The Fragmentation of Being

Abstract

This is a densely argued dive into deep and rich metaphysical waters. McDaniel defends ontological pluralism, the doctrine that there are multiple ways of being (i.e., multiple modes, or degrees, or orders, or levels, or gradations of existence). The book’s later chapters explore prospective applications of this doctrine, in the philosophy of time, value theory, modality, and concerning the ontological status of ‘negative objects’, like holes. The earlier chapters explicate the doctrine itself.