Metaphysics: An Introduction

by Brian Carr

Genres: Metaphysics, Philosophy

173 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Shibin Joseph]

The author says that the primary purpose of this book is the activity of categorical description. Categorical description is a minimal activity. It is to avoid making some sort of substantial metaphysical claims favored by philosophers in the past, which lacks cognitive status and often called as nonsensical. Philosophers like Kant and Hume and traditions like logical positivism committed metaphysics to the flames because of lacking cognitive content and only containing sophistry and illusion.
This book is an attempt to make metaphysics more relevant by a new approach to metaphysics called categorical description. The author tries to liberate metaphysics from the categorical absolutism of Aristotle. Author looks at major concepts in metaphysics like category, substance, essence, accident, causation, space and time from a new perspective by bringing ideas from contemporary thinkers.
The author finally comes to a thesis of conceptual realism. Conceptual realism takes the possession of concepts to be a condition for the facts themselves to exist. Conceptual realism goes beyond the traditional dualities like noumena and phenomena. Categorical description has been kept free of metaphysical absolutism by the argument establishing connection with realism. Categorical description can involve objective, empirical truth which yet have no absolute status such as other brands of realism have given them. A description of concept or category is a description of a kind of thing in reality, not just a way of thinking and talking about reality. Conceptual realism says that reality exists in those facts themselves, not that the facts hid reality from our view.
2 February 2018