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Metaphysics (History)
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Metaphysics
ISBN: 9780199595112
Series: A Very Short Introduction
Metaphysics (History)
A Very Short Introduction Metaphysics (History) Media > Books > Non-Fiction > Education Books Expect Delays of Up to 4 WeeksOrder Below |
ISBN
9780199595112 (10-digit ISBN: 0199595119)
- Description
- Key Features
- Series Description
- Table of Contents
- Begins with a series of simple quesions as a practical task to introduce the concepts before the theory
- Provides an insight into the concepts of metaphysics in a simple and clear way, working through the basic practical problems
- Explains an abstract, yet central philosophical branch of philosophy, without technical language
- Written in the form of ten essays that convey the main issues and why they are important
- Helps outline some of the key metaphysical ideas - substance, properties, changes, causes, time, and personal identity
- Explains how metaphysics is understood and practised in philosophical thought
Metaphysics is one of the traditional four main branches of philosophy, alongside ethics, logic and epistemology. It is also an area that continues to attract and hold a fascination for many people yet it is associated with being complex and abstract. For some it is associated with the mystical or religious. For others it is known through the metaphysical poets who talk of love and spirituality. This Very Short Introduction goes right to the heart of the matter, getting to the basic and most important questions of metaphysical thought in order to understand the theory: What are objects? Do colours and shapes have some form of existence? What is it for one thing to cause another rather than just being associated with it? What is possible? Does time pass? By using these questions to initiate thought about the basic issues around substance, properties, changes, causes, possibilities, time, personal identity, nothingness and emergentism, Stephen Mumford provides a clear and simple path through this analytical tradition at the core of philosophical thought.
Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible.
Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library.
Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.
Please note: As this series is not ELT material, these titles are not subject to discount.
Introduction: What is an introduction?
1: What is a table?
2: What is a circle?
3: Are wholes just sums of parts?
4: What is a change?
5: What is a cause?
6: How does time pass?
7: What is a person?
8: What is possible?
9: Is nothing something?
10: What is metaphysics?
Furthe reading: what should you read next?
Index
Metaphysics is one of the traditional four main branches of philosophy, alongside ethics, logic and epistemology. It is also an area that continues to attract and hold a fascination for many people yet it is associated with being complex and abstract. For some it is associated with the mystical or religious. For others it is known through the metaphysical poets who talk of love and spirituality. This Very Short Introduction goes right to the heart of the matter, getting to the basic and most important questions of metaphysical thought in order to understand the theory: What are objects? Do colours and shapes have some form of existence? What is it for one thing to cause another rather than just being associated with it? What is possible? Does time pass? By using these questions to initiate thought about the basic issues around substance, properties, changes, causes, possibilities, time, personal identity, nothingness and emergentism, Stephen Mumford provides a clear and simple path through this analytical tradition at the core of philosophical thought.
Key Features
- Begins with a series of simple quesions as a practical task to introduce the concepts before the theory
- Provides an insight into the concepts of metaphysics in a simple and clear way, working through the basic practical problems
- Explains an abstract, yet central philosophical branch of philosophy, without technical language
- Written in the form of ten essays that convey the main issues and why they are important
- Helps outline some of the key metaphysical ideas - substance, properties, changes, causes, time, and personal identity
- Explains how metaphysics is understood and practised in philosophical thought
Series Description
Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible.
Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library.
Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.
Please note: As this series is not ELT material, these titles are not subject to discount.
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