An Introduction to Ontology

by Nikk Effingham

In this engaging and wide-ranging new book, Nikk Effingham provides an introduction to contemporary ontology - the study of what exists - and its importance for philosophy today. He covers the key topics in the field, from the ontology of holes, numbers and possible worlds, to space, time and the ontology of material objects.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Metaphysics

240 pages, Hardcover

First published June 4, 2013

Reviews

[Michael’ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Effingham makes most, if not all, of the easily avoidable mistakes of textbook writing. He “explains” very simple stuff in painful detail. For example, the definition of ontology. He spends more than half a page listing people who think about things that might or might not exit but are not ontologists. Like Ufologists.
I wanted to write something about the actual philosophical content but can’t bring myself that far.
A very shoddy introduction to a small part of contemporary analytic philosophy. Way too expensive. Stay away from this.

[René Karamazov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me ha gustado bastante como introducción a esta área de la metafísica. Los primeros capítulos busca justificar el proyecto de la ontología y explicar muchas de las herramientas que se usan en esta, sin embargo, no lo hace meramente conceptual, sino que los aplica a la ontología de «hoyos», así logrando que el lector entienda mejor esas herramientas. Asimismo, en cada capítulo, además de tratar la existencia y naturaleza del ente en cuestión, introduce distintas teorías meta-ontológicas y las aplica también. Esto permite que aprendes tanto del debate ontológico como también el meta-ontológico. Además, también introduce la lógica de primer orden y la aplica en distintos capítulos, preparando así al lector para pasar a literatura más compleja y con un uso más amplio de la lógica formal.

[Sara Sheikhi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many words, too little substance packed in them. It seems like his way of writing is a contradiction of the metodology of ontology...

[Jake Leech · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a tough book to read for a couple of reasons. First, it seems like ontology is a fairly large field, which means that an introductory text like this is forced to cover a broad array of topics in a shallow way. Second, and somewhat related, is that it seems like the more "important" topics and theories in ontology haven't floated to the top yet (unlike, say, an intro Greek philosophy class where you know you're gonna be talking a lot about Socrates), and as Effingham points out, there isn't even really an established method for even comparing theories in ontology.

A couple of reviewers have also pointed out that Effingham can get a little tedious with his cutesy examples, and I can see that.

But despite all of this, there's still lots of food for thought here. I enjoyed it and feel like I learned a lot.

[Sonstepaul · Rating 2 out of 5]

A university textbook that’s only an introduction to someone who doesn’t mind not knowing what’s going on half the time. Rather than spend time on an introduction to a lesser-known discipline, Effingham dives straight in to formulae and reductions that laypeople will not see any point in. More front matter on the purpose of ontology is needed.

[Usfromdk · Rating 1 out of 5]

Crap. Not worth your time.