Symposium on Thomas Hofweber’s forthcoming book, Ontology and the Ambitions of Metaphysics, September 19 & 20, 2013, Humboldt University, Berlin. In his new book, Thomas Hofweber undertakes an investigation of the nature of ontological inquiry: What questions does ontology pose? How might these questions be answered? Who can best answer them? And why are the answers important? This approach to ontology guides his account of the proper ambitions of metaphysics. Ultimately, Hofweber defends the view that metaphysics “has more work to do than most philosophers think, but less than most metaphysicians think.” He focuses on classic ontological questions concerning the existence of numbers, objects, and propositions, as well as addressing broader disputes in the philosophy of mathematics, the metaphysics of material objects, the problem of universals, and the metaphysics of content.
In the symposium, Hofweber will present and discuss selected topics from his book. The programme will be available here: http://www.philosophie.hu-
The symposium is an event of the metametagroup Berlin and organized by Catharine Diehl, Tobias Rosefeldt, and Julia Zakkou.
