Keith Campbell (philosopher)
Encyclopedia
Keith Campbell is an Australia
n philosopher
working in metaphysics
.
With D.M. Armstrong
, Campbell is one of the founders of so called Australian metaphysics (see Australian materialism
) and, within it, of a variety of trope theory. He also has a distinctive view of concrete and abstract objects: the former can exist by themselves, and the latter are incapable of independent existence.
He refuses, following F. Ramsey, the necessity of choice between Realism
and Nominalism
in the problem of universals
, because they both share "a false presupposition being that any quality or relation must be a universal" (Campbell 1991, preface).
's Departments of Traditional and Modern Philosophy and of General Philosophy is attributed to his organizing the proposal in 1973. He was a senior lecturer in the "Traditional and Modern" one but is now an emeritus professor in the recombined Department of Philosophy (part of the School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry).
Campbell is known as a co-editor of Ontology, Causality, and Mind: Essays in Honour of D.M. Armstrong
, and as author of Body and Mind.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
working in metaphysics
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
.
With D.M. Armstrong
David Malet Armstrong
David Malet Armstrong , often D. M. Armstrong, is an Australian philosopher. He is well-known for his work on metaphysics and the philosophy of mind, and for his defence of a factualist ontology, a functionalist theory of the mind, an externalist epistemology, and a necessitarian conception of the...
, Campbell is one of the founders of so called Australian metaphysics (see Australian materialism
Australian materialism
Australian realism, also called Australian materialism, was a school of philosophy that flourished in the first half of the 20th century in several universities in Australia including the Australian National University, the University of Adelaide, and the University of Sydney, and whose central...
) and, within it, of a variety of trope theory. He also has a distinctive view of concrete and abstract objects: the former can exist by themselves, and the latter are incapable of independent existence.
He refuses, following F. Ramsey, the necessity of choice between Realism
Philosophical realism
Contemporary philosophical realism is the belief that our reality, or some aspect of it, is ontologically independent of our conceptual schemes, linguistic practices, beliefs, etc....
and Nominalism
Nominalism
Nominalism is a metaphysical view in philosophy according to which general or abstract terms and predicates exist, while universals or abstract objects, which are sometimes thought to correspond to these terms, do not exist. Thus, there are at least two main versions of nominalism...
in the problem of universals
Problem of universals
The problem of universals is an ancient problem in metaphysics about whether universals exist. Universals are general or abstract qualities, characteristics, properties, kinds or relations, such as being male/female, solid/liquid/gas or a certain colour, that can be predicated of individuals or...
, because they both share "a false presupposition being that any quality or relation must be a universal" (Campbell 1991, preface).
Trivia
The famous separation between the University of SydneyUniversity of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
's Departments of Traditional and Modern Philosophy and of General Philosophy is attributed to his organizing the proposal in 1973. He was a senior lecturer in the "Traditional and Modern" one but is now an emeritus professor in the recombined Department of Philosophy (part of the School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry).
Campbell is known as a co-editor of Ontology, Causality, and Mind: Essays in Honour of D.M. Armstrong
David Malet Armstrong
David Malet Armstrong , often D. M. Armstrong, is an Australian philosopher. He is well-known for his work on metaphysics and the philosophy of mind, and for his defence of a factualist ontology, a functionalist theory of the mind, an externalist epistemology, and a necessitarian conception of the...
, and as author of Body and Mind.