Ontology, a study of reality. By G. J. Warnock, M.A.

(Jesus College, Cambridge) This, the

first volume of a three-volume set on the nature of reality, was written for the philosophical
student. If you are a philosopher of science, a metaphysician, a philosopher of mind, or a
biologist or a physicist, this book will challenge you. If, however, you are a non-specialist, if
you are a believer in God, you will find here a reasoned defence of the Christian faith. It is
intended for Christian philosophers and theologians, but is also addressed to laymen who
may be interested in the subject of reality. The first part deals with the ontology of space.
Space is not yet a thing but, on the ontological account, it is a property of certain entities (see
Chap. 1). The following six chapters cover: space and physics (i), time and physics (ii), space
and physics (iii), time and physics (iv), space and mind (v), time and mind (vi). Chapter 5 is a
brief account of general relativity. Chapter 2 deals with material objects. Part of this chapter
deals with matter, but not with an analysis of the ultimate nature of matter. It addresses the
question of the ultimate constituents of matter, i.e. whether matter is in some sense a material
substance or whether it is composite. It concludes that matter is not a substance. The reason
for this is given in Chap. 7. Chapter 3 deals with mental objects. There is a long section on
the existence of mind, or mental objects. It begins with a brief consideration of whether the
mind can be an object of science. In the last part of this chapter, it addresses the question of
the composition of mind. It is argued that mental objects are not entities or substances, but
that they are modes. Thus mental objects are properties of mental entities, but they are not
material properties or properties of things. Their existence or non-existence, and their number
or variety, do not depend on the existence of physical objects. The remainder of Chap. 3 deals
with the question of the relation of the mind to the physical world. Chapter 5 (general
relativity) deals with one aspect of this question. It deals with the relation of space to time.
Chap. 4 deals with the relation of consciousness to space and time. The existence of
consciousness, according to this view, is not dependent upon the existence of physical things.
Consciousness does not exist without physical things. It exists in relation to physical things.
Thus consciousness does not exist in space and time. It exists in a space and a time which are
not physical. Chap. 6 deals with the question of consciousness. It is not the intention of this
volume to treat fully of the question of what consciousness is. In general it is agreed that the
study of the mind is a difficult, perhaps an insoluble, problem. It is true that we can say that a
mind is an attribute of some mental entity. That mental entity may be a self, or something like
a self. But, whatever it is, it is not just any entity. It has, according to the view here defended,
its own reality. It exists in its own right. It is real. It is not just something over which we
superimpose an attribute. The ontology of reality is not the philosophy of an individual. It is
the philosophy of mankind. For it is we who have the power of self-awareness. Self-
awareness is an aspect of the reality of mankind. It is an essential feature of mankind. It is a
key to the real nature of reality.