Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors vii

Introduction Theodore Sider 1

Abstract Entities 9

1.1 Abstract Entities Chris Swoyer 11

1.2 There Are No Abstract Objects Cian Dorr 32

Causation and Laws of Nature 65

2.1 Nailed to Hume’s Cross? John W. Carroll 67

2.2 Causation and Laws of Nature: Reductionism Jonathan Schaffer 82

Modality and Possible Worlds 109

3.1 Concrete Possible Worlds Phillip Bricker 111

3.2 Ersatz Possible Worlds Joseph Melia 135

Personal Identity 153

4.1 People and Their Bodies Judith Jarvis Thomson 155

4.2 Persons, Bodies, and Human Beings Derek Parfit 177

Time 209

5.1 The Privileged Present: Defending an “A-Theory” of Time
Dean Zimmerman 211

5.2 The Tenseless Theory of Time J. J. C. Smart 226

Persistence 239

6.1 Temporal Parts Theodore Sider 241

6.2 Three-Dimensionalism vs. Four-Dimensionalism John Hawthorne 263

Free Will 283

7.1 Incompatibilism Robert Kane 285

7.2 Compatibilism, Incompatibilism, and Impossibilism Kadri Vihvelin 303

Mereology 319

8.1 The Moon and Sixpence: A Defense of Mereological Universalism
James Van Cleve 321

8.2 Restricted Composition Ned Markosian 341

Metaontology 365

9.1 Ontological Arguments: Interpretive Charity and Quantifier Variance
Eli Hirsch 367

9.2 The Picture of Reality as an Amorphous Lump Matti Eklund 382

Index 397

About the Author

Theodore Sider is Professor of Philosophy at New York University. He is the author of Four-Dimensionalism and (with Earl Conee) Riddles of Existence. John Hawthorne is Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at the University of Oxford. He is the author of Metaphysical Essays, and has published widely in metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, and Leibniz studies. Dean W. Zimmerman is Associate Professor in the Philosophy department at Rutgers University. He is editor of Oxford Studies in Metaphysics, and author of numerous articles in metaphysics and philosophy of religion.

Reviews

“Contemporary Debates in Metaphysics is a terrific book — 18 essays by some of the most distinguished voices in contemporary philosophy which collectively represent and define the state of the art in this ancient discipline. The writing is fresh and clear throughout, accessible to beginners but rigorous enough to satisfy the most exacting specialists. This is no bland survey of the subject: the book is structured as a series of debates, with partisans of opposed positions clashing directly on the page. For those who want to see how contemporary metaphysics is done, there is no better introduction to the subject.”
Gideon A. Rosen, Princeton University
“This is an incredibly good collection of original papers about the central problems of metaphysics. I will certainly use the book as a text in my yearly introductory graduate seminar on metaphysics."
Peter Van Inwagen, University of Notre Dame
“Until now we've had to choose between traditional texts, where the author pretends to be arguing with him/herself, and anthologies, where the reader pretends the authors are arguing with each other. This book has genuine focussed exchange between some of the best metaphysicians around. The introduction by Sider is a gem. What a great way to learn metaphysics.”
Prof. Stephen Yablo, MIT
“What might one want in a contemporary metaphysics reader? There are plenty of volumes that reprint the 20th century precursors to current debates; no need for another one of those. What would be great is a collection of first-rate essays by leading philosophers which effectively engage the most important issues in the field and give attention not only to the substantive debates but the meta-philosophical questions such as: what is metaphysics and how is it possible? And now we have it: Contemporary Debates in Metaphysics does it all.”
Sally Haslanger, MIT

“Written with philosophical sophistication … .Rewarding and valuable … .Teaching papers … .It would make a fine … and useful resource for the professional philosopher.” Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews