Metaphysics: An Introduction combines comprehensive coverage of the core elements of metaphysics with contemporary and lively debates within the subject. It provides a rigorous and yet accessible overview of a rich array of topics, connecting the abstract nature of metaphysics with the real world. Topics covered include:

Basic logic for metaphysics

An introduction to ontology

Abstract objects

Material objects

Critiques of metaphysics

Free will

Time

Modality

Persistence

Causation

Social ontology: the metaphysics of race

This outstanding book not only equips the reader with a thorough knowledge of the fundamentals of metaphysics but provides a valuable guide to contemporary metaphysics and metaphysicians.

Additional features such as exercises, annotated further reading, a glossary, and a companion website www.routledge.com/cw/ney will help students find their way around this subject and assist teachers in the classroom.

About the Author

Alyssa Ney is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of California - Davis, USA. She is editor (with David Albert) of The Wave Function: Essays in the Metaphysics of Quantum Mechanics (2013).