[telemachos]

Given your comments, I'm would recommend W.V. Quine (staunchly realist, writes wonderfully clearly, very rigorous, a logician at heart). A good collection of basic essays is Quintessence, and a good first essay might be 'On What There Is'[1][2]. (Arguably his most important book-length work is Word and Object, but I wouldn't recommend starting there.) Here's the first paragraph (complete) to give you a sense of how well he writes:

>> A curious thing about the ontological problem is its simplicity. It can be put in three Anglo-Saxon monosyllables: ‘What is there?’ It can be answered, moreover, in a word—‘Everything’—and everyone will accept this answer as true. However, this is merely to say that there is what there is. There remains room for disagreement over cases; and so the issue has stayed alive down the centuries.

[1] Online: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/On_What_There_Is

[2] Original source: http://www.jstor.org/pss/20123117

[JoeAltmaier]

Gotta side with Tichy on this one. That sounds exactly like self-indulgent nonsense. Talk around the question, sound cute, but don't answer anything or even inform how you plan to proceed.

[telemachos]

Don't think in terms of sides. I'm not "against" Tichy. He asked for reading recommendations, and I gave him one. I wasn't trying to prove him wrong about anything. I suggested Quine because he often appeals to mathematically minded realists, and I think he's very smart and writes well.

As for the article, try the whole thing before you judge it (it's not very long at all). Quine is not being frivolous, and he takes pains to explain exactly what he means as the piece goes on.