Indeterminate Identity Metaphysics and Semantics [Hardcover]

Terence Parsons presents a lively and controversial study of philosophical questions about identity. Because many puzzles about identity remain unsolved, some people believe that they are questions that have no answers and that there is a problem with the language used to formulate them. Parsons explores a different possibility: that such puzzles lack answers because of the way the world is (or because of the way the world is not). He claims that there is genuine indeterminacy of identity in the world. He articulates such a view in detail and defends it from a host of criticisms.

Introduction; 1. Indeterminacy; 2. Identity; 3. The Evans Argument, Properties, and DDiff; 4. Non-Conditional Disputations; 5. Conditional Disputations; 6. Understanding Indeterminacy; 7. Counting Objects; 8. Denoting Objects; 9. Alternatives to Indeterminate Identity; 10. Sets and Properties with Indeterminate Identity; 11. Higher Order Indeterminacy; Appendix; Bibliography

Terence Parsons is Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Irvine.