Metaphysics (4th Edition) [Paperback]

Richard Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 11, 1991 | ISBN-10: 0135678196 | ISBN-13: 978-0135678190 | Edition: 4

This classic, provocative introduction to classical metaphysical questions focuses on appreciating the problems, rather than attempting to proffer answers.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This classic, provocative introduction to classical metaphysical questions focuses on appreciating the problems, rather than attempting to proffer answers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 4 edition (September 11, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0135678196
• ISBN-13: 978-0135678190
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,813 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old, But Still the Best, November 25, 2005

By 

Reader (Arlington, Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Metaphysics (4th Edition) (Paperback)

For my money, Richard Taylor's "Metaphysics" is still the best short introduction to metaphysics for undergraduates or general readers. Taylor had a unique gift for explaining "heavy" philosophical topics -- God, fatalism, mind, time, causality -- in readable prose that met analytical standards but never mired the reader in a bog of technicalities and linguistic distinctions. The chapters on God and fatalism, in particular, are near-classic essays that have been widely discussed in the secondary literature and reprinted in anthologies.

Taylor conveyed a sense of excitement about philosophy and taught readers that metaphysics is central to any thoughtful life. Maybe he got a bit carried away on this score -- to judge by a few statements in "Metaphysics," he took himself very seriously and believed that only philosophers can have meaningful lives. But these are minor annoyances and conceits in an otherwise outstanding book. There's a reason why it's gone through four editions and is still in print after more than 40 years! I've read the book three times and still find riches in it.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars you will think, but you might not come to any conclusions, April 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Metaphysics (4th Edition) (Paperback)

This is the text book for many college philosophy-knowledge and reality courses. A small book that one can read over a few times and think about the tough questions of epistemology and metaphysics. The mind-body relation(or lack thereof), freedom and determinism, fate, space and time,temporal passage,causation,God,and polarity, are among the topics touched upon. This is a book in which you must think as you read,and watch out for assumptions the author makes at points. Go for it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Introduction to Philosophy, May 3, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Metaphysics (4th Edition) (Paperback)

"Metaphysics" has been used in classrooms since the 1960s, and for good reason -- it is a clearly-written introduction to central metaphysical issues such as the mind/body problem, determinism and free will, and the existence of God (the chapter on God has been reprinted in numerous anthologies). Here and there, author Taylor gets carried away with the "heaviness" of his subject, as when he writes like Ecclesiastes, or succumbs to faux-Spinoza-isms about how "untutored and vulgar" people lead impoversished lives because they can't understand metaphysics. But otherwise the book is excellent. If you wanted to introduce a smart teenager or college freshman to philosophy, you couldn't do better than "Metaphysics."