Metametaphysics This page intentionally left blank Metametaphysics New Essays on the Foundations of Ontology edited by David Chalmers, David Manley, and Ryan Wasserman CLARENDON PRESS · OXFORD 1 GreatClarendonStreet,Oxfordox26dp OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford. ItfurtherstheUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship, andeducationbypublishingworldwidein Oxford NewYork Auckland CapeTown DaresSalaam HongKong Karachi KualaLumpur Madrid Melbourne MexicoCity Nairobi NewDelhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto Withofficesin Argentina Austria Brazil Chile CzechRepublic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore SouthKorea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam OxfordisaregisteredtrademarkofOxfordUniversityPress intheUKandincertainothercountries PublishedintheUnitedStates byOxfordUniversityPressInc.,NewYork theseveralcontributors2009 Themoralrightsoftheauthorshavebeenasserted DatabaserightOxfordUniversityPress(maker) Firstpublished2009 Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced, storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans, withoutthepriorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress, orasexpresslypermittedbylaw,orundertermsagreedwiththeappropriate reprographicsrightsorganization.Enquiriesconcerningreproduction outsidethescopeoftheaboveshouldbesenttotheRightsDepartment, OxfordUniversityPress,attheaddressabove Youmustnotcirculatethisbookinanyotherbindingorcover andyoumustimposethesameconditiononanyacquirer BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Dataavailable LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData Metametaphysics:newessaysonthefoundationsofontology/editedbyDavidChalmers,DavidManley, andRyanWasserman. p.cm. Includesindex. Thisvolumegrewoutoftwoconferences,oneheldattheAustralianNationalUniversityinJune2005, andanotherheldatBoiseStateUniversityinMar.2007. ISBN978–0–19–954600–8(pbk.:alk.paper)—ISBN978–0–19–954604–6(hardback:alk.paper) 1.Ontology—Congresses.2.Metaphysics—Congresses.I.Chalmers,DavidJohn,1966–II.Manley, David.III.Wasserman,Ryan. BD311.M4832009 110.1—dc22 2008046062 TypesetbyLaserwordsPrivateLimited,Chennai,India PrintedinGreatBritain onacid-freepaperby CPIAntonyRowe,Chippenham,Wiltshire ISBN978–0–19–954604–6(Hbk.) ISBN978–0–19–954600–8(Pbk.) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Acknowledgments This volume grew out of two conferences on Metametaphysics: one held at the Australian National University (ANU) in June 2005, and another held at Boise State University in March 2007. We are grateful to the Australian Research Council for making the ANU conference possible (via funding for David Chalmers’ Federation Fellowship project), and to Andrew Cortens for organizing the Boise State conference. We also owe thanks to the authors of the papers in this book for reviewing each other’s papers, to William R.Dunaway for helping with the index, and to Peter Momtchiloff for his editorialassistance. This page intentionally left blank Contents ListofContributors ix 1. Introduction:AGuidedTourofMetametaphysics 1 DavidManley 2. Composition,Colocation,andMetaontology 38 KarenBennett 3. OntologicalAnti-Realism 77 DavidJ.Chalmers 4. CarnapandOntologicalPluralism 130 MattiEklund 5. TheQuestionofOntology 157 KitFine 6. TheMetaontologyofAbstraction 178 BobHaleandCrispinWright 7. SuperficialisminOntology 213 JohnHawthorne 8. OntologyandAlternativeLanguages 231 EliHirsch 9. Ambitious,YetModest,Metaphysics 260 ThomasHofweber 10. WaysofBeing 290 KrisMcDaniel 11. MetaphysicsafterCarnap:TheGhostWhoWalks? 320 HuwPrice 12. OnWhatGroundsWhat 347 JonathanSchaffer 13. OntologicalRealism 384 TheodoreSider viii contents 14. Ontology,Analyticity,andMeaning:theQuine–Carnap Dispute 424 ScottSoames 15. AnswerableandUnanswerableQuestions 444 AmieL.Thomasson 16. Being,Existence,andOntologicalCommitment 472 PetervanInwagen 17. MustExistence-Questions haveAnswers? 507 StephenYablo Index 527 Contributors KarenBennett,CornellUniversity DavidJ.Chalmers,AustralianNationalUniversity MattiEklund,CornellUniversity KitFine,NewYorkUniversity BobHale,UniversityofSheffield JohnHawthorne,UniversityofOxford EliHirsch,BrandeisUniversity ThomasHofweber,UniversityofNorthCarolinaatChapelHill DavidManley,UniversityofSouthernCalifornia KrisMcDaniel,SyracuseUniversity HuwPrice,UniversityofSydney JonathanSchaffer,TheAustralianNationalUniversity TheodoreSider,NewYorkUniversity ScottSoames,UniversityofSouthernCalifornia AmieL.Thomasson,UniversityofMiami PetervanInwagen,TheUniversityofNotreDame CrispinWright,UniversityofStAndrewsandNewYorkUniversity StephenYablo,MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology