Kris McDaniel - This Is Metaphysics An Introduction

1. Chapter 2
2. Chapter 3

THIS IS PHILOSOPHY

Series editor: Steven D. Hales

Reading philosophy can be like trying to ride a bucking broncoyou hold on for dear life while transcendental deduction twists you to one side, causa sui throws you to the other, and a 300word, 300yearold sentence comes down on you like an ironshod 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 readers ability or previous level of knowledge. Their readerfriendly 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.

This Is Philosophy: An Introduction
Steven D. Hales

This Is Philosophy of Mind: An Introduction
Pete Mandik

This Is Ethics: An Introduction
Jussi Suikkanen

This Is Political Philosophy: An Introduction
Alex Tuckness and Clark Wolf

This Is Business Ethics: An Introduction
Tobey Scharding

This Is Metaphysics
Kris McDaniel

Forthcoming:

This Is Early Modern Philosophy
Kurt Smith

This Is Environmental Ethics
Wendy Lee

This Is Epistemology
Clayton Littlejohn and Adam Carter

This Is Bioethics: An Introduction
Udo Schuklenk

KRIS McDANIEL

This edition first published 2020
2020 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by law. Advice on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

The right of Kris McDaniel to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.

Registered Office
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA

Editorial Office
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA

For details of our global editorial offices, customer services, and more information about Wiley products visit us at www.wiley.com.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by printondemand. Some content that appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty
While the publisher and authors have used their best efforts in preparing this work, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives, written sales materials or promotional statements for this work. The fact that an organization, website, or product is referred to in this work as a citation and/or potential source of further information does not mean that the publisher and authors endorse the information or services the organization, website, or product may provide or recommendations it may make. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a specialist where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Names: McDaniel, Kris, 1976 author.
Title: This is metaphysics : an introduction / Kris McDaniel.
Description: Hoboken, NJ, USA : WileyBlackwell, 2020. | Series: This is philosophy | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019056737 (print) | LCCN 2019056738 (ebook) | ISBN 9781118400777 (paperback) | ISBN 9781118400807 (ePDF) | ISBN 9781118400784 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Metaphysics.
Classification: LCC BD111 .M464 2020 (print) | LCC BD111 (ebook) | DDC 110dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019056737
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019056738

Cover design: Wiley

Dedicated to Safira, Ranger, Nina, and Leneah, with love.

0.1I wrote this book with three possible audiences in mind: philosophy majors who are taking an upperdivision metaphysics class, students in an entrylevel introduction to philosophy course, and members of the general public who are curious about philosophy and willing to work through this book outside of a classroom.

0.2I expect that members of the first audience are going to have the easiest time with this book because they already have some philosophy under their belt and so are familiar with philosophical modes of questioning and reasoning. They will also have the guidance of a professional philosopher to help address their questions, clarify what they might be confused about, and suggest further things to think about beyond what I have the space to deal with in this book. But I have done my best to make this book as accessible as possible to budding philosophers and the general public. I have tried to present what is objectively very difficult material in an easy and comfortable way by using down to earth language and a conversational style, and by employing familiar examples to illustrate the theories and arguments discussed. I have also included links to stuff that is online that is relevant or useful to consider as you read through the book.

0.3Even so, you should expect to work hard as you read this book. Philosophy is not easy, and that is one reason that people have been wrestling with philosophical problems for thousands of years. You cant expect to read a philosophy book like you would read a Harry Potter novel. Instead, you should plan on periodically pausing after reading a section of the bookmaybe even after reading a single paragraphand then really thinking hard about what youve just read. When you pause, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is the author trying to prove here?
• That is, what conclusion is the author arguing for?
• What are the premises he is using to reach this conclusion?
• Do the premises really support the authors conclusion?
• That is, if the premises are true, is the authors conclusion also likely to be true?