The Bloomsbury Companion to Metaphysics

by Manson, Neil A.; Barnard, Robert W.

• ISBN13: 9781472585851
• ISBN10: 1472585852
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2015-02-12
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

Bridging the gap between the familiar figures of the history of philosophy and the technical approaches favoured by contemporary philosophers, The Bloomsbury Companion to Metaphysics introduces the key ideas and debates needed to understand analytic metaphysics.

Presenting an effective syllabus for an introductory course in contemporary metaphysics, this companion brings together a team of leading metaphysicians. It begins with a comprehensive introduction to methodological problems and methods, before tackling the perennial metaphysical questions surrounding core topics such as:

• Modality
• Universals and Abstract Objects
• Naturalism and Physicalism
• Mind
• Free Will
• God

Author Biography

Neil A. Manson is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Mississippi, USA. He is the editor of God and Design: The Teleological Argument and Modern Science (2003).

Robert W. Barnard is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Mississippi, USA.

Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors
Introduction, Robert W. Barnard (University of Mississippi, USA)
1. Research Problems and Methods, Amie L. Thomasson (University of Miami, USA)
2. Modality, Tony Roy (California State University, USA)
3. Universals and Abstract Objects, Roy T. Cook (University of Minnesota, USA)
4. Naturalism and Physicalism, D. Gene Witmer (University of Florida, USA)
5. Mind, Thomas W. Polger (University of Cincinnati, USA)
6. Material Constitution, Stephan Blatti (University of Memphis, USA)
7. Endurantism and Perdurantism, Nikk Effingham (University of Birmingham, UK)
8. Personal Identity, David B. Hershenov (State University of New York, USA)
9. Free Will, Kevin Timpe (Northwest Nazarene University, USA)
10. God, Graham Oppy (Monash University, Australia)
11. New Directions in Metaphysics, Tony Roy and Matthew Davidson (California State University, USA)
Annotated Bibliography
Research Guide
A- Z of Key Terms and Concepts
Index