Peter Simons 

‘Metaphysicians from A to W And How to Improve on Them’  

Wednesday, May 25 at 18:30 (CET) 

 

The MAP (Master in Philosophy) at USI (Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano) is pleased to announce the last talk of the Lugano Philosophy Colloquia of Spring 2022, ‘Metaphysicians from A to W And How to Improve on Them’. 

 

The guest speaker is: 

Peter Simons (TCD and USI) 

 

The talk is chaired by: 

Barry Smith (Buffalo and USI) 

 

Date: 

Wednesday, May 25 at 18:30 (CET) 

 

Location: 

The talk will be run via a hybrid format: on campus at Auditorium, USI, Main Building and on Zoom. It will also be streamed on USI Master in Philosophy Facebook page. 

 

To participate: 

Please write an email to amm.map@usi.ch or send a message to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/usimap). 

 

The Abstract of the Talk: 

Three of the greatest metaphysicians of the twentieth century, all born before 1900, wrote in English. One was Australian, one English, and one American. They are, in chronological order, Samuel Alexander, Alfred North Whitehead and Donald Cary Williams. Empirical realists all, each espoused a systematic account of the universe in which metaphysics stood at the centre. The lessons we can take from them are varied: from Alexander we have spacetime, mind-brain identity, and emergence; from Whitehead we have mereology and the primacy of dynamic process; from Williams we have tropes and the reasonableness of induction. They all agreed on the central importance of categories, though their treatments differ considerably. They influenced other fine metaphysical thinkers: Anderson, Armstrong and Lewis, to name just the most prominent. But each makes metaphysical choices that are questionable, so the question arises whether we can do better, taking the best from each and welding it together into a system that avoids the pitfalls. Building on both their strengths and their weaknesses, this talk outlines how that can be done.  

 

The talk is part of the Lugano Philosophy Colloquia - a series of events organized by: 

- Master in Philosophy at USI 

- Ratio – Philosophical Association 

- Istituto di Studi Filosofici, Lugano 

 

If you want to stay updated on our incoming philosophical events, please check our page https://www.usi.ch/en/feeds/17840 and subscribe to our mailing list. For any question, please write to amm.map@usi.ch 

 

 

We look forward to your presence!