Some Recommendations

In the comments to my last post about stuff, I was asked what I recommend for reading about stuff.
The paper I'd start with is Ned Markosian's "Simples, Stuff, and Simple People", which can be found online here.
I also recommend Michael Burke's papers on the topic, especially his most recent: "Coinciding Objects: Reply to Lowe and Denkel" (in Analysis 57, pp. 11-18), and also Dean Zimmerman's "Coincident Objects: Could A ‘Stuff Ontology’ Help?" (which is in the same issue of Analysis, directly following Burke's article) and his "Theories of Masses and Problems of Constitution" (in Philosophical Review 104, pp. 53-110).
For further research, I recommend Vere Chappell's "Matter" (Journal of Philosophy 70, pp. 679-696), anything written by Helen Morris Cartwright on the topic (eg. "Chappell on Stuff and Things" in Nous 6, pp. 369-377), and Richard Sharvy's "Mixtures" (in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 44, pp. 227-239).
Of course, I've left out a lot of interesting and fantastic papers. But I think that reading some of the ones I've recommended will be sufficient for gaining a good understanding of what stuff is (or, at least, is claimed to be) and some of the issues involved. And to point you toward more sources about stuff I've put a bibliography online that lists a bunch (but certainly not all!) of the papers on the topic. And while looking around online, you should visit Mark Steen's website "StuffOntologyMan", for more recommendations about stuff.
And then, of course, there's always my paper on this topic: "Some Things About Stuff", available online here. I'd appreciate any comments on it . . .

Comments

[Rich]

Thanks! that'll keep me quiet for a good chuck of time!

[Mark Steen]

From one who is doing his dissertation on stuff ontologies, I give a hearty thumbs-up to your recommendations for initial readings. The only others I'd put at the top of the list are Henry Laycock's "Theories of Matter" (don't have source handy) and "Some Questions of Ontology" (Phil Review 81), and Michael Jubien's "Thinking About Things" (Phil Perspectives supplement, 15, Metaphysics 2001). What tops the second tier for those still interested is Michael Jubien's book _Ontology, Modality, and the Fallacy of Reference_. All of these are of course in your biblio.
As far as the "Stuff Ontology Man" site, I have to apologize for leaving it so un-updated for so long...it might remain relatively unaltered until I defend around March. But, anyone who knows some interesting links should email me! I'm keeping a list and they'll eventually get on there...

[Mark Steen]

Oh, Shieva (and others interested), I forgot to mention that SEP has a new entry up on 'reism', or the doctrine that only things exist, over at
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/reism/
You might also want to check out, for a contrast, if you haven't already, Henry Laycock's entry there on 'Object' at
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/object/
Anyways, maybe you know about all this already, but, just wanted to point it out.

[Mark Steen]

One final note. On reading the 'Reism' post, it is only peripherally related to stuff ontology.