The Genealogy of Modes of Being

The project aims to identify continuities and discontinuities between Ancient, Austro-German, and contemporary conceptions of modes of being and to provide a systematic and historically accurate mapping of the main theories thereof.
The project will first tackle the analysis of the texts in which Aristotle appeals to the doctrine that “Being is said in many ways” and discusses connected issues, so as to give the best possible reconstruction of Aristotle’s theory of existence.
In parallel, it will reconstruct Brentano's interpretation of Aristotle's doctrine in light of recent Brentano scholarship and assess its value both as a theory and as an interpretation of Aristotle.
It will provide an outline and philosophical evaluation of the main views of modes of being (Seinsarten) held by the Austro-German philosophers influenced (directly or indirectly) by Brentano, paying particular attention to Marty, Meinong, Husserl, Scheler, (N.) Hartmann, and Ingarden.
Finally, the historical credentials of the contemporary notion of modes of being will be evaluated: is this really the same idea that we find in Aristotle and/or in the Austro-German tradition?
The main expected result is a comprehensive mapping of the notion of mode of being that is both historically well-founded and theoretically alert. This will be of great help to both historians of philosophy and philosophers interested in metaphysics.
From the methodological point of view, the project will set new and higher standards for the genealogy of philosophical notions by insisting on careful comparison between the theories in which these notions play a role rather than between isolated theses or terminologies.