Abstract
What does the unity of a thought consist in? The analytic tradition typically accepts the Fregean answer to this question: a thought is, in the fundamental case, the result of applying a concept to an appropriate range of objects. Yet upon reflection this turns out to be insufficient. I follow Rödl’s exploration of the unity of temporal thoughts, which shows this unity to be differentiated in such a way as to give rise to the basic metaphysical categories of time, causality, essence, and power. These considerations seem to warrant three conclusions: first, reality is conceptual in nature; second, meta-physics and logic are one and the same subject; and third, these two conclusions are to be taken in an absolute metaphysical sense.
Translated title of the contribution | The unity of a thought: On the relation between logic and metaphysics |
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Original language | Dutch |
Pages (from-to) | 145-160 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Algemeen Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Wijsbegeerte |
Volume | 109 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 22 Jan 2017 |
Keywords
- thought
- logic
- metaphysics
- time
- causality
- essentialism