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Department of Philosophy

Recent Seminars and Lectures

Dr Jan Westerhoff (Durham) 'Arguments for Ontological Foundations.'

4th February 2010, 11:30, Room 005, 48/49 Old Elvet

Seminars take place on Thursdays in room 005, 48/49 Old Elvet. Tea and coffee are served from 11am, talks start at 11.30am and we invite the speaker to lunch at 1pm.

Abstract:

Is there a fundamental level of reality? Do ontological dependence relations have to bottom out? Do there have to be things that depend on nothing else?

These fundamental ontological questions have attracted renewed attention in the most recent past. This talk will discuss arguments for the existence of a fundamental level based on ideas from Paul Boghossian, Bernard Bolzano, and Ross Cameron. After assessing their cogency I will describe two ontological theories that assume there is *no* fundamental level, one due to Graham Priest, the other due to Humberto Maturana.

 

 

 

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