Synopsis
What are the most general features of the world? Why does the world exist? And what is the nature and place of rational beings in the world?In Metaphysics , van Inwagen surveys the classical answers to these questions and provides examples of how to think about them more clearly and deeply. He introduces readers to most of the perennial topics of metaphysics, including appearance and reality, identity and individuation, objectivity, necessary existence, mind and body, teleology, and freedom of the will. }Accepting the traditional definition of metaphysics as the study of ultimate reality, Peter van Inwagen builds this textbook around three crucial questions: What are the most general features of the world? Why does the world exist? And what is the nature and place of rational beings in the world?In the informal but precise style for which he is known, van Inwagen surveys the classical answers to these questions and provides examples of how to think about them more clearly and deeply. He introduces readers to most of the perennial topics of metaphysics, including appearance and reality, identity and individuation, objectivity, necessary existence, mind and body, teleology, and freedom of the will. Metaphysics is engaging and provocative, and through it van Inwagen provides a lucid guide to the study of First Questions and a paradigm of philosophical exposition. }
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Review
"An outstanding and outstandingly complete set of papers in metaphysics, selected by two of the foremost metaphysicians." Alvin Plantinga, University of Notre Dame
From the Back Cover
This extensively revised and expanded edition of van Inwagen and Zimmerman s popular collection of classic and contemporary readings in metaphysics now features twenty–two additional selections, and new sections on existence and modality.
The volume poses questions that lead to the deepest issues in traditional metaphysics, including problems about the nature of space and time, the relationship between body and mind, and the freedom of the will. With updated commentary from the editors, this collection is essential reading for those seeking answers to some of the most puzzling questions about the world and our place in it.
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