The CEU Department of Philosophy cordially invites you to a talk
by
Tuomas Tahko (University of Helsinki)
on
`In Search of a Fundamental Level`
Tuesday, 29 May, 2014, 10.00 AM, Zrinyi 14, Room 412
ABSTRACT
The talk deals with three related questions:
1. What is ‘fundamental’ about the supposed fundamental level of reality?
2. Is there such a fundamental level?
3. If there is, what can we know about the nature of this fundamental level?
While it will be suggested that there are some reasons to think that there is a
fundamental level, the primary contribution of the talk is methodological: the ‘levels’
metaphor, the meaning of ‘fundamental’, our means to inquire into the existence of a
fundamental level, and the prospects of determining the nature of this level will be
discussed. Two ways to understand fundamentality – in mereological and generic ontological
terms – will be presented, and the role of ontological dependence, grounding, and
well-foundedness examined. On this basis, the prospects for different types of
metaphysical foundationalism and metaphysical infinitism will be evaluated. An argument to
the effect that there is a fundamental level – in a yet to be specified sense – will be
sketched.
Krisztina Biber
Department of Philosophy
Coordinator
------------------------------------------
Central European University
Nador u. 9. | 1051 Budapest, Hungary
Office: + 36.1.327.3806 | biberk(a)ceu.hu |
www.ceu.hu