A Companion to Metaphysics

by Jaegwon Kim (Editor)

A Companion to Metaphysics provides a survey of the whole of metaphysics and includes articles by many of the most distinguished scholars in the field.

Genres: Philosophy, Metaphysics, Nonfiction, Reference

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Jaegwon Kim (born 1934 in Daegu, Korea (now in South Korea)) is a Korean-born American philosopher currently working at Brown University. He is best known for his work on mental causation and the mind-body problem. Key themes in his work include: a rejection of Cartesian metaphysics, the limitations of strict psychophysical identity, supervenience, and the individuation of events. Kim's work on these and other contemporary metaphysical and epistemological issues is well-represented by the papers collected in Supervenience and Mind: Selected Philosophical Essays (1993).

Kim's philosophical work focuses on the areas of philosophy of mind, metaphysics, action theory, epistemology, and philosophy of science.

Reviews

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a good starter for one who is not so familiar with Metaphysics. It covers Metaphysics into the mid-90s, depending on which edition, but missed a lot of new stuff in the ensuing 20 years, which is a shame, since the new stuff needs to be out there as well.

Having said that, there is a spottiness to the sophistication which may jar some readers who may not be as read in modern analytical philosophy (non-degreed, maybe?). However, there are great references at the end which can give one a good feel for the particular subject and they mention many summary articles (i.e., articles that exercise multiple positions on a particular subject). This will help both the more amateur and more sophisticated student of philosophy, as summary articles usually cite much of the extant literature on a subject. It helps peel the layers of the onion (and also is a case study in the specialization that analytical philosophy has become).