Theodore Sider & John Hawthorne 
Contemporary Debates in Metaphysics [EPUB ebook] 

In a series of thought-provoking and original essays, eighteen leading philosophers engage in head-to-head debates of nine of the most cutting edge topics in contemporary metaphysics.

* Explores the fundamental questions in contemporary metaphysics in a series of eighteen original essays – 16 of which are newly commissioned for this volume

* Features an introductory essay by the editors on the nature of metaphysics to prepare the reader for ongoing discussions

* Offers readers the unique opportunity to observe leading philosophers engage in head-to-head debate on cutting-edge metaphysical topics

* Provides valuable insights into the flourishing field of contemporary metaphysics

Spis treści

Notes on Contributors vii

Introduction Theodore Sider 1

Abstract Entities 9

1.1 Abstract Entities Chris Swoyer 11

1.2 There Are No Abstract Objects Cian Dorr 32

Causation and Laws of Nature 65

2.1 Nailed to Hume’s Cross? John W. Carroll 67

2.2 Causation and Laws of Nature: Reductionism Jonathan Schaffer 82

Modality and Possible Worlds 109

3.1 Concrete Possible Worlds Phillip Bricker 111

3.2 Ersatz Possible Worlds Joseph Melia 135

Personal Identity 153

4.1 People and Their Bodies Judith Jarvis Thomson 155

4.2 Persons, Bodies, and Human Beings Derek Parfit 177

Time 209

5.1 The Privileged Present: Defending an 'A-Theory’ of Time
Dean Zimmerman 211

5.2 The Tenseless Theory of Time J. J. C. Smart 226

Persistence 239

6.1 Temporal Parts Theodore Sider 241

6.2 Three-Dimensionalism vs. Four-Dimensionalism John Hawthorne 263

Free Will 283

7.1 Incompatibilism Robert Kane 285

7.2 Compatibilism, Incompatibilism, and Impossibilism Kadri Vihvelin 303

Mereology 319

8.1 The Moon and Sixpence: A Defense of Mereological Universalism
James Van Cleve 321

8.2 Restricted Composition Ned Markosian 341

Metaontology 365

9.1 Ontological Arguments: Interpretive Charity and Quantifier Variance
Eli Hirsch 367

9.2 The Picture of Reality as an Amorphous Lump Matti Eklund 382

Index 397

O autorze

Theodore Sider is Professor of Philosophy at New York University. He is the author of Four-Dimensionalism and (with Earl Conee) Riddles of Existence.

John Hawthorne is Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at the University of Oxford. He is the author of Metaphysical Essays, and has published widely in metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, and Leibniz studies.

Dean W. Zimmerman is Associate Professor in the Philosophy department at Rutgers University. He is editor of Oxford Studies in Metaphysics, and author of numerous articles in metaphysics and philosophy of religion.