FOR 2495:  Inductive Metaphysics

• Subject Area: Humanities
• Term: since 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 288923097

The overall purpose of the research unit is to articulate and elaborate a new understanding of the nature and methodology of metaphysics. Borrowing a term from late 19th century philosophy, the resulting conception of metaphysics is called Inductive Metaphysics. We argue that, in general, metaphysical beliefs should not and cannot be adequately justified solely on a conceptual and a priori basis. Empirical sources and inductive or abductive forms of inference should and in fact do play a much more prominent role in metaphysics than is typically acknowledged. An important share of metaphysical beliefs should be justified a posteriori, based on inductive or abductive inferences from empirical data, embedded in a methodology that resembles that of science, except that metaphysical concepts and theories are transdisciplinary and more general than concepts and theories in science. The research unit aims at developing a systematic account of the methodology and the empirical sources of Inductive Metaphysics. An essential means for achieving this aim is a combination of methodological or A-projects and application-oriented or B-projects. B-projects deal with selected metaphysical issues; they are original contributions to metaphysical research and at the same time they serve as test cases for A-projects. A-projects are concerned with historical and methodological investigations of Inductive Metaphysics; they use the results of B-projects as their input and deliver methodological questions and results to B-projects as their output. All three A-projects of the first three-year period shall be continued in the second period, with themes that are natural follow-ups of the results and open problems that emerged from the work in the first period. All B-projects of the first period are replaced by new B-projects, some of which bear important connections to predecessor projects in the first period and others which bring entirely new thematic areas into the range of application of Inductive Metaphysics.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• International Connection: Canada, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA

Projects

• A1: Inductive metaphysics; methods of metaphysics (Applicant Scholz, Oliver R. )
• A2: Creative Abductive Inference and its Role for Inductive Metaphysics (IM) (Applicants Schrenk, Markus ;  Schurz, Gerhard )
• A4: Inductive Methods in Kant and Neo-Kantianism (Applicant Engelhard, Kristina )
• B1: Modality in Physics and in Metaphysics (Applicant Bartels, Andreas )
• B2: Properties and Property Individuation (Applicant Hoffmann-Kolss, Vera )
• B4: Determinism, Control, and the Consequence Argument (Applicant Hüttemann, Andreas )
• B5: Statistical Causation, Intervention, and Freedom (Applicant Schurz, Gerhard )
• B6: The Role of Inference to the Best Explanation in the Discovery of Gravitational Waves (Applicant Lehmkuhl, Dennis )
• B7: Graded Causation (Applicant Hoffmann-Kolss, Vera )
• B8: The Time of Science and the Time of Our Lives (Applicant Hüttemann, Andreas )
• B9: Complex Biological Dispositions: A Case Study in the Metaphysics of Biological Practice (Applicant Kaiser, Marie I. )
• B10: Metaphysics of Evolution: Justification and Ontology of Generalized Evolution Theory (Applicant Schurz, Gerhard )
• B11: Abductive Methodology in the Philosophy of Logic (Applicant Brendel, Elke )
• Coordination Funds (Applicant Hüttemann, Andreas )
• Coordination Funds (Applicant Schurz, Gerhard )

• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Gerhard Schurz