Kris McDaniel - This Is Metaphysics

1 Cover

2 AN INTRODUCTION TO THIS IS METAPHYSICS AN INTRODUCTION TO THIS IS METAPHYSICS 0.1 Who is This Book for? 0.2 Philosophy, Including Metaphysics, is for Everyone 0.3 An Overview of Metaphysics and Other Areas of Philosophy 0.4 Remarks for Instructors 0.5 Acknowledgments

3 1 CLASSIFICATION1.1 Introduction 1.2 Two Kinds of Classification 1.3 Classification Confusions 1.4 Do Things Objectively Belong Together? 1.5 Two Questions about Classification 1.6 Classification and Properties 1.7 Doing Metaphysics Further Reading

4 2 PROPERTIES 2.1 Introduction to the Metaphysics of Properties 2.2 Are Properties Theoretical Posits? 2.3 Issues in Language: Reference to Properties in Ordinary Speech 2.4 More Issues in Language: Properties as the Referents of Predicates 2.5 Issues in Metaphysics: Causation 2.6 Issues in Metaphysics: The Ontology of Events 2.7 Issues in Metaphysics: The Ontology of Material Objects 2.8 Tropes, Universals, and States of Affairs 2.9 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Properties 2.10 Perceptual Qualities 2.11 Doing Metaphysics Further Reading

5 3 PARTS AND WHOLES 3.1 Introduction 3.2 The Sufficiently Stuck Together Theory 3.3 The Mind‐Dependence Theory of Composition 3.4 Life is the Answer? 3.5 Vagueness 3.6 Vagueness and Composition 3.7 A Radical Answer to the Special Composition Question: Compositional Nihilism 3.8 Another Radical Answer: Compositional Universalism 3.9 Other Questions about Parts and Wholes 3.10 Doing Metaphysics Further Reading

6 4 POSSIBILITY AND NECESSITY 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Different Kinds of Possibility and Necessity 4.3 The Idea of Possible Worlds 4.4 A Case for Possible Worlds 4.5 Some Theories of the Nature of Possible Worlds 4.6 An Alternative Theory of Possible Worlds: Propositions First 4.7 Another Alternative Theory of Possible Worlds: Primitive Possible Objects 4.8 Accidental and Essential Features 4.9 Theories of Possible Worlds and Theories of Essential Features 4.10 Doing Metaphysics Further Reading

7 5 TIME 5.1 Introduction to the Philosophy of Time 5.2 Methodological Issues in the Philosophy of Time 5.3 The Container View vs. the Relationalist View 5.4 Does Time Itself Change? 5.5 Time and Reasonable Emotions 5.6 How Do Things Persist through Time? 5.7 Doing Metaphysics Further Reading

8 6 FREEDOM 6.1 Freedom and Why it Might Matter 6.2 The Static View and Freedom 6.3 Causal Determinism and Freedom 6.4 Compatibilism: Alternative Possibilities Compatibilism 6.5 Compatibilism 2: No Constraints Compatibilism 6.6 Indeterminism 6.7 Laws of Nature 6.8 Doing Metaphysics Further Reading

9 7 META‐METAPHYSICS7.1 Getting More Meta 7.2 The Epistemology of Metaphysics 7.3 The Philosophy of Language of Metaphysics 7.4 The Metaphysics of Metaphysics 7.5 The Ethics of Metaphysics 7.6 Doing Metaphysics Further Reading

10 GLOSSARY

11 INDEX

12 End User License Agreement

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2 Chapter 3Figure 3.1 Two Ways to Lift a Piano.

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Series editor: Steven D. Hales

Reading philosophy can be like trying to ride a bucking bronco—you hold on for dear life while “transcendental deduction” twists you to one side, “causa sui” throws you to the other, and a 300‐word, 300‐year‐old sentence comes down on you like an iron‐shod hoof the size of a dinner plate. This Is Philosophy is the riding academy that solves these problems. Each book in the series is written by an expert who knows how to gently guide students into the subject regardless of the reader’s ability or previous level of knowledge. Their reader‐friendly prose is designed to help students find their way into the fascinating, challenging ideas that compose philosophy without simply sticking the hapless novice on the back of the bronco, as so many texts do. All the books in the series provide ample pedagogical aids, including links to free online primary sources. When students are ready to take the next step in their philosophical education, This Is Philosophy is right there with them to help them along the way.