Substance: Its Nature and Existence (Problems of Philosophy) - Softcover

Hoffman, Joshua

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415140323 ISBN 13: 9780415140324

Publisher: Routledge, 1996

Synopsis

Substance has been a leading idea in the history of Western philosophy. Joshua Hoffman and Gary S. Rosenkrantz explain the nature and existence of individual substances, including both living things and inanimate objects. Specifically written for students new to this important and often complex subject, Substance provides both the historical and contemporary overview of the debate.
Great Philosophers of the past, such as Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibnitz, Locke, and Berkeley were profoundly interested in the concept of substance. And, the authors argue, a belief in the existence of substances is an integral part of our everyday world view. But what constitutes substance? Was Aristotle right to suggest that artefacts like tables and ships don't really exist?
Substance: Its Nature and Existence is one of the first non-technical, accessible guides to this central problem and will be of great use to students of metaphysics and philosophy.

About this title

Review:

"The issues discussed...are at the center of one of the most lively debates in contemporary metaphysics; and the position Hoffman and Rosenkrantz stake out is appealing and carefully articulated. Their views deserve careful attention from philosophers working on the metaphysics of persistence through time, personal identity, artifact identity, and mereology."
-"The Philosophical Review
"H&R's book is a challenging read whose definitions are explicated with great rigour and exactness."
-"International Philosophical Quarterly, March 1998 Vol. XXXVIII, No. 1 Issue No. 149
"Extremely well organised and written in a clear, uncluttered and economical style."
-E. J. Lowe, University of Durham

From the Back Cover:

Substance: Its Nature and Existence is one of the first accessible introductions to the history and contemporary debates surrounding the idea of substance. An important and often complex issue, substance is at the heart of Western philosophy. Substances are distinguished from other kinds of entities such as properties, events, times, and places. This book investigates the very nature and existence of individual substances, including both living things and inanimate objects. Taking as their starting point the major philosophers in the historical debate - Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, and Hume - Joshua Hoffman and Gary S. Rosenkrantz move on to a novel analysis of substance in terms of a kind of independence which insubstantial entities do not possess. The authors explore causal theories of the unity of the parts of inanimate objects and organisms; contemporary views about substance; the idea that the only existing physical substances are inanimate pieces of matter and living organisms, and that artifacts such as clocks, and natural formations like stars, do not really exist. Substance: Its Nature and Existence provides students of philosophy and metaphysics with an introduction to and critical engagement with a key philosophical issue.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0415140323
• ISBN 13: 9780415140324
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 232