Objects: Nothing out of the Ordinary

by Daniel Z Korman

What sorts of material objects are there? Many philosophers opt for surprising answers to this question that seem deeply at odds with how we ordinarily think about the material world. Some embrace radically eliminative views, on which there are far fewer objects than we ordinarily take there to be, while others go in for radically permissive views on which there are legions of extraordinary objects that somehow escape our notice, despite being highly visible and right before our eyes. In this book, Daniel Z. Korman defends our ordinary, intuitive judgments about which objects there are. The book responds to a wide variety of arguments that have driven people away from the intuitive arbitrariness arguments, debunking arguments, overdetermination arguments, arguments from vagueness and material constitution, and the problem of the many. It also criticizes attempts to show that permissive and eliminative views are, despite appearances, entirely compatible with our ordinary
beliefs and intuitions.

Genres: Philosophy

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Abbie Kopelowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Metaphysician Daniel Korman believes in Conservatism, which says that when it comes to highly visible objects that are right before our eyes, things are typically the way they seem. The stance is simple, and perhaps obvious to those unfamiliar with debates in metaphysics.

I never thought I could grow to be obsessed with the metaphysics of ordinary objects, but this book was the ideal introduction to the debates. I was lucky to meet Dan Korman for a course this semester, and he happily responded to our many questions and cases. He was awesome to chat with, and I hope he continues to write on the subject.

What I found most interesting about his argument for conservatism was the concept of intuition. Korman says intuition plays a key role in accepting that ordinary objects exist but not extraordinary objects. He takes intuition to be an occurring mental state that presents the content of perceptions to be true; it's an intellectual seeming psychological state. This is one of many concepts in this book that really stuck with me, which doesn't often happen with technical philosophy books. I can't help but apply Korman's intuition outside of the ordinary object debates and onto other areas of study.

Overall an awesome book - great for those interested in a comprehensive intro to Metaphysics vibes.