Helen Beebee

Reading Metaphysics

Selected Texts with Interactive Commentary
Herausgeber: Beebee, Helen; Dodd, Julian

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

This collection brings together key contemporary texts in metaphysics. Designed for students and general readers, it has a distinctive pedagogical aim: to enable readers to engage critically with challenging philosophical texts, and thereby use such texts as a springboard for their own philosophical thought and writing. Each text is followed by a detailed commentary, which puts the author's views and arguments into context, explains key terms and argumentative moves, and - most importantly - asks a variety of questions. The questions are designed to prompt the reader to think critically about what the author is saying and why she is saying it, to think of objections, and to formulate and justify his or her own views on the topic. The book includes texts by Kripke, Lewis, Parfit, Armstrong, Nagel, and Dennett, amongst others, and discusses the following topics: free will, personal identity, realism and nominalism, modality, persistence, and realism and anti-realism.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Wiley
• Seitenzahl: 256
• Erscheinungstermin: 5. Januar 2007
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 244mm x 170mm x 14mm
• Gewicht: 448g
• ISBN-13: 9781405123679
• ISBN-10: 1405123672
• Artikelnr.: 22007830

Autorenporträt

Helen Beebee is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham. She is the author of Hume on Causation (2006) and co-editor, with Julian Dodd, of Truthmakers: The Contemporary Debate (2005). Julian Dodd is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Manchester. He is the author of Works of Music: An Essay in Ontology (2007) and An Identity Theory of Truth (2000), and co-editor of Truthmakers: The Contemporary Debate (2005).

Inhaltsangabe

Sources and Acknowledgements viii
Introduction 1
1 Personal Identity 9
Introduction 9
Derek Parfit, 'Personal Identity' 13
Commentary on Parfit 30
Marya Schechtman, 'Personhood and Personal Identity' 36
Commentary on Schechtman 54
Further Reading 59
Essay Questions 59
2 Free Will 60
Introduction 60
Peter van Inwagen, 'The Incompatibility of Free Will and Determinism' 62
Commentary on van Inwagen 75
Daniel Dennett, 'Could Have Done Otherwise' (extract from Elbow Room) 82
Commentary on Dennett 93
Further Reading 97
Essay Questions 97
Appendix 98
3 Realism and Anti-realism 100
Introduction 100
Donald Davidson, 'On the Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme' 106
Commentary on Davidson 117
Thomas Nagel, 'Thought and Reality' (extract from The View from Nowhere)
125
Commentary on Nagel 139
Further reading 145
Essay questions 145
4 Realism and Nominalism 146
Introduction 146
Michael Devitt, ' ''Ostrich Nominalism''or ''Mirage Realism''?' 150
Commentary on Devitt 157
D. M. Armstrong, 'Against ''Ostrich'' Nominalism: A Reply to Michael
Devitt' 160
Commentary on Armstrong 170
Further reading 173
Essay questions 174
5 Possible Worlds 175
Introduction 175
David Lewis, extract from Counterfactuals 183
Commentary on Lewis 187
Saul Kripke, extract from Naming and Necessity 192
Commentary on Kripke 197
Further reading 203
Essay questions 203
6 Persistence over Time 204
Introduction 204
David Lewis, extract from On the Plurality of Worlds 209
Commentary on Lewis 212
Sally Haslanger, 'Endurance and Temporary Intrinsics' 214
Commentary on Haslanger 220
David Lewis, 'Tensing the Copula' 223
Commentary on Lewis 230
Further reading 233
Essay questions 233
Bibliography 234
Index 240

Rezensionen

"A book that speaks directly to students. By combiningaccessible text selections with insightful commentary, cleargraphic devices for navigating within each chapter, and thoughtfulquestions, this new collection provides an invaluable teaching toolfor major areas of contemporary metaphysics."
Dale Jacquette, The Pennsylvania State University

"Reading Metaphysics is the perfect hybrid of anattentively edited anthology and a lucidly instructive textbook.Instead of overwhelming us with dozens of selections, the editorshave expertly chosen a small number of contemporary readings, thusgiving readers the time to probe deeply into the selected topicsand, more importantly, the time to learn how to take apart andinteract with a philosophical text. While the readings arewell-selected, the true strength of this book lies in theeditors' commentary. Students will leave this book ready, andeager, to take on more metaphysics and teachers will notice amarked improvement in their students' philosophicalability."
Andrew P. Mills, Otterbein College