ABSTRACT
This book showcases a range of views on topics at the forefront of current controversies in the field of metaphysics. It will give readers a varied and alive introduction to the field, and cover such key issues as: modality, fundamentality, composition, the object/property distinction, and indeterminacy. The contributors include some of the most important philosophers currently writing on these issues. The questions and philosophers are:
- Are there any individuals at the fundamental level? / (1) Shamik Dasgupta (2) Jason Turner
- Is there an objective difference between essential and accidental properties? / (1) Meghan Sullivan (2) Kris McDaniel and Steve Steward
- Are there any worldly states of affairs? / (1) Daniel Nolan (2) Joseph Melia
- Are there any intermediate states of affairs? / (1) Jessica Wilson (2) Elizabeth Barnes and Ross Cameron
- Do ordinary objects exist? / (1) Trenton Merricks (2) Helen Beebee
Editor Elizabeth Barnes guides readers through these controversies (all published here for the first time), with a synthetic introduction and succinct abstracts of each debate.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|38 pages
Are There Any Individuals at the Fundamental Level?
part II|36 pages
Is There an Objective Difference between Essential and Accidental Properties?
part III|24 pages
Are There Any Worldly States of Affairs?
part IV|30 pages
Are There Any Indeterminate States of Affairs?
part V|31 pages
Do Ordinary Objects Exist?