"Metaphysics is surely one of the most fascinating, and misunderstood, areas of philosophy. This very entertaining and accessible book provides an excellent introduction to metaphysics. If you've ever wondered 'what is time?' or 'what is the world made up of, most fundamentally?' or 'what kinds of things are causes?', then this is the book for you. It's a great place to start thinking about, and going some way towards answering, these questions (and more besides)."
Kristie Miller, University of Sydney
"This precious short book has as its aim to demonstrate, by example, the inevitability and pervasiveness of metaphysics. John Heil leads readers through the main metaphysical topics, enabling them to become aware of their own metaphysical preconceptions and to start thinking about those topics in a reflective way. An essential book."
Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra, University of Oxford
Preface
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Time goes By - Or Does It?
Chapter 3 Appearance and Reality
Chapter 4 What there Is
Chapter 5 What Else there Is
Chapter 6 One from Many, Many from One
Chapter 7 Aristotle vs Hume
Chapter 8 Is this Chapter Really Necessary?
Chapter 9 Conscious Minds
Chapter 10 Free Will
Chapter 11 Are We there Yet?
Index
John Heil is Professor of Philosophy at Washington University in St Louis, Professor of Philosophy at Durham University, and an Honorary Research Associate at Monash University. Professor Heil is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities and is listed among the 50 Most Influential Living Philosophers.