E.J. Lowe (1950-2014) was Professor of Philosophy at the University of Durham. One of the foremost metaphysicians working in philosophy during his time, he was the author of numerous influential articles and books in metaphysics, philosophy of mind and the history of philosophy, including Kinds of Being (Blackwell, 1989) and, more recently, The Four-Category Ontology: A Metaphysical Foundation for Natural Science (2006).

Preface* vii

Acknowledgements xi

1 Introduction 1

The Varieties of 'Is' 3

Individuals, Kinds, and Realism 4

Semantics, Metaphysics, and Necessity 6

New Developments* 8

2 Sortal Terms and Criteria of Identity 12

3 Individuals, Sorts, and Instantiation 29

4 Number, Unity, and Individuality* 42

5 The Absoluteness of Identity: A Defence 57

Appendix: Some Formal Principles and Arguments 72

6 Identity and Constitution 77

7 Parts and Wholes 92

8 Persons and Their Bodies 104

Matter and Organisms 104

Organisms and Persons 113

Is There a Criterion of Personal Identity? 125

9 Sortal Terms and Natural Laws 141

10 Plural Quantification and Sortal Reference* 164

11 Laws, Dispositions, and Sortal Logic 179

Appendix: An Axiomatic System of Sortal Logic 194

12 What Sorts of Things Are There?* 198

The Syntax and Semantics of Complex Sortal Terms 198

On the Identity of Sorts 212

Bibliography* 217

Index 223

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