Dr James Miller james.miller@durham.ac.uk
Assistant Professor
Who’s Afraid of Conceptual Analysis?
Miller, J.T.M.
Authors
Contributors
M. Garcia-Godinez
Editor
Abstract
Amie Thomasson’s work provides numerous ways to rethink and improve our approach to metaphysics. This chapter is my attempt to begin to sketch why I still think the easy approach leaves room for substantive metaphysical work, and why I do not think that metaphysics need rely on any ‘epistemically metaphysical’ knowledge. After distinguishing two possible forms of deflationism, I argue that the easy ontologist needs to accept (implicitly or explicitly) that there are worldly constraints on what sorts of entities could exist, and could co-exist. I argue this leaves room for a substantive role for metaphysics if (following the work of E.J. Lowe) we take metaphysics to be concerned with the possible ways that reality could be. I explain how this conception does not need to appeal to any ‘epistemically metaphysical’ knowledge, and need only make use of conceptual and/or empirical means to arrive at views on what could exist (and co-exist). Thus, the answer I propose to the question posed in the title, at least in my view, is no-one. Or, at least, no-one should be afraid of conceptual analysis. Not even metaphysicians.
Citation
Miller, J. (2023). Who’s Afraid of Conceptual Analysis?. In M. Garcia-Godinez (Ed.), Thomasson on Ontology (85-108). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23672-3_5
Acceptance Date | Apr 19, 2023 |
---|---|
Online Publication Date | Jun 11, 2023 |
Publication Date | 2023 |
Deposit Date | May 2, 2023 |
Publicly Available Date | Jun 12, 2025 |
Publisher | Springer Verlag |
Pages | 85-108 |
Series Title | Philosophers in Depth (PID) |
Book Title | Thomasson on Ontology |
ISBN | 9783031236716 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23672-3_5 |
Public URL | https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1619137 |
Files
This file is under embargo until Jun 12, 2025 due to copyright restrictions.
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