“Coming to Understanding” is a bold, ambitious monograph significant because of the scope and importance of the project. But the essay would be of only superficial significance if the detailed work on the project were disappointing. This, however, is not the case. Both major parts of “Coming to Understanding” deserve attention. The first (roughly) 1/3 of the work delivers sustained argumentation addressed primarily to the question ”Why is Being exemplified?” (pp.4-24). The remaining 2/3 of the work consists most fundamentally of systematic, constructive work on the Categories and strikingly original work on the relations among the connections between the Categories (pp.24ff).

“Coming to Understanding” contains a wealth of dense argumentation, a detailed exploration of a fundamental metaphysical system, and many original and potentially important insights into the nature of Being. I recommend “Coming to Understanding” to philosophers interested in these issues.

Ted Warfield
Department of Philosophy
The University of Notre Dame