1st Edition

An Introduction to Metaphysics

By C. H. Whiteley Copyright 1950
    190 Pages
    by Routledge

    190 Pages
    by Routledge

    Originally published in 1950. For those interested in the fundamental problems of philosophy but not familiar with its technicalities, this book introduces the main type of theory in metaphysics, not by a catalogue of philosophers’ opinions but by a continuous train of reasoning. The central theme is the problem of the relation between Mind and Matter, and in the course of the argument there are discussions of mechanistic materialism, of idealism and our knowledge of the external world, and of the arguments for the existence of God. The problems are presented lucidly but without over-simplification.

    1. Introduction 2. Materialism 3. Epiphenomenalism 4. Mind and Brain 5. Berkeley’s Criticism of Materialism 6. Phenomenalism 7. Phenomenalism Examined 8. Idealism 9. The Existence of God – The Cosmological Argument 10. The Existence of God – The Argument from Design 11. Theism and the "Problem of Evil" 12. The Evidence of Religious Experience 13. Conclusions

    Biography

    C. H. Whiteley