Rethinking Metaphysics

Amie Thomasson is one of the most insightful and articulate voices at the pragmatic end of metaphysics. Rethinking Metaphysics completes the field-defining trilogy she began with Ontology Made Easy (2014) and Norms and Necessity (2020). It asks how we should conceive of metaphysics, in the wake of pragmatism. Thomasson's answer, like the question itself, reflects the stance of conceptual engineering, and the book is an important addition to the literature on that topic. Especially welcome is a fascinating discussion of connections to the program of Systemic Functional Linguistics, little-known to philosophy readers. * Huw Price, Emeritus Bertrand Russell Professor of Philosophy and Emeritus Fellow, Trinity College, Cambridge * Thomasson's Rethinking Metaphysics is a true tour de force. Deftly drawing together the literature on metaphysics, neopragmatism, genealogy, and conceptual engineering, this book combines trenchant critiques of the most influential conceptions of metaphysics with an innovative proposal for how to think of metaphysics instead: as reverse-engineering the functions of the terms and concepts we use and re-engineering them for the better. Few critics of metaphysics are as fair-minded and thorough, and even fewer advocates of conceptual engineering offer such a compellingly worked-out picture of an alternative. There is something for everyone in this rich and stimulating book. * Matthieu Queloz, Privatdozent, University of Bern and Ambizione Fellow, Swiss National Science Foundation *