Metaphysics - Couverture souple

Inwagen, Peter Van

 
9780198751403: Metaphysics

Synopsis

Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that attempts to answer the deepest questions about how things really are. The author builds his textbook around these crucial questions: what are the most general features of the world; why does the world exist and what is the nature of rational beings and their place in the world. This text surveys the traditional answers to these questions and shows by example how to think about them more clearly and deeply on one's own. It introduces most of the perennial topics of metaphysics, including appearance and reality, identity and individuation, objectivity, necessary existence of mind and body, teleology and freedom of the will.

Les informations fournies dans la section « Synopsis » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Présentation de l'éditeur

Accepting the traditional definition of metaphysics as the study of ultimate reality, Peter van Inwagen builds this strikingly original 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 while teaching his readers through example how to think about them more clearly and deeply on their own. By the end of the book, he has introduced 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.Engaging and provocative, but always fair and reasonable, Metaphysics provides both a lucid guide to the study of First Questions and a paradigm of philosophical exposition. It will immediately take its place at the forefront of leading contemporary texts on metaphysics.

Quatrième de couverture

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.

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Autres éditions populaires du même titre