Metaphysics

The Big Questions

van Inwagen, Peter / Zimmerman, Dean W. (Editor)

Philosophy: The Big Questions

2. Edition February 2008
654 Pages, Softcover
Practical Approach Book

ISBN: 978-1-4051-2586-4

John Wiley & Sons

Short Description

This extensively revised and expanded edition of van Inwagen and Zimmerman's popular collection of readings in metaphysics now features twenty-two additional selections, new sections on existence and reality, and an updated editorial commentary.

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.

Preface to Second Edition.

Introduction: What is metaphysics?

Part I: What are the most general features of the world?

A. What is existence?

B. What is the relationship between an individual and its characteristics?

C. What is time? What is space?

D. How do things persist through changes of parts and properties?

E. How do causes bring about their effects?

Part II: What is our place in the world?

A. How are mind and body related?

B. Is it possible for us to act freely?

Part III: Are there many worlds?

A. Are there worlds other than the actual world?

B. Is there more than one actual world?

Part IV: Why is there a world?

Peter van Inwagen is John Cardinal O'Hara Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of The Problem of Evil (2006), Ontology, Identity, and Modality (2001), God, Knowledge, and Mystery: Essays in Philosophical Theology (1995), Metaphysics (1993), Material Beings (1990), and An Essay on Free Will (1983).

Dean Zimmerman is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University. He has published articles on metaphysics in a number of journals and collections, including The American Philosophical Quarterly, Analysis, The Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Mind, The Monist, Nous, The Philosophical Review, and Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. He is also editor of the Oxford Studies in Metaphysics series.

P. van Inwagen, University of Notre Dame; D. W. Zimmerman, Rutgers University