Table Of Content9780631199991_1_pre.qxd 1/12/09 3:01 PM Page i
A Companion to
Metaphysics
A Companion to Metaphysics, Second Edition Edited by Jaegwon Kim, Ernest Sosa, and Gary S. Rosenkrantz
© 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-405-15298-3
9780631199991_1_pre.qxd 1/12/09 3:01 PM Page ii
Blackwell Companions to Philosophy
This outstanding student reference series offers a comprehensive and authoritative survey of philosophy as
a whole. Written by today’s leading philosophers, each volume provides lucid and engaging coverage of the
key figures, terms, topics, and problems of the field. Taken together, the volumes provide the ideal basis for
course use, representing an unparalleled work of reference for students and specialists alike.
Already published in the series: 21. A Companion to Genethics
Edited by Justine Burley and John Harris
1. The Blackwell Companion to Philosophy, 22. A Companion to Philosophical Logic
Second Edition
Edited by Dale Jacquette
Edited by Nicholas Bunnin and Eric Tsui-James
23. A Companion to Early Modern Philosophy
2. A Companion to Ethics
Edited by Steven Nadler
Edited by Peter Singer
24. A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages
3. A Companion to Aesthetics, Second Edition
Edited by Jorge J. E. Gracia and Timothy B. Noone
Edited by Stephen Davies, Kathleen Higgins, Robert
Hopkins, Robert Stecker, and David E. Cooper 25. A Companion to African-American Philosophy
Edited by Tommy L. Lott and John P. Pittman
4. A Companion to Epistemology
Edited by Jonathan Dancy and Ernest Sosa 26. A Companion to Applied Ethics
Edited by R. G. Frey and Christopher Heath Wellman
5. A Companion to Contemporary Political
Philosophy (two-volume set), Second Edition 27. A Companion to the Philosophy of Education
Edited by Robert E. Goodin and Philip Pettit Edited by Randall Curren
6. A Companion to Philosophy of Mind 28. A Companion to African Philosophy
Edited by Samuel Guttenplan Edited by Kwasi Wiredu
7. A Companion to Metaphysics, Second Edition 29. A Companion to Heidegger
Edited by Jaegwon Kim, Ernest Sosa and Gary S. Edited by Hubert L. Dreyfus and Mark A. Wrathall
Rosenkrantz
30. A Companion to Rationalism
8. A Companion to Philosophy of Law and Legal Edited by Alan Nelson
Theory
31. A Companion to Ancient Philosophy
Edited by Dennis Patterson
Edited by Mary Louise Gill and Pierre Pellegrin
9. A Companion to Philosophy of Religion
32. A Companion to Pragmatism
Edited by Philip L. Quinn and Charles Taliaferro
Edited by John R. Shook and Joseph Margolis
10. A Companion to the Philosophy of Language
33. A Companion to Nietzsche
Edited by Bob Hale and Crispin Wright
Edited by Keith Ansell Pearson
11. A Companion to World Philosophies
34. A Companion to Socrates
Edited by Eliot Deutsch and Ron Bontekoe
Edited by Sara Ahbel-Rappe and Rachana Kamtekar
12. A Companion to Continental Philosophy
35. A Companion to Phenomenology and
Edited by Simon Critchley and William Schroeder
Existentialism
13. A Companion to Feminist Philosophy Edited by Hubert L. Dreyfus and Mark A. Wrathall
Edited by Alison M. Jaggar and Iris Marion Young
36. A Companion to Kant
14. A Companion to Cognitive Science Edited by Graham Bird
Edited by William Bechtel and George Graham
37. A Companion to Plato
15. A Companion to Bioethics Edited by Hugh H. Benson
Edited by Helga Kuhse and Peter Singer
38. A Companion to Descartes
16. A Companion to the Philosophers Edited by Janet Broughton and John Carriero
Edited by Robert L. Arrington
39. A Companion to the Philosophy of Biology
17. A Companion to Business Ethics Edited by Sahotra Sarkar and Anya Plutynski
Edited by Robert E. Frederick
40. A Companion to Hume
18. A Companion to the Philosophy of Science Edited by Elizabeth S. Radcliffe
Edited by W. H. Newton-Smith
41. A Companion to the Philosophy of History and
19. A Companion to Environmental Philosophy Historiography
Edited by Dale Jamieson Edited by Aviezer Tucker
20. A Companion to Analytic Philosophy 42. A Companion to Aristotle
Edited by A. P. Martinich and David Sosa Edited by Georgios Anagnostopoulos
9780631199991_1_pre.qxd 1/12/09 3:01 PM Page iii
A Companion to
Metaphysics
Second Edition
Edited by
JAEGWON KIM,
ERNEST SOSA,
and
GARY S. ROSENKRANTZ
A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication
9780631199991_1_pre.qxd 1/12/09 3:01 PM Page iv
This second edition first published 2009
© 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
except for editorial material and organization © 2009 by Jaegwon Kim, Ernest Sosa and Gary S.
Rosenkrantz
Edition history: Blackwell Publishers Ltd (1e, 1996)
Blackwell Publishing was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in February 2007. Blackwell’s publishing
program has been merged with Wiley’s global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business to form
Wiley-Blackwell.
Registered Office
John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom
Editorial Offices
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA
9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK
The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK
For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services, and for information about how
to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at
www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell.
The right of Jaegwon Kim, Ernest Sosa and Gary S. Rosenkrantz to be identified as the author of the
editorial material in this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of
the publisher.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may
not be available in electronic books.
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand
names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor
mentioned in this book. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in
regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in
rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of
a competent professional should be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A companion to metaphysics / edited by Jaegwon Kim, Ernest Sosa, and Gary S. Rosenkrantz. – 2nd ed.
p. cm. – (Blackwell companions to philosophy)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4051-5298-3 (hbk. : alk. paper) 1. Metaphysics–Dictionaries. I. Kim, Jaegwon.
II. Sosa, Ernest. III. Rosenkrantz, Gary S.
BD111.C626 2009
110′.3–dc22
2008032199
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Set in 10/12.5pt Photina by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong
Printed in Singapore by Utopia Press Pte Ltd
1 2009
9780631199991_1_pre.qxd 1/12/09 3:02 PM Page v
Contents
List of Contributors vii
Introduction xiii
Part I Extended Essays 1
Part II Metaphysics From A to Z 95
Index 637
v
9780631199991_1_pre.qxd 1/12/09 3:03 PM Page vii
Contributors
Felicia Ackerman John Bigelow
Brown University Monash University, Australia
Robert Ackermann Akeel Bilgrami
University of Massachusetts, Amherst Columbia University
Marilyn McCord Adams John Biro
Christ Church, Oxford University of Florida
Robert Merrihew Adams
Simon Blackburn
Yale University and Mansfield College, Oxford
University of Cambridge and the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Jan A. Aertsen
Thomas-Institut at the University of Cologne,
Ned Block
Germany
New York University
C. Anthony Anderson
Paul A. Boghossian
University of California, Santa Barbara
New York University
Richard E. Aquila
M.B. Bolton
University of Tennessee
Rutgers University
D.M. Armstrong
Michael E. Bratman
University of Sydney, Australia
Stanford University
Keith Arnold
Harold I. Brown
University of Ottawa, Canada
Northern Illinois University
Bruce Aune
Douglas Browning
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
University of Texas at Austin
Thomas Baldwin
University of York Panayot Butchvarov
University of Iowa
George Bealer
Yale University Robert E. Butts†
Frederick Beiser Alex Byrne
Syracuse University Massachusetts Institute of Technology
vii
9780631199991_1_pre.qxd 1/12/09 3:03 PM Page viii
contributors
Steven M. Cahn Dagfinn Føllesdal
City University of New York, Graduate Stanford University and University
School of Oslo, Norway
Keith Campbell Matthew Davidson
University of Sydney, Australia California State University, Bernardino
Albert Casullo Graeme Forbes
University of Nebraska, Lincoln University of Colarado at Boulder
Richard Fumerton
Peter Caws
University of Iowa
George Washington University
Richard M. Gale
Arindam Chakrabarti
University of Pittsburgh
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Richard Gallimore
John J. Compton
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Vanderbilt University, Tennessee
Patrick Gardiner†
John Corcoran
State University of New York at Buffalo Brian Garrett
Australian National University
John Cottingham
University of Reading Don Garrett
New York University
Edwin Curley
University of Michigan Rolf George
University of Waterloo, Canada
Helen Daly
University of Arizona Roger F. Gibson
Washington University in Saint Louis
Harry Deutsch
Illinois State University Carl Ginet
Cornell University
Cora Diamond
Peter Godfrey-Smith
University of Virginia
Harvard University
Alan Donagan†
Thomas A. Goudge†
Rolf A. Eberle
Jorge J.E. Gracia
University of Rochester, New York
State University of New York at Buffalo
Catherine Z. Elgin John Greco
Harvard University Saint Louis University
Fred Feldman Reinhardt Grossmann
University of Massachusetts, Amherst Indiana University
viii
9780631199991_1_pre.qxd 1/12/09 3:03 PM Page ix
contributors
Rick Grush Paul Horwich
University of California, San Diego New York University
Charles Guignon Paul Hovda
University of South Florida Reed College, Oregon
Bob Hale M.J. Inwood
University of Sheffield Trinity College, Oxford
Michael Hallett Frank Jackson
McGill University, Montreal Australian National University
Janine Jones
Chad D. Hansen
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
University of Hong Kong
Lynn S. Joy
Ross Harrison
University of Notre Dame
King’s College, Cambridge
W.D. Hart Robert Kane
University of Illinois, Chicago University of Texas at Austin
John Heil Christopher Kirwan
Washington UniversityinSaint Louis Exeter College, Oxford
Mark Heller Arnold Koslow
Syracuse University Brooklyn College
Risto Hilpinen John Lachs
University of Miami Vanderbilt University, Tennessee
Eli Hirsch Karel Lambert
Brandeis University, Massachusetts University of California, Irvine
Herbert Hochberg Stephen Leeds
University of Texas at Austin University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Joshua Hoffman Keith Lehrer
University of North Carolina at Greensboro University of Arizona and University
of Miami
Christopher Hookway
University of Sheffield Ramon M. Lemos†
James Hopkins Jarrett Leplin
King’s College, London University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Terence E. Horgan Ernest LePore
University of Arizona Rutgers University
ix
9780631199991_1_pre.qxd 1/12/09 3:03 PM Page x
contributors
John Leslie Trenton Merricks
University of Guelph University of Virginia
Barry Loewer Phillip Mitsis
Rutgers University New York University
J.M. Moravcsik
Lawrence B. Lombard
Stanford University
Wayne State University, Michigan
Alexander P.D. Mourelatos
Douglas C. Long
University of Texas at Austin
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kevin Mulligan
E.J. Lowe University of Geneva, Switzerland
Durham University
Daniel Nolan
William Lyons University of Nottingham
Trinity College, Dublin
Martha C. Nussbaum
Charles J. McCracken University of Chicago
Michigan State University
David S. Oderberg
University of Reading
Neil McKinnon
Monash University, Australia
Anthony O’Hear
University of Buckingham
Brian P. McLaughlin
Rutgers University
Dominic J. O’Meara
University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Ernan McMullin
University of Notre Dame
Walter R. Ott, Jr.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
Joseph Margolis
University
Temple University, Pennsylvania
George S. Pappas
Ned Markosian
Ohio State University
Western Washington University, Washington
Terence Parsons
Gareth B. Matthews University of California Los Angeles and
University of Massachusetts, Amherst University of California, Irvine
Anthonie Meijers David Pears
Delft University of Technology, Netherlands Christ Church, Oxford
Alfred R. Mele Terence Penelhum
Florida State University University of Calgary, Canada
Joseph Mendola Alvin Plantinga
University of Nebraska at Lincoln University of Notre Dame
x
9780631199991_1_pre.qxd 1/12/09 3:03 PM Page xi
contributors
Ruth Anna Putnam Wesley C. Salmon†
Wellesley College, Massachusetts
David H. Sanford
Diana Raffman Duke University
University of Toronto
Geoffrey Sayre-McCord
Peter Railton University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Michigan
Richard Schacht
Andrew J. Reck University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Tulane University, Louisiana
Frederick F. Schmitt
Nicholas Rescher Indiana University
University of Pittsburgh
Richard Schmitt
Thomas Ricketts Brown University
University of Pittsburgh
George Schumm
Richard Robin Ohio State University
Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts
Jorge Secada
Gideon Rosen University of Virginia
Princeton University
Charlene Haddock Seigfried
Jay F. Rosenberg† Purdue University
Gary S. Rosenkrantz David Shatz
University of North Carolina at Greensboro Yeshiva University, New York
David M. Rosenthal Fadlou Shehadi
City University of New York, Rutgers University
Graduate School
Donald W. Sherburne
David-Hillel Ruben Vanderbilt University
Birbeck College, London and New York
University in London Sydney Shoemaker
Cornell University
Paul Rusnock
University of Ottawa, Canada Peter Simons
University of Leeds
Nils-Eric Sahlin
Lund University, Sweden Lawrence Sklar
University of Michigan
R.M. Sainsbury
University of Texas at Austin and King’s John Skorupski
College, London University of St Andrews
Nathan Salmon Robert C. Sleigh, Jr.
University of California, Santa Barbara University of Massachusetts, Amherst
xi
