What is this thing called Metaphysics?

187 Pages·2011·0.838 MB·English

by  Brian Garrett

what is this thing
called metaphysics?
Second edition
Why is there something rather than nothing? Does God exist? Does time fl ow? What
are we? Do we have free will? What is truth? Metaphysics is concerned with ourselves
and reality, and the most fundamental questions regarding existence. This clear and
accessible introduction covers the central topics in metaphysics in a concise but
comprehensive way. Brian Garrett discusses the crucial concepts in a highly readable
manner, easing the reader in with a look at some important philosophical problems.
He addresses key areas of metaphysics:
• God
• Existence
• Modality
• Universals and particulars
• Facts
• Puzzles of material constitution
• Causation
• Time
• Free will
• Personal identity
• Truth
This second edition has been thoroughly revised. Most chapters have substantial
amounts of new material, and there are additional chapters on Existence, Modality,
Puzzles of Material Constitution, Facts and Truth.
What is this thing called Metaphysics? contains many helpful student-friendly features.
Each chapter concludes with a useful summary of the main ideas discussed, a glossary
of important terms, study questions, annotated further reading, and a guide to web
resources. Text boxes provide bite-sized summaries of key concepts and major
philosophers, and clear and interesting examples are used throughout.
Brian Garrett is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the Australian National University,
Australia.

BRIAN GARRETT
what is this
thing called
metaphysics?
Second edition
•
First published 2006
This edition published 2011 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2011.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
© 2011 Brian Garrett
The right of Brian Garrett to be identifi ed as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Garrett, Brian.
What is this thing called metaphysics?/Brian Garrett. – 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Metaphysics. I. Title.
BD111.G37 2011
110--dc22
2010040857
ISBN 0-203-82623-X Master e-book ISBN
ISBN: 978-0-415-61721-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-61722-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-82623-2 (ebk)
‘Well, you see Willard ... In this war, things get confused out there, power, ideals, the
old morality, and practical military necessity. Out there with these natives it must be
a temptation to be god. Because there’s a confl ict in every human heart between the
rational and the irrational, between good and evil. The good does not always triumph.
Sometimes the dark side overcomes what Lincoln called the better angels of our
nature. Every man has got a breaking point. You and I have. Walter Kurtz has reached
his. And very obviously, he has gone insane.’
General Corman, Apocalypse Now (1979)

CONTENTS
Preface to the first edition xiii
Preface to the second edition xiv
Introduction xvii
INTERNET RESOURCES xx
1 God 1
INTRODUCTION 1
THE ONTOLOGICAL ARGUMENT 1
THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT 5
THE TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT 8
CONCLUDING REMARKS 11
STUDY QUESTIONS 11
ANNOTATED FURTHER READING 11
INTERNET RESOURCES 12
NOTES 12
2 What are we? 13
INTRODUCTION 13
WHAT ARE WE? 13
ADJUDICATING THE RIVAL VIEWS 18
CONCLUDING REMARKS 23
STUDY QUESTIONS 23
ANNOTATED FURTHER READING 24
INTERNET RESOURCES 24
NOTES 25
viii (cid:129) contents
3 Existence 26
INTRODUCTION 26
WHAT IS EXISTENCE? 27
NON-EXISTENT OBJECTS 31
CONCLUDING REMARKS 35
STUDY QUESTIONS 36
ANNOTATED FURTHER READING 36
INTERNET RESOURCES 36
NOTES 36
4 Modality 38
INTRODUCTION 38
ESSENTIALISM 38
VARIETIES OF ESSENTIALISM 40
NECESSARY TRUTH 42
MODAL REALISM 46
CONCLUDING REMARKS 49
STUDY QUESTIONS 50
ANNOTATED FURTHER READING 50
INTERNET RESOURCES 50
NOTES 51
5 Puzzles of constitution and identity 52
INTRODUCTION 52
THREE PUZZLES 52
DO ORDINARY OBJECTS ENDURE OR PERDURE? 54
THE THREE PUZZLES EXAMINED 56
CONCLUDING REMARKS 63
STUDY QUESTIONS 63
ANNOTATED FURTHER READING 63
INTERNET RESOURCES 64
NOTES 64
contents (cid:129) ix
6 Objects and properties 65
INTRODUCTION 65
UNIVERSALS 66
RUSSELL’S BUNDLE THEORY 69
VARIETIES OF NOMINALISM 71
TROPES 73
CONCLUDING REMARKS 75
STUDY QUESTIONS 75
ANNOTATED FURTHER READING 76
INTERNET RESOURCES 76
NOTES 76
7 Causation 77
INTRODUCTION 77
HUME 78
THE REGULARITY THEORY 80
THE COUNTERFACTUAL THEORY 82
ANSCOMBE’S PROPOSAL 84
A NOTE ON BACKWARDS CAUSATION 86
CONCLUDING REMARKS 87
STUDY QUESTIONS 87
ANNOTATED FURTHER READING 87
INTERNET RESOURCES 88
NOTES 88
8 Time: the fundamental issue 90
INTRODUCTION 90
A THEORY VS B THEORY 90
McTAGGART’S OBJECTION TO THE B THEORY 92
McTAGGART’S PARADOX 94
FOUR OBJECTIONS TO THE A THEORY 97
CONCLUDING REMARKS 99
STUDY QUESTIONS 99
ANNOTATED FURTHER READING 99
INTERNET RESOURCES 100
NOTES 100