An Ontology of Ideas

Authors

Wesley Cray, Grand Valley State UniversityFollow
Timothy Schroeder

Department

Philosophy Department

College

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Date Range

2014-2015

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Abstract

Philosophers often talk about and engage with ideas. Scientists, artists, and historians do, too. So does practically everyone else. But what is an idea? In this paper, we develop and motivate an ontology of ideas that satisfies various platitudes associated with the idea of ideas, and does so within an ontologically parsimonious framework. We then go on to discuss some nuances of the account, focusing particularly on the individuation and survival conditions of ideas.

Conference Name

Eastern Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association

Conference Location

Philadelphia, PA

ScholarWorks Citation

Cray, Wesley and Schroeder, Timothy, "An Ontology of Ideas" (2015). Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants. 630.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/fsdg/630