Existential dependence and cognate notions

Meer over het boek

This work in analytic metaphysics aims to clarify the notion of existential dependence, a key concept since Aristotle. It critically examines existing analyses of this notion, ultimately rejecting them in favor of a new account. The first chapter introduces essential concepts such as existence, necessity, quantification, and essence. Chapters 2 and 4 focus on "simple" existential dependence, where one object cannot exist without another. Three contemporary philosophical accounts of this dependence are presented and refuted, leading to a new "foundational" account that defines simple dependence through the relation of ‘grounding,’ discussed in chapter 3. Chapters 5 and 6 explore various relations related to simple dependence, including generic dependence, temporal dependence, and supervenience, highlighting the superiority of foundationalist accounts framed in terms of grounding. These chapters also apply the foundational conception to characterize substances and differentiate between Aristotelian and Platonician views of universals. The work concludes with a technical appendix featuring a sound and complete system for the logic of essence based on possible world semantics. The author, a professor of analytic philosophy at the University of Geneva, has a PhD in Philosophy and research interests spanning metaphysics, philosophical logic, and the philosophy of mind.