Download or read book A Survey of Metaphysics written by E. Jonathan Lowe and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 2002-01-01 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Survey of Metaphysics provides a systematic overview of modern metaphysics, covering all of the most important topics likely to be encountered on a metaphysics course. The conception of metaphysics underlying the book is the fairly traditional and widely-shared one that metaphysics deals with the deepest questions that can be raised concerning the fundamental structure of reality as a whole. The book is divided into six main parts, each relatively self-contained, focusing in turn on the following major themes: identity and change, necessity and essence, causation, agency and events, space and time, and universals and particulars. In an introductory chapter, the conception of metaphysics underlying the book is explained and defended against the many and varied opponents of metaphysics those students are likely to encounter. While the book makes reference when necessary to the history of metaphysics, its emphasis is on contemporary views and issues. The author's approach is not narrowly partisan, but avoids bland neutrality in matters of controversy.
Download or read book Survey of Metaphysics and Esoterism written by Frithjof Schuon and published by Library of Traditional Wisdom. This book was released on 2000 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A near complete survey of Schuon's thought in the areas of cosmology and metaphysical principles.
Download or read book The Possibility of Metaphysics written by E. J. Lowe and published by Clarendon Press. This book was released on 1998-10-08 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jonathan Lowe argues that metaphysics should be restored to a central position in philosophy, as the most fundamental form of rational inquiry, whose findings underpin those of all other disciplines. He portrays metaphysics as charting the possibilities of existence, by idetifying the categories of being and the relations of ontological dependency between entities of different categories. He proceeds to set out a unified and original metaphysical system: he defends a substance ontology, according to which the existence of the world s one world in time depends upon the existence of persisting things which retain their identity over time and through processes of qualitative change. And he contends that even necessary beings, such as the abstract objects of mathematics, depend ultimately for their existence upon there being a concrete world of enduring substances. Within his system of metaphysics Lowe seeks to answer many of the deepest and most challenging questions in philosophy.
Download or read book Metaphysics written by Michael J. Loux and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 582 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Metaphysics: Contemporary Readingsis a comprehensive anthology that draws together leading philosophers writing on the major themes in Metaphysics. Chapter sections cover: Universals; Particulars; Modality and Possible Worlds; Causation; Time; and Realism and Anti-Realism. The readings are designed to complement Michael Loux'sMetaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction, 2nd Edition.
Download or read book Metaphysics written by Michael Loux and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2006-09-27 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Metaphysics' is aimed at students of metaphysics who have already completed an introductory philosophy course. This third edition provides a fresh look at the key topics in metaphysics and includes new chapters on time and causation.
Download or read book Methods of Metaphysics written by Alan White and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-03-29 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in 1987. This book comprises a critical exposition of the thoughts on metaphysics of the major philosophers of the tradition. It introduces the ideas of these philosophers to students but is of interest to teachers as well. The author begins with a survey of the metaphysical writings of Plato, Aristotle, Berkeley, Leibniz and Bradley, clarifying throughout the relation of their methods and results to those of science. He follows this with a careful study of the critical attitudes to metaphysics espoused by Kant, Wittgenstein and the Logical Positivists. In the final section he scrutinizes the attempts by Collingwood, Wisdom and Lazerowitz to rehabilitate metaphysics.
Download or read book More Kinds of Being written by E. J. Lowe and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-02-23 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Taking into account significant developments in the metaphysical thinking of E. J. Lowe over the past 20 years, More Kinds of Being: A Further Study of Individuation, Identity, and the Logic of Sortal Terms presents a thorough reworking and expansion of the 1989 edition of Kinds of Being. Brings many of the original ideas and arguments put forth in Kinds of Being thoroughly up to date in light of new developments Features a thorough reworking and expansion of the earlier work, rather than just a new edition Reflects the author's conversion to what he calls 'the four-category ontology,' a metaphysical system that takes its inspiration from Aristotle Provides a unified discussion of individuation and identity that should prove to be essential reading for philosophers working in metaphysics.
Download or read book Metaphysics written by Alyssa Ney and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-08-13 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Metaphysics: An Introduction combines comprehensive coverage of the core elements of metaphysics with contemporary and lively debates within the subject. It provides a rigorous and yet accessible overview of a rich array of topics, connecting the abstract nature of metaphysics with the real world. Topics covered include: Basic logic for metaphysics An introduction to ontology Abstract objects Material objects Critiques of metaphysics Free will Time Modality Persistence Causation Social ontology: the metaphysics of race This outstanding book not only equips the reader with a thorough knowledge of the fundamentals of metaphysics but provides a valuable guide to contemporary metaphysics and metaphysicians. Additional features such as exercises, annotated further reading, a glossary, and a companion website www.routledge.com/cw/ney will help students find their way around this subject and assist teachers in the classroom.
Download or read book Process Philosophy written by Nicholas Rescher and published by University of Pittsburgh Pre. This book was released on 2012-01-11 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Process Philosophy surveys the basic issues and controversies surrounding the philosophical approach known as "process philosophy." Process philosophy views temporality, activity, and change as the cardinal factors for our understanding of the real—process has priority over product, both ontologically and epistemically. Rescher examines the movement’s historical origins, reflecting a major line of thought in the work of such philosophers as Heracleitus, Leibniz, Bergson, Peirce, William James, and especially A. N. Whitehead. Reacting against the tendency to associate process philosophy too closely with this last-named thinker, Rescher writes, “Indeed, one cardinal task for the partisans of process at this particular juncture of philosophical history is to prevent the idea of 'process philosophy' from being marginalized through a limitation of its bearing to the work and influence of any one single individual or group.” This book will appeal to both students and professors of philosophy. Those teachers who have not been trained in process philosophy will welcome this new text by one one of North America’s foremost philosophers as a perspicuous and informative introduction.
Download or read book This Is Metaphysics written by Kris McDaniel and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-05-07 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Metaphysics—the philosophical study of the nature of reality—is a dynamic sub-field which encompasses many of the most fundamental and elusive questions in contemporary analytic philosophy. A concise and focused introduction to contemporary metaphysics, This is Metaphysics: An Introduction takes readers with minimal technical knowledge of the field on a guided tour of the intellectual landscape of the discipline. Approachable and engaging, the book covers a broad range of key topics and principles in metaphysics, including classification, the nature and existence of properties, ontology, the nature of possibility and necessity, and fundamental questions concerning being and existence. Each chapter challenges readers to grapple with thought-provoking examples that build upon the seminal theoretical contributions of contemporary metaphysicians like Peter van Inwagen and David Lewis, and concludes with a “Doing Metaphysics” section encouraging readers to think through substantive metaphysical questions while weighing possible arguments and objections. A thoughtful and comprehensive introduction provides a framework for author Kris McDaniel’s pedagogical approach, and each section incorporates multi-platform online resources and plentiful footnotes to support further reading and deeper conceptual engagement. A welcome addition to the popular This is Philosophy series, This is Metaphysics is a reader-friendly survey of metaphysics for philosophy majors, undergraduates in introductory philosophy courses, and curious members of the general public interested in investigating this expansive and enigmatic area of study.
Download or read book Contemporary Debates in Metaphysics written by Theodore Sider and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-05-20 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a series of thought-provoking and original essays, eighteenleading philosophers engage in head-to-head debates of nine of themost cutting edge topics in contemporary metaphysics. Explores the fundamental questions in contemporary metaphysicsin a series of eighteen original essays - 16 of which are newlycommissioned for this volume Features an introductory essay by the editors on the nature ofmetaphysics to prepare the reader for ongoing discussions Offers readers the unique opportunity to observe leadingphilosophers engage in head-to-head debate on cutting-edgemetaphysical topics Provides valuable insights into the flourishing field ofcontemporary metaphysics
Download or read book The Evolution of Modern Metaphysics written by A. W. Moore and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 691 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book charts the evolution of metaphysics since Descartes and provides a compelling case for why metaphysics matters.
Download or read book The Atlas of Reality written by Robert C. Koons and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2017-04-17 with total page 725 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Atlas of Reality: A Comprehensive Guide to Metaphysics presents an extensive examination of the key topics, concepts, and guiding principles of metaphysics. Represents the most comprehensive guide to metaphysics available today Offers authoritative coverage of the full range of topics that comprise the field of metaphysics in an accessible manner while considering competing views Explores key concepts such as space, time, powers, universals, and composition with clarity and depth Articulates coherent packages of metaphysical theses that include neo-Aristotelian, Quinean, Armstrongian, and neo-Humean Carefully tracks the use of common assumptions and methodological principles in metaphysics
Download or read book The Four Category Ontology written by E. J. Lowe and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: E. J. Lowe sets out and defends his theory of what there is. His four-category ontology is a metaphysical system that recognizes two fundamental categorial distinctions which cut across each other to generate four fundamental ontological categories. The distinctions are between the particular and the universal and between the substantial and the non-substantial. The four categories thus generated are substantial particulars, non-substantial particulars, substantial universals andnon-substantial universals. Non-substantial universals include properties and relations, conceived as universals. Non-substantial particulars include property-instances and relation-instances, otherwise known as non-relational and relational tropes or modes. Substantial particulars include propertiedindividuals, the paradigm examples of which are persisting, concrete objects. Substantial universals are otherwise known as substantial kinds and include as paradigm examples natural kinds of persisting objects.This ontology has a lengthy pedigree, many commentators attributing it to Aristotle on the basis of certain passages in his apparently early work, the Categories. At various times during the history of Western philosophy, it has been revived or rediscovered, but it has never found universal favour, perhaps on account of its apparent lack of parsimony as well as its commitment to universals. In pursuit of ontological economy, metaphysicians have generally preferred to recognize fewerthan four fundamental ontological categories. However, Occam's razor stipulates only that we should not multiply entities beyond necessity; Lowe argues that the four-category ontology has an explanatory power unrivalled by more parsimonious systems, and that this counts decisively in its favour. He shows thatit provides a powerful explanatory framework for a unified account of causation, dispositions, natural laws, natural necessity and many other related matters, such as the semantics of counterfactual conditionals and the character of the truthmaking relation. As such, it constitutes a thoroughgoing metaphysical foundation for natural science.
Download or read book Process Metaphysics written by Nicholas Rescher and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 1996-02-01 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a synoptic, compact, and accessible exposition for readers who want to inform themselves regarding this influential and interesting sector of twentieth-century American philosophy.
Download or read book Metaphysics written by José Amado Benardete and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1989 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This survey of metaphysics covers the historical or classical aspects of the subject as well as those currently in the post-Wittgensteinian limelight--principally materialism, platonism, essentialism, and anti-realism. Benardete sees contemporary metaphysical preoccupations as more or less thinly disguised revisitings of those of the past, and explains how metaphysics and mathematical logic are interrelated and how metaphysical studies can illuminate both scinece and the humanities.
Download or read book Metaphysics The Basics written by Michael Rea and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-03-26 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Metaphysics: The Basics is a concise and engaging introduction to the philosophical study of the world and universe in which we live. Concerned with questions about reality, existence, time, identity and change, metaphysics has long fascinated people but to the uninitiated some of the issues and problems can appear very complex. In this lively and lucid book, Michael Rea examines and explains key questions in the study of metaphysics such as: • Can two things be in the same place at the same time? • Do creatures of fiction exist? • Are human beings free? • Is time travel possible? • Is there just one world or many worlds? With a glossary of key terms and suggestions for further reading, the book considers key philosophical arguments around Metaphysics, making this an ideal starting point for anyone seeking a full introduction to the debates both within and about metaphysics.
