Leon Isenmann
University of Potsdam
For some time now, discussions in anglophone metaphysics have been dominated by the explication and application of a notion called metaphysical grounding: a kind of non-causal metaphysical explanation relation exhibiting certain formal characteristics. In this vein, Brian Epstein (2015) introduces grounding into the realm of social ontology as a tool to illuminate why it is that social facts obtain – the answer being, in short, that they obtain in virtue of being grounded by certain non-social facts. With his application of grounding to social ontology, Epstein’s work has been widely regarded as an important contribution to both social metaphysics in particular, and the project of inter-level metaphysics in general. Another part of his employed theoretical framework, however, has been met with more skepticism. Because for Epstein, grounding alone cannot do all the heavy lifting required to give us a complete metaphysical explanation of what makes the social realm. To illuminate how the ground and the grounded come to be structurally related with one another, he thinks that a different kind of notion is needed. This second kind of metaphysical explanation relation is what Epstein calls the notion of anchoring. Proponents of ground have been quick to critically examine Epstein’s recontextualization of grounding and it’s role in our metaphysical toolkit. In my paper, I’ll examine the literature discussing the validity of introducing the anchoring relation next to grounding. First, I want to reconstruct the basics of Epstein’s employed framework. Having done so, I’ll discuss both some of the recurring arguments in response to Epstein’s introduction of anchoring and Epstein’s response to those arguments, with a focus on the debate between Epstein and Jonathan Schaffer. And finally, I will conclude by critically discussing how we ought to construct our metaphysical toolkit in light of the current literature, and what the merits and disadvantages of Epstein’s two-dimensional metaphysics of determination ultimately amount to.
Chair: Elena Garadja
Time: September 6th, 14:00-14:30
Location: HS E.002
SOPhiA 2026 