Abstract

This survey paper pursues three aims. The first aim is to sketch the overall role that grounding plays in Bolzano’s philosophy and to indicate some historical roots of his views, namely Aristotle’s conception of scientific proofs and the rationalist’s debate about the Principle of Sufficient Reason. The second aim is to provide readers coming from the current debate about metaphysical grounding with an accessible overview of Bolzano’s mature conception of grounding. The third and final aim of the paper is to introduce elements and terminology from Bolzano’s conceptual and ontological framework that are required to understand his theory of grounding.