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Properties are the cornerstone of metaphysics and a fundamental topic in philosophy generally. Properties - what it is for something to be or exist and its nature or quality - appear in virtually any theory of what there is. Furthermore, many of the central debates of metaphysics and related subjects are formulated explicitly in terms of properties, such as the role properties play in discussions of consciousness, or their role in discussions of free will and causation.
Properties is an outstanding introduction to this perennial philosophical topic. Organising properties around three roles - as qualities, powers and universals - David Robb explains and assesses competing theories of properties, helping students progress to more advanced literature.
Beginning with a brief history of properties, he addresses the following key topics:
- the general role of properties in philosophy and how they help explain: the world as it appears to us and the world as itreally is; the unification and intelligibility of the world; the limits of knowledge; and science, and the nature of mind and agency.
- properties as qualities, especially their role as truthmakers
- properties as powers: causal powers, empiricist and accounts of powers, and powers and laws of nature
- properties as universals: the role of properties as unifiers, incluidng debates about realism and nominalism and supervenience and reduction concerning universals
- properties and ontology
- trope theory.
Including chapters summaries, annotated further reading and a glossary, Properties is essential reading for students of metaphysics as well as those in related subjects where properties are studied, such as philosophy of mind.