Metaphysics: A Guide and Anthology

Description

This anthology provides a complete and self-contained introduction to metaphysics. Both an anthology and commentary, it contains an extensive collection of the best classical and contemporary readings on the subject, as well as substantial editorial material, which set the extracts in context and guide the reader through them. The book is divided into 10 sections, providing instructors with flexibility in designing and teaching a variety of courses.

• Complete introduction to Metaphysics
• Combines 54 classic writings on the subject with a substantial, broad-ranging introduction and detailed introductions to each of the ten parts of the book (the editorial material amounts to about 130 pages)
• Discussion questions and further reading at the end of each part stimulate the student and make this book ideal for course use and seminar discussion
• The flexible structure enables teachers to plan a number of different kinds of courses based on this book
• Introductory material is clear and accessible

About the Author(s)

Edited by Tim Crane, Professor of Philosophy, University College London, and Katalin Farkas, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Central European University, Budapest.

Table of Contents

I God
Intorduction:
1:Why Anything? Why This?, Derek Parfit
2:The five ways, Thomas Aquinas
3:Extract from Natural Theology, William Paley
4:Extract from Proslogion, Anselm of Canterbury
5:Extract from Monadology, G.W. Leibniz
6:Evil and omnipotence, J.L. Mackie
II Realism and Idealism
Introduction
7:Selection from Essay Concerning Human Understanding, John Locke
8:Selection from Three Dialogues, George Berkeley
9:Selection from Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant
10:Selection from Matter and Sense
11:Realism, Michael Dummett
III Being
Introduction
12:Selection from Categories, Aristotle
13:Selection from Essay Concerning Human Understanding, John Locke
14:Primitive Thisness and Primitive Identity, Robert Merrihew Adams
15:On what there is, W.V. Quine
16:Selection from Material Beings, Peter van Inwagen
17:Can there be vague objects?, Gareth Evans
18:Vague Identity: Evans misunderstood, David Lewis
Part IV Universals and Particulars
Introduction
19:Selections from Republic and Parmenides, Plato
20:Selection from Universals: An Opinionated Introduction, D.M. Armstrong
21:Selection from New work for a theory of universals, David Lewis
22:On the Elements of Being: I, Donald C. Williams
23:Causality and Properties, Sydney Shoemaker
Part V Necessity
Introduction
24:Selection from Naming and Necessity, Saul Kripke
25:Selection from On the Plurality of Worlds, David Lewis
26:Actualism and Possible Worlds, Alvin Plantinga
27:Selection from A Combinational Theory of Possibility, D.M. Armstrong
Part VI Causation
Introduction
28:Selection from Metaphysics, Aristotle
29:Selection from Enquiy Concerning Human Understanding, David Hume
30:Causation, David Lewis
31:Causal Relations, Donald Davidson
32:Selections from The Faces of Causation, D.H. Mellor
VII Time and Space
Introduction
33:Selection from Physics, Aristotle
34:Selection from The Nature of Existence, J.M.E McTaggart
35:Changes in Events and Changes in Things, Arthur N. Prior
36:Selection from Asymmetries in Time, Paul Horwich
37:Selection from The Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence
38:The space-time world, J.J.C. Smart
39:The Paradoxes of Time Travel, David Lewis
Part VIII Identity
Introduction
40:Identity through Time, Roderick M. Chisholm
41:Selection from On the Plurality of Worlds, David Lewis
42:Personal Identity, Derek Parfit
43:Persons, Animals, and Ourselves, P.F. Snowdon
Part IX Mind and Body
Introduction
44:Selection from Meditations on First Philosophy, Rene Descartes
45: Selection from New System of the Nature of Substances, G.W. Leibniz
46:Selections from Thought, Gilbert Harman
47:Psychophysical and theoretical identifications, David Lewis
48:Selection from Thinking Causes, Donald Davidson
49:What is it like to be a bat?, Thomas Nagel
X Freedom and Determinism
Introduction
50: Selection from Treatise of Human Nature, David Hume
51:Freedom of the will and the concept of a person, Harry Frankfurt
52:The incompatibility of freewill and determinism, Peter van Inwagen
53:Freedom from Physics: Quantum Mechanics and Free Will, Barry Loewer
54:Human Freedom and the self, Roderick M. Chisholm

Reviews

"This is the best anthology of metaphysics that I know of. It covers all the right topics with a good mix of classic and contemporary articles. Especially useful are the simple, elegant introductions to the various sections of the anthology" - Peter Menzies, Macquarie University

"An excellent volume. Impressive editorial skill is displayed in introducing the student to all of the venerable and central elements of metaphysics. Concise and elegant introductory essays for each theme guide the reader deftly through a judicious selection of over 50 classic readings. It is difficult to imagine a contemporary course in metaphysics that would not benefit from making substantial use of this most welcome resource" - John Divers, University of Sheffield