The alternative to realism sketched in this book proposes a way of thinking in which 'things' are replaced with 'events'. Objects and entities are not inert things lurching from moment to moment. They are events deemed important enough or, like hurricanes, lively enough, to warrant naming for future reference.

I know these sketches will not convince anyone that the world is not an actual place full of actual things, but I think I can persuade readers to take an alternative account for a test drive.

In this rendition, events have pride of place. Notions of things and entities...