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