Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction

by Thomas M Crisp and Michael J. Loux

Book Overview

Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction is for students who have already completed an introductory philosophy course and need a fresh look at the central topics in the core subject of metaphysics. It... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0415401348
• ISBN13: 9780415401340
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 309 Pages
• Weight: 1.17 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Excellent But Not Elementary

General metaphysics is a difficult and central area of philosophy. While there is a lot of literature devoted to it, I do not think that there are very many introductory texts. Michael Loux's "Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction" fills a gap. This book is devoted exclusively to general metaphysics; there is no discussion of the subjects of special metaphysics, such as the existence of God, the nature of mind, and free will. The subjects covered are the nature of universals, substance, propositions, modality, persistence through time, and the Realism/Anti-Realism debate. Loux explains the different theories about these subjects and evaluates arguments for and against these theories. The focus is on the contemporary literature; however, some historical background is provided. While the coverage is comprehensive, depth is not sacrificed. The chapters are well-organised, each beginning with a brief chapter overview and concluding with suggestions for further reading. Loux style is clear and friendly. While introductory, this book is not elementary. It is intended for students who have already attended an introductory philosophy course. Those without any previous exposure to contemporary analytic philosophy may find it very difficult. I recommend this book strongly for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in philosophy. Readers may also be interested in Loux's anthology, "Metaphysics: Contemporary Readings".

A gateway to current metaphysics...

Anyone interested in the issues that make up current debates in metaphysics should read this book. It opens up an entirely new vocabularly and conceptual scheme for those with little or no prior knowledge of the subject. Working through the chapters, arguments, and positions will greatly facilitate comprehension of more technical philosophical papers. At the same time the book presents the material in a technical fashion; it reads like real philosophy, as it should. Arguments receive in depth treatment and important sides to issues get presented fairly. For a beginner, this book will present many challenges. But overcoming these will reap great rewards. Probably the best thing to do after completing the book is to read it again. Of course this principle holds true for a lot of philosophy books, but since this one builds a foundation a second deep reading becomes almost essential. Seven chapters cover some of the biggest issues in metaphysics. Each chapter builds on its predecessors, so the book doesn't hold up well to random browsing. It should be comprehended linearly. Starting off, the nearly ancient debate between nominalists and realists (with a small 'r') fills two chapters. Arguments for and against both positions take up most of the space (e.g., abstract entities, predication, Ockham's Razor, etc., along with a delineation of the various types of nominalism - austere, metalinguistic, trope theory). Chapter three discusses the arguments relating to the nature of concrete particulars, or the 'substratum' versus the 'bundle' theory. The nature of propositions gets a fair shake in chapter four; are they abstract necessarily existing entities or just talk about regular old concrete objects? Next, David Lewis' eyebrow-raising view of possible worlds and modality is coherently outlined in chapter five. Here the discussion get really juicy and complex. Modality is no picnic. Do possible worlds actually exist in the same manner of our own world or are possible worlds merely potential actual worlds that never obtained the level of an 'actual world'? Chapter six revisits the concrete particulars examined in chapter three, but now with the element of time included. Two views, endurantism and perdurantism, are juxtaposed along with two theories of time, presentism and eternalism. Finally, chapter seven gets to the bottom of many of the book's debates, which can be, cursorily, ground down to the question of human beings' connections between language and the world. Do languages actually refer to a mind-independent world or is the world we talk about inextricably linked to our sensory and conceptual processes? These questions explode in the debate between Realists (this time with a capital 'R') and anti-Realists. Anti-Realists challenge the 'traditional' notion of a direct connection between language and a mind-independent world. The idea of the 'inscrutablility of reference' (from W.V.O. Quine, though with a specific interpretation by the author and Hil

A few more words of praise.

Ryan, Guha, and Gibson did such a remarkable job of describing Loux's excellent work that there is little left to say. I would, however, like to offer a few words on Chapter Seven, "The Challenge of Anti-Realism," which as was pointed out Loux added in the second edition. Using as examples the anti-Realism of Michael Dummett, W. V. Quine, and Hilary Putnam along with various objections that have been raised against each, Loux describes each theory with considerable lucidity (as much as can be expected, anyway). Equally helpful is the way in which Loux moves from the least radical position (viz., Dummett's) to the most radical (Putnam's). By doing this, the reader can see how the arguments of the latter rest somewhat upon the arguments of the former.Gibson is right to say that beyond the addition of the seventh chapter, Loux's second edition is not that much of an update. Since anti-Realism both is easily misundestood and is making serious waves, however, it should be pointed out that the Loux's addition is both helpful and needed.

Accessible and thorough.

Michael J. Loux's _Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction_ is an excellent introduction to the metaphysical issues which are of paramount importance in contemporary Anglo-Australo-American analytical philosophy.Another reviewer has already noted Loux's helpful treatment (in Chapters 1 and 2) of realism vs. nominalism as regards universals; I concur and shall therefore limit my summary here to other features of the text.Loux devotes Chapter 4 to a crucially important topic of which many readers may not even have been aware: the ontological status of _propositions_. Do properties, kinds, and relations cover all the sorts of abstract entity whose existence we must admit, or do "propositions" constitute another such class?Loux dedicates Chapter 5 to a discussion of _modality_ (necessity and possibility). In particular, he provides a solid introductory discussion of possible-worlds modalism.And in chapters 3 and 6, Loux tackles the problem of the "concrete particular" -- first in regard to what it is (the subtitle of Chapter 3 is "Substrata, bundles, and substances"), and second in regard to how such an entity persists through time (endurantism, perdurantism, presentism, eternalism).The presentation is clear and accessible throughout, and each chapter is helpfully introduced with a summary of its important points. Readers interested in this topic will find Loux's work both readable and self-contained; those who wish to read further will profit from his suggestions for further reading (at the end of each chapter).Readers unfamiliar with the field may also want to pick up _ A Companion to Metaphysics_ (edited by Jaegwon Kim and Ernest Sosa), a fine collection of 264 alphabetical entries by various respected philosophers. And the _Oxford Companion to Philosophy_ (edited by Ted Honderich) is an excellent general reference which no student of philosophy should be without.(The Routledge Contemporary Introductions to Philosophy series seems to be very good in general, by the way; Robert Audi's _Epistemology_ is also highly recommended.)

This is the cutting edge of ontology!

Anyone who wants to understand contemporary analytic ontology should buy Loux's superb introduction to this subject. Any philosopher who does understand it should buy it anyway. The book is incisive, clear, and covers the subject with authority. Loux begins by explaining the nature of metaphysics as ontology, after which the book goes on to give detailed accounts of the problem of universals (in two chapters), problems involving the nature of concrete particulars, propositions, possible worlds and modality, and finally the problem of identity over time. Throughout the book, arguments are presented rigorously, terminology is carefully laid out, and the different approaches to the problem at hand are meticulously articulated. This book is useful as a reference as well as an ideal introduction to its chosen subject.