Beebee Helen - Metaphysics: the key concepts

METAPHYSICS

Informative, accessible, and fun to read this is an excellent reference guide for undergraduates and anyone wanting an introduction to the fundamental issues of metaphysics. I know of no other resource like it.

Meghan Griffith, Davidson College, USA

Marvellous! This book provides the very best place to start for students wanting to take the first step into understanding metaphysics. Undergraduates would do well to buy it and consult it regularly. The quality and clarity of the material are consistently high.

Chris Daly, University of Manchester, UK

Ever wondered about Gunk, Brains in a Vat or Frankfurts Nefarious Neurosurgeon?

With complete explanations of these terms and more, Metaphysics: The Key Concepts is an accessible and engaging introduction to the most widely studied and challenging concepts in metaphysics. The authors clearly and lucidly define and discuss key terms and concepts, under the themes of:

Time

Particulars and universals

Realism and anti-realism

Free will

Personal identity

Causation and laws

Arranged in an easy-to-use AZ format, each concept is explored and illustrated with engaging and memorable examples, and accompanied by an up-to-date guide to further reading. Fully cross-referenced throughout, this remarkable reference guide is essential reading for students of philosophy and all those interested in the nature of reality.

Helen Beebee is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham, UK. She is the author of Hume on Causation, published by Routledge.

Nikk Effingham is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Birmingham, UK.

Philip Goff is currently Research Fellow with the AHRC project Phenomenal Qualities at the University of Hertfordshire, UK.

METAPHYSICS

The Key Concepts

Helen Beebee, Nikk Effingham and Philip Goff

LONDON AND NEW YORK

First published 2011
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
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This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2010.

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2011 Helen Beebee, Nikk Effingham and Philip Goff

The right of Helen Beebee, Nikk Effingham and Philip Goff to be identified as authors
of this work has been asserted by them 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 utilised 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 Cataloguing in Publication Data
Beebee, Helen.
Metaphysics: the key concepts/By Helen Beebee, Nikk Effingham, and Philip Goff.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. MetaphysicsDictionaries. I. Effingham, Nikk. II. Goff, Philip. III. Title.
BD111.B33 2011
110dc22 2010024258

ISBN 0-203-83525-5 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN13: 9780415559270 (hbk)

ISBN13: 9780415559287 (pbk)

ISBN13: 9780203835258 (ebk)