Metaphysics, Meaning, and Modality

This book is the first edited volume on the philosophy of one of the most seminal and profound contemporary philosophers. The volume is intended for philosophers, linguists, and cognitive scientists interested in metaphysics, language, and philosophical logic. The readers will benefit from the debates over Kit Fine’s novel theories on meaning and representation, arbitrary objects, essence, ontological realism, metaphysics of modality, and constitution of things. The work contains original essays which evaluate both the philosophical and some of the formal seminal contributions of Kit Fine to contemporary metaphysics, ontology, philosophy of language, and philosophical logic. The chapters in the work also advance new ideas and arguments which help in developing the debates on concepts of interests not only for philosophers but also for linguists and cognitive scientists who are interested in the foundations of their own fields. The work gives Kit Fine’s current views on the topics that he has helped to renew in today’s metaphysics, philosophy of language, and philosophical logic. The work contributes to the furthering of the debates in metaphysics, philosophical logic, and philosophy of language, focusing on brand new theories in the forefront of analytic philosophy. More generally, the hope is that a thorough discussion of the work of a very innovative and profound author such as Kit Fine can contribute to a better understanding of what is at stake within contemporary analytic philosophy.