L. Nathan Oaklander

Erwin Tegtmeier

Emiliano Boccardi

The main debates in the philosophy of time have centred on whether A-theory, with events ordered by pastness, presentness and futurity, or B-theory, ordered by earlier than or later than, are equally fundamental. Emiliano Boccardi, L. Nathan Oaklander and Erwin Tegtmeier instead uphold the Russellian theory, or R-theory, and consider not only the fundamental differences but also its superiority. They argue McTaggart's misinterpretation of Russell has led to a false dichotomy between the A- and B-theories, while exploring the connection between temporal relations, temporal facts and time. In defence of the R-theory, they argue how it offers a metaphysical explanation of the nature of time, in addition to investigating whether ontological theories of time can be considered from a moral or existential point of view. Using an ontological approach, this volume clarifies what is mistaken about both theories can only be resolved by adopting a Russellian philosophy, reaching beyond the A-theory vs B-theory debate.

Metaphysical and Ontological Investigations

New Directions in the Russellian Theory of Time

Rudolf Carnap

Otto Neurath

John Von Neumann

Marguerite Young

Max Black

Herbert Feigl

Reinhardt Grossmann

Philipp Frank

Herbert Hochberg

Wilfrid Sellars

Alexius Meinong

Adolf Grünbaum

Gustav Bergmann

William Henry Hay

William Smith Heald

Edwin Bonar Allaire

May Brodbeck

Rosaria Egidi

Alan Michael Hausmann

Philosophers discussed include Franz Brentano, Kurt Gödel, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Correspondents include May Brodbeck, Herbert Feigl, John von Neumann, and Marguerite Young.

Papers of Gustav Bergmann

Realism is one of the most important philosophical books of the second half of the 20th century because of its metaphysical sophistication and the great progress it brings to the development of a form of direct realism that follows Brentano and Meinong. Bergmann's direct realism is systematic. It is thus set apart from the sketches of philosophical positions that are typically found in analytic philosophy. The book investigates the two alternative kinds of ontology, reistic and fact ontologies, and shows how the former kind leads to representationalism and idealism. In great detail it exposes the inner logic and the difficulties of representationalism and reconstructs the ontologies of Brentano and Meinong and their ensuing theories of knowledge. The question of how far they managed to overcome representationalism is a focus of the work.

Collected Works

Laird Addis

Greg Jesson

Gustav Bergmann (1906-1987) was, arguably, the greatest ontologist of the twentieth century in pursuing the fundamental questions of first philosophy as deeply as any philosopher of any time. In 2006 and 2007, international conferences devoted solely to Bergmann’s work were held at the University of Iowa in the USA, Université de Provence in France, and Università degli Studi Roma Tre in Italy. The papers in this volume were presented at the first of these conferences, in Iowa City, where Bergmann taught for nearly four decades after escaping from Europe, following the dissolution of the Vienna Circle of which he had been the youngest member. There are nine philosophical papers, reminiscences of three of his students, and a complete bibliography of his published writings.

Essays and Recollections about Gustav Bergmann

Ontology and Analysis

Parmenideische Meditationen

Zeit und Existenz

Javier Cumpa

The two eminent metaphysicians Armstrong and Grossmann exchanged letters for ten years in which they discussed crucial points of their respective ontologies. They have a common basis where both do metaphysics proper and not linguistic philosophy, and both advocate universals and acknowledge the key position of the category of states of affairs. However, they differ on the simplicity of universals and the nature of states of affairs. There is also a fundamental methodological disagreement between them. Armstrong accepts only the evidence of natural science and has a materialist view in mind, while Grossmann is a dualist and grants also the same evidential status to the phenomenological data of perception and introspection. The letters are grouped into three phases. The first is the issue of universals; the second, the ontological analysis of laws of nature; and the third, the ontology of numbers. The book also contains comments and reviews, partly not published until now.

Reinhardt Grossmann - David M. Armstrong, Metaphysical Correspondence

Phenomenological Realism Versus Scientific Realism

Erwin Tegtmeier

Books

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