Sketch for a Systematic Metaphysics Reprint Edition

by D. M. Armstrong (Author)

3 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0199655915

ISBN-10: 019965591X

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David Armstrong sets out his metaphysical system in a set of concise and lively chapters each dealing with one aspect of the world. He begins with the assumption that all that exists is the physical world of space-time. On this foundation he constructs a coherent metaphysical scheme that gives plausible answers to many of the great problems of metaphysics. He gives accounts of properties, relations, and particulars; laws of nature; modality; abstract objects such as numbers; and time and mind.

Sketch for a Systematic Metaphysics

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Review from previous edition: "a model of clarity and rich in ideas ... it is a pleasure, as always, to wrestle with the deep philosophical questions that Armstrong continues to present us with so vivaciously." --E. J. Lowe, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

About the Author

David Armstrong was Challis Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sydney until his retirement in 1992.

Paperback: 138 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; Reprint edition (September 7, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 019965591X
ISBN-13: 978-0199655915
Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 0.4 x 5.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,441,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1117 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Philosophy > Metaphysics
- #4222 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Metaphysics
- #5829 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Linguistics

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moses88

A good book written by famous philosospher

July 6, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Armstrong was a very famous Australian philosopher. Although some of his views are false, his insights are regarded as significant. This book sketches his views on metaphysics. He is obviously better than Jeff Bezos. Great!

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Jeffrey Rubard

All Too Sparse

August 2, 2015

Format: Paperback

Until his death in 2014 D.M. Armstrong was one of the leading voices in Australian philosophy, perhaps *the* most major -- and Australia, believe it or not, is a country that likes its philosophy. Worldwide he was known for his subtle defense of the mind-brain identity theory in the '60s and more recently for introducing the concept of "truthmakers", an adaptation of Wittgenstein's early idea that propositions "picture" facts. Unfortunately, Armstrong lacked American metaphysician David Lewis' relish for paradox and bold theses about what reality must be if we make the sense of it that we do: *Sketch for a Systematic Metaphysics* is a soggy effort stuck in Hegel's "First Attitude to Objectivity", lacking the appropriate respect for refractory logical and epistemological observations. There is some slight engagement with themes Armstrong and others discussed in more fruitful ways elsewhere, but there is ultimately not much for anyone in the hundred-odd watered-down pages he devotes here to Everything.

Of course we would all like it if the "real world", which we all are compelled to engage in strategic interactions with (most) every day, could be neatly systematized into categories of Genuine Existents and we could throw the rest to Art Appreciation. Unfortunately we cannot do away with Kant's "Copernican Revolution" as easily as modern metaphysicians would like us to; at some point even the most "realistic" framework for objective knowledge cashes out in terms of human values and projects, at which point the aestheticist starts to look like the realist all too often. Even from a naturalist standpoint, Armstrong's sketchy metaphysics fails to appreciate how science must needs be a human activity -- if it is to be learnt, *someone* must learn it *somehow*. Other Australians have gone deep into the waters of semi-paradox because of this; Armstrong simply pronounces upon The Way It Ought to Be, providing a dogmatic early-modern metaphysics with the word "God" crossed out. You could have done the same.

Though it is short, it is blissfully so.

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Moustafa

Five Stars

August 2, 2014

Format: Hardcover

thanx

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