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Today, when systematic philosophy - and reason itself - are challenged both outside of and within philosophy, is it still possible to do metaphysics? This volume provides a broad perspective on contemporary approaches to the nature and the fundamental questions of metaphysics. Drawing on scholars from continental Europe, Asia, Canada, the United States, and Great Britain, and representing a variety of philosophical cultures and traditions, this volume surveys and extends work in metaphysics and its implications for broader philosophical concerns (e.g., in ethics and social philosophy, in mathematics and logic, and in epistemology). It also addresses such questions as the role of history and historicity in undertaking metaphysics, the nature of metaphysics, the priority of metaphysics over epistemology, and the challenges of empiricism and postmodernism.

Approaches to Metaphysics

List of Contributors. Introduction: Taking Metaphysics Seriously; W. Sweet. Part One: Issues in Classical Metaphysics. 1. Does Being Have a Nature? (Or: Metaphysics as a Science of the Real); L. Dewan, O.P. 2. Logic and Metaphysics in German Philosophy from Melanchthon to Hegel; R. Pozzo. 3. Metaphysics, Mathematics, and Pre-Established Harmony; R. Feist. Part Two: Modern Challenges to the Scope of Metaphysics. 4. The Integration of History and Metaphysics; K. Schmitz. 5. Suffering, Metaphysics, and Nietzsche's Path to the Holy; D. Ahern. 6. Can Creation' be a Metaphysical Concept? P. Harris. 7. Metaphysics West and East: Bosanquet and Sankara; G. Satapathy. Part Three: On the Road to Metaphysics - Freedom, Agency, And Existence. 8. Metaphysics and the Origins of Arendt's Account of Evil and Human Freedom; C. LePage. 9. Agents, Causes, and Explanations: The Idea of a Metaphysical System; L. Armour. 10. Speculative and Analytical Philosophy, Theories of Existence, and the Generalization of the Mathematical Function; J. Bradley. Part Four: Metaphysical Theories In A Contemporary Context. 11. Jacques Maritain and the Metaphysics of Plato; F. O'Rourke. 12. Metaphysics and Idealism; W.J. Mander. 13. Empiricism: Principles and Problems; F. Wilson. Part Five: The Possibility of Metaphysics. 14. Metaphysics as 'de Insolubilibus'; M.M. Tweedale. 15. Designing Metaphysics; E. Trott. Index.