Radical Metaphysics

Abstract

Abstract It may be thought that the idea of alien metaphysical structure is not anything new, but that many philosophical theories involve postulating what is here discussed under that label. This chapter discusses a number of theories of the relevant kind. These include ontological nihilism, trope theory, and ontic structural realism. In connection with ontological nihilism, it is discussed whether so-called feature-placing languages should count as alien languages. Special attention is paid to the ways in which certain views in philosophy of science can seem to imply that reality has alien structure. The main conclusion is that as they stand, the theories discussed do not—or in some cases do not obviously—involve postulating anything alien. This is compatible with there being alternative, perhaps better, versions of these theories that do postulate alien structure.