AWWO · A world without objects: the metaphysics of indeterminacy in ancient philosophy, from Democritus to Aenesidemus.
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2015-06-01 → 2017-05-31
- EU contribution
- €195,455
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-ST
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
A world without objects: the metaphysics of indeterminacy in ancient philosophy, from Democritus to Aenesidemus.
The proposed project aims at investigating the metaphysics of indeterminacy in ancient philosophy. By relying on the aid of contemporary metaphysics, the project will show that the metaphysics of indeterminacy was an important, yet neglected, part of ancient metaphysics, from the time of Democritus to that of Aenesidemus. The project has a double scholarly nature, in so far as it is historical and philosophical. It is historical since it aims to reconstruct the various metaphysical theories held and defended by those ancient philosophers just mentioned. It also has a more philosophical aspect, since its main theoretical aim is to show how those metaphysical views all contribute to create developing a metaphysics of indeterminacy that is in itself coherent and viable. The project has three main outcomes: 1) the organization of an international conference to be held in Durham in 2017 (concluded); 2) the writing of a research monograph (already contracted with Routledge), to be delivered to the Publisher in 2017 (almost concluded); 3) the preparation of new research projects (concluded).
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The proposed project aims at investigating the metaphysics of indeterminacy in ancient philosophy. By relying on the aid ofcontemporary metaphysics (in particular, Van Inwagen's materialism and Merricks', and Stage-theory of material objects),the project will show that the metaphysics of indeterminacy was an important, yet neglected, part of ancient metaphysics,from the time of Democritus to that of Aenesidemus.The project will deal with a variety of Greek philosophers, traditionally understood as subjectivists (this very general label asmeant to include relativists, sceptics, infallibilists and nihilists). These are the following ones: Democritus, Protagoras andGorgias, Heraclitus, the Socratic schools of the Cyrenaics (including later exponents of the school, such as Theodorus theGodless) and the Megarians (Euclides, Eubulides, Diodorus Cronus, Stilpo), Pyrrho and neo-pyrrhonism (Aenesidemus).The project will demonstrate that, although in different ways, all the philosophers just mentioned adhered to a view of theworld according to which either 1) objects of perception are indeterminate with regard to their properties or 2) objects inthemselves are best understood as indeterminate items (in particular, on this latter view, objects as stable and unitary itemsare denied to be existing).The project is both historical and philosophical, in so far as not only does it attempt to reconstruct the details of ancientconceptions of metaphysical indeterminacy, but it will also try to demonstrate the philosophical viability of those conceptionsby drawing close parallelisms with current theories of metaphysical indeterminacy.To appreciate the pervasiveness of metaphysical indeterminacy in ancient Greek philosophy is tantamount to providing arevolutionary insight in the history of ancient metaphysics (and of metaphysics tout court) by challenging the standard viewthat sees it dominated by Plato’s and Aristotle’s different, yet cognate, essentialisms.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM · DURHAMCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union