Abstract

This dissertation is an investigation of the ontological status of identity . The preface is a discussion of how foundational and important metaphysical issues concerning identity are for philosophy in general, and of some of the problems that have plagued the study of identity historically. ;In chapter one various issues concerning identity are framed and the metaphysical issues are divided into two main genera: persistence problems and ontological problems. The primary attention of the dissertation is not given to persistence problems, but to four major ontological problems of identity: what is the intension of 'identity'? what is the extension of 'identity'? how many of kinds of identity are there? and what is the ontological status of identity? ;In chapter two the relation of these four ontological problems to the most popular problems of identity in the contemporary literature is examined. The following contemporary discussions are covered: perdurance vs. endurance, contingent identity, vague identity, identity across possible worlds, and the criterion of identity. As a result, some ontic/epistemic confusions prevalent in the current literature are cleared up, and it is shown that we must study the relationship between identity and both individuality and unity to solve some of the problems concerning identity mentioned in chapter one. ;In chapter three a modified medieval schema of relations is used to give a detailed analysis of the intension of 'identity'. It is shown how identity cannot be understood as unity, individuality, or indiscernibility. It is later argued that identity is properly understood as lack of difference, where difference is understood broadly, and that ontological identity is properly understood as lack of difference in being. ;In chapter four a thorough analysis of the extension of 'identity' is given, concluding that 'identity' does not have universal extension or null extension, but rather partial extension . ;In chapter five the ontological status of identity is determined. It is argued that identity is a transcendental attribute of being, and that identity is only a relation in a secondary or derived sense, despite what many have held