ABSTRACT
Quantifier variance is the view that there are several distinct notions that are relevantly similar to our notion of unrestricted existence, and none of these notions are metaphysically distinguished. This chapter offers an overview of that thesis. We begin by stating the thesis with more care (§1), and sketching the main arguments that support it (§2). We then explore some challenges to the claim that there are several distinct existence-like notions (§3) and to the claim that these notions are metaphysically on a par (§4). And finally, we’ll consider what implications the view has for first-order ontological debates, particularly common-sense ontology (§5).
