Skip to main content
  • Book
  • © 2022

Knowing What Things Are

An Inquiry-Based Approach

Authors:

  • Provides the first detailed and systematic account of the knowledge of what things are
  • Provides a link between the literature on knowledge-wh and the literature on the epistemology of inquiry
  • Features discussions from Epistemology, Philosophy of Language, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Mind etc

Part of the book series: Synthese Library (SYLI, volume 466)

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access.

Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
  2. Introduction

    • André J. Abath
    Pages 1-8
  3. Toward the Erotetic View

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 9-9
    2. The Erotetic View

      • André J. Abath
      Pages 41-59
  4. Developing the Erotetic View

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 61-61
  5. Back Matter

    Pages 123-138

About this book

​This book provides an account of what is to know what things are, focusing on kinds, both natural (such as water) and social (such as marriage). It brings tools from an area that has received much attention in recent years, the epistemology of inquiry. The knowledge of what things are is to be understood as resulting from successful inquiries directed at questions of the form ‘What is x?’, where stands for a given kind of thing. The book also addresses knowledge-wh in general (which includes knowledge-who and knowledge-where), as well as the phenomenon of ignorance regarding what things are and our obligations in respect to knowing what things are. It also brings to light new avenues of research for those interested in the relation between the knowledge of what things are and concept possession and amelioration.

‘Knowing What Things Are’ should be of interest to researchers in Epistemology, Philosophy of Language,Metaphysics, Philosophy of Mind, Social Philosophy and Linguistics.

Authors and Affiliations

  • The Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    André J. Abath

About the author

André J. Abath (PhD Sheffield) is Professor of Philosophy at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), in Brazil. His teaching and research engage the fields of philosophy of mind, language and epistemology.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Knowing What Things Are

  • Book Subtitle: An Inquiry-Based Approach

  • Authors: André J. Abath

  • Series Title: Synthese Library

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07365-6

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-07364-9Published: 09 August 2022

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-07367-0Published: 10 August 2023

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-07365-6Published: 08 August 2022

  • Series ISSN: 0166-6991

  • Series E-ISSN: 2542-8292

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: X, 138

  • Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Epistemology, Theoretical Linguistics, Cognitive Psychology

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access