FOREWORD

Mann examines what philosophy could contribute towards settling the ontological disagreements. There seems to be no distinctive role for a philosophical contribution towards settling ontological questions that appear to depend on administrative, legal, or political decisions. Whether there is, or ever was, such a thing as the Kingdom of Tavolara is not an empirical question, or not exclusively an empirical question. Yet neither does this seem to be an ontological question of the kind philosophers worry about. It is a matter that only politics, political historiography, or the institutions of international law can resolve, just as it is a matter of international law and politics whether the Grand Duchy of Flandrensis exists today, or is a matter of legal stipulation and practice that there are such things as binding contracts, trust funds, labor unions, or bicycle lanes on particular roads.