Description

Book Synopsis

Metaphysics, at least roughly speaking, is the systematic investigation of fundamental presuppositions underlying commonsense and scientific views of the world. Most of us believe that we have bodies and minds, that we are free, that some things in the world are composed of other things and that these things interact causally with one another; we believe that, in addition to the way things are, there are other ways things could have been, and so on. Common sense tells us that things change and time passes, but contemporary physics tells us (or seems to tell us) that past, present, and future are somehow metaphysically on a parâthat the past isnât gone and the future is already real. Common sense and science both take it for granted that the world is governed by laws, and that the laws in some sense represent how things must go in the world (as opposed simply to telling us how they in fact happen to go). Metaphysicians investigate all of these assumptions, and more. They ask what it is to be a body or a mind, and what the relation between body and mind might be; they ask what freedom consists in, and whether freedom is possible; they ask about the nature and possibility of causation, change, and the passage of time; they try to figure out what it takes to be a law of nature and whether the laws of nature might be necessary or contingent; and so on.

This four-volume collection will gather together many of the most important classic and contemporary writings on these and other central topics in metaphysics. Unlike some of the other collections in this series, the classic writings will not occupy their own volume (or even their own section); rather, they will be sprinkled throughout as appropriate to the topics under consideration. Below is a tentative list of volume-titles, along with select tentative section headings (to give some indication of the topics that will be covered in each volume).

Structure:

Vol. I: Foundations

â Meta-Ontology

â Propositions, States of Affairs, and Events

â Universals, Properties, and Kinds

â Substances, Bundles, and Substrata

Vol. II: Metaphysics of Modality

â Possible Worlds

â Actualism and Possibilism

â Essentialism

â Causation and Laws of Nature

â Reduction and Supervenience

Vol. III: Time and Identity

â Time

â Individuation

â Composition and Material Constitution

â Change and Persistence

â Realism, Anti-Realism, and Vagueness

Vol. IV: God and Persons

â The Existence of God

â Mind and Body

â Personhood and the Self

â Fatalism, Determinism, and Free Agency

Metaphysics

    Product form

    £997.50

    Includes FREE delivery

    RRP £1,050.00 – you save £52.50 (5%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Mon 13 Jul 2026.

    By Michael Rea

    1 in stock

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of Metaphysics by Michael Rea

      Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
      Publication Date: 2/1/2008
      ISBN13: 9780415397513, 978-0415397513
      ISBN10: 0415397510
      Also in:
      Philosophy: metaphysics and ontology

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      Metaphysics, at least roughly speaking, is the systematic investigation of fundamental presuppositions underlying commonsense and scientific views of the world. Most of us believe that we have bodies and minds, that we are free, that some things in the world are composed of other things and that these things interact causally with one another; we believe that, in addition to the way things are, there are other ways things could have been, and so on. Common sense tells us that things change and time passes, but contemporary physics tells us (or seems to tell us) that past, present, and future are somehow metaphysically on a parâthat the past isnât gone and the future is already real. Common sense and science both take it for granted that the world is governed by laws, and that the laws in some sense represent how things must go in the world (as opposed simply to telling us how they in fact happen to go). Metaphysicians investigate all of these assumptions, and more. They ask what it is to be a body or a mind, and what the relation between body and mind might be; they ask what freedom consists in, and whether freedom is possible; they ask about the nature and possibility of causation, change, and the passage of time; they try to figure out what it takes to be a law of nature and whether the laws of nature might be necessary or contingent; and so on.

      This four-volume collection will gather together many of the most important classic and contemporary writings on these and other central topics in metaphysics. Unlike some of the other collections in this series, the classic writings will not occupy their own volume (or even their own section); rather, they will be sprinkled throughout as appropriate to the topics under consideration. Below is a tentative list of volume-titles, along with select tentative section headings (to give some indication of the topics that will be covered in each volume).

      Structure:

      Vol. I: Foundations

      â Meta-Ontology

      â Propositions, States of Affairs, and Events

      â Universals, Properties, and Kinds

      â Substances, Bundles, and Substrata

      Vol. II: Metaphysics of Modality

      â Possible Worlds

      â Actualism and Possibilism

      â Essentialism

      â Causation and Laws of Nature

      â Reduction and Supervenience

      Vol. III: Time and Identity

      â Time

      â Individuation

      â Composition and Material Constitution

      â Change and Persistence

      â Realism, Anti-Realism, and Vagueness

      Vol. IV: God and Persons

      â The Existence of God

      â Mind and Body

      â Personhood and the Self

      â Fatalism, Determinism, and Free Agency

      Recently viewed products

      © 2026 Book Curl

        • American Express
        • Apple Pay
        • Diners Club
        • Discover
        • Google Pay
        • Maestro
        • Mastercard
        • PayPal
        • Shop Pay
        • Union Pay
        • Visa

        Login

        Forgot your password?

        Don't have an account yet?
        Create account