'Informative, accessible, and fun to read-- this is an excellent reference guide for undergraduates and anyone wanting an introduction to the fundamental issues of metaphysics. I know of no other resource like it.' Meghan Griffith, Davidson College, USA 'Marvellous This book provides the very best place to start for students wanting to take the first step into understanding metaphysics.Undergraduates would do well to buy it and consult it regularly. The quality and clarity of the material are consistently high.' Chris Daly, University of Manchester, UK Ever wondered about Gunk, Brains in a...

'Hume on Causation' is dedicated to Hume's views on causation. It places Hume's interest in causation within the context of his theory of the mind and his theory of causal reasoning, arguing that Hume's conception of causation derives from his conception of the nature of the inference from causes to effects.

This comprehensive introductory guide includes discussion of the major contemporary positions on compatibilism and incompatibilism, and of the central arguments that are a focus of the current debate, including the Consequence Argument, manipulation arguments, and Frankfurt's famous argument against the 'Principle of Alternate Possibilities.

Essentialism--roughly, the view that natural kinds have discrete essences, generating truths that are necessary but knowable only a posteriori--is an increasingly popular view in the metaphysics of science. At the same time, philosophers of language have been subjecting Kripke's views about the existence and scope of the necessary a posteriori to rigorous analysis and criticism. Essentialists typically appeal to Kripkean semantics to motivate their radical extension of the realm of the necessary a posteriori; but they rarely attempt to provide any semantic arguments for this extension, or...

Ever wondered about 'Gunk', 'Brains in a Vat' or 'Frankfurt's Nefarious Neurosurgeon'? With complete explanations of these terms and more, this book is an accessible and engaging introduction to the most widely studied and challenging concepts in metaphysics.

This collection brings together key contemporary texts in metaphysics and features an interactive commentary which helps readers engage the texts critically and to use them to develop their own views.

• Each text is followed by a detailed commentary, setting it in context
  
• Includes questions designed to help readers think hard about what the author is saying and why, to think of objections, and to formulate his or her own views
  
• Aims to improve the reader's ability to engage critically with philosophical texts, and to use them as a...