Kinds of Being: A Study of Individuation, Identity, and the Logic of Sortal Terms

by E.J. Lowe

In "Kinds of Being" Johathan Lowe examines a cluster of interrelated issues in metaphysics, logic and the philosophy of language, focusing on the role of sortal concepts in the determination of individuation and identity. Through a discussion of the issues of personal identity and the mind/body problem, the author advances the claim that where sortal concepts are governed by different criteria of identity it makes no sense to identify individuals falling under these different concepts. As such this is a defence of the absoluteness of identity and an argument against identifying persons with their bodies. It also represents a challenge to the assumptions of nominalists and orthodox logicians. Jonathan Lowe concludes this study with an examination of the semantics and logic of sortal terms in natural language, paying particular attention to their place in the formulation and empirical confirmation of scientific laws and theories.

210 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989