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Life Sciences at the University of Exeter, United Kingdom. Meincke’s research lies at the intersection of metaphysics and the philosophy of biology, with a special focus on elaborating a new process ontological perspective. She is currently PI of the ‘Elise Richter’ research project Bio-Agency and Natural Freedom, funded by the Austrian Science Fund (2019-2023). Previously, Meincke was a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Southampton, United Kingdom, and a Research Fellow at the Universities of Exeter, United Kingdom, and Innsbruck, Austria.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Dispositionalism
Book Subtitle: Perspectives from Metaphysics and the Philosophy of Science
Editors: Anne Sophie Meincke
Series Title: Synthese Library
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28722-1
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-28721-4Published: 09 April 2020
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-28724-5Published: 26 August 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-28722-1Published: 08 April 2020
Series ISSN: 0166-6991
Series E-ISSN: 2542-8292
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XII, 248
Number of Illustrations: 5 b/w illustrations, 1 illustrations in colour
Topics: Metaphysics, Philosophy of Science, Ontology