Logical and Epistemological Foundations of Metaphysics

The project “Logical and Epistemological Foundations of Science and Metaphysics” will be divided in four parts: (I) Logical Foundations of Science, (II) Epistemological Foundations of Science, (III) Logical Foundations of Metaphysics, (IV) Epistemological Foundations of Metaphysics. Part (I) will focuse on ontologically relevant consequences of different programs of foundations of mathematics, and to some more specific results that could directly influence our ontological interpretation of space-time, like Löwenheim-Skolem theorem. Part (II) will investigate the status of scientific knowledge and evidence, both in general and in particular sciences, especially physics. Specific features of scientific explanation in particular sciences will be examined, for example in biology, where the results of Darwin’s theory of evolution and modern genetics will be related to the specific understanding of scientific generalizations in these areas. Part (III) will investigate contemporary disputes related to the problem of existence and new problems of meta-ontology related to the disputes between mereological nihilists and essentialists, realists and antirealists, and to the distinction of endurance vs. perdurance. Part (IV) will deal with the contemporary questions of modal epistemology. It will critically examine the epistemic versions of two-dimensional semantics, and analyze the notions of nomological, metaphysic and logical possibility.