How did our universe come to be? Does God exist? Does time flow? What are we? Do we have free will? What is truth? Metaphysics is concerned with the nature of ourselves and the world around us. This clear and accessible introduction covers the central topics in metaphysics in a concise but comprehensive way. Brian Garrett discusses the crucial concepts and arguments of metaphysics in a highly readable manner. He addresses the following key areas of metaphysics: * God * Existence * Modality * Universals and particulars * Facts * Causation * Time * Puzzles of material constitution * Free will & determinism * Fatalism * Personal identity * Truth This third edition has been thoroughly revised. Most chapters include new and updated material, and there are now two chapters devoted to attacks on free will and fatalism. What is this thing called Metaphysics? contains many helpful student-friendly features, such as a glossary of important terms, study questions, annotated further reading, and a guide to web resources. Text boxes provide bite-sized summaries of key concepts and major philosophers, and clear and interesting examples are used throughout.

Personal Identity and Self-Consciousness is about persons and personal identity. What are we? And why does personal identity matter? Brian Garrett, using jargon-free language, addresses questions in the metaphysics of personal identity, questions in value theory, and discusses questions about the first person singular. Brian Garrett makes an important contribution to the philosophy of personal identity and mind, and to epistemology.

This volume presents a theory of persons: their nature, their values, and their consciousness. The author begins by proposing a new theory of personal identity over time. Next, he defends the importance of personal identity against recent sceptical attack. And finally, he explores the nature of self-consciousness by examining the pronoun "I" and the various grounds of what our "I" judgements mean. Brian Garrett places recent discussions of personal identity in a broader context, and links the question of the understanding of persons with other central issues in philosophy, notably the problem of self-consciousness and ethical questions relating to our nature as persons.

How did our universe come to be? Does God exist? Does time flow? What are we? Do we have free will? What is truth? Metaphysics is concerned with the nature of ourselves and the world around us. This clear and accessible introduction covers the central topics in metaphysics in a concise but comprehensive way. Brian Garrett discusses the crucial concepts and arguments of metaphysics in a highly readable manner. He addresses the following key areas of metaphysics: * God * Existence * Modality * Universals and particulars * Facts * Causation * Time * Puzzles of material constitution * Free will & determinism * Fatalism * Personal identity * Truth This third edition has been thoroughly revised. Most chapters include new and updated material, and there are now two chapters devoted to attacks on free will and fatalism. What is this thing called Metaphysics? contains many helpful student-friendly features, such as a glossary of important terms, study questions, annotated further reading, and a guide to web resources. Text boxes provide bite-sized summaries of key concepts and major philosophers, and clear and interesting examples are used throughout.

"This is as good an introduction to propositional logic as there is. The book also brings out in a clear and engaging way the philosophical applications of logic." - Paul Snowdon, University College London "An excellent introduction to logic for all philosophy students. If you want to learn how logic works, why it is important, and how there are many live philosophical issues raised by all of this, Garrett's book is an excellent place to start." - Greg Restall, University of Melbourne Elementary Logic explains what logic is, how it is done, and why it can be exciting. The book covers the central part of logic that all students have to learn: propositional logic. It aims to provide a crystal-clear introduction to what is often regarded as the most technically difficult area in philosophy. The book opens with an explanation of what logic is and how it is constructed. Subsequent chapters take the reader step-by-step through all aspects of elementary logic. Throughout, ideas are explained simply and directly, with the chapters packed with overviews, illustrative examples, and summaries. Each chapter builds on previous explanation and example, with the final chapters presenting more advanced methods. After a discussion of meta-logic and logical systems, the book closes with an exploration of how paradoxes can exist in the world of logic. Elementary Logic's clarity and engagement make it ideal for any reader studying logic for the first time.

"This is as good an introduction to propositional logic as there is. The book also brings out in a clear and engaging way the philosophical applications of logic." - Paul Snowdon, University College London "An excellent introduction to logic for all philosophy students. If you want to learn how logic works, why it is important, and how there are many live philosophical issues raised by all of this, Garrett's book is an excellent place to start." - Greg Restall, University of Melbourne Elementary Logic explains what logic is, how it is done, and why it can be exciting. The book covers the central part of logic that all students have to learn: propositional logic. It aims to provide a crystal-clear introduction to what is often regarded as the most technically difficult area in philosophy. The book opens with an explanation of what logic is and how it is constructed. Subsequent chapters take the reader step-by-step through all aspects of elementary logic. Throughout, ideas are explained simply and directly, with the chapters packed with overviews, illustrative examples, and summaries. Each chapter builds on previous explanation and example, with the final chapters presenting more advanced methods. After a discussion of meta-logic and logical systems, the book closes with an exploration of how paradoxes can exist in the world of logic. Elementary Logic's clarity and engagement make it ideal for any reader studying logic for the first time.

This volume contains twenty-four essays by the British/Australian analytic metaphysician, Brian Garrett. These essays are followed by four short dialogues that emphasize and summarize some of the main points of the essays and discuss new perspectives that have emerged since their original publication. The volume covers topics on the metaphysics of time, the nature of identity, and the nature and importance of persons and human beings. The chapters constitute the fruits of almost four decades of philosophical research, from Brian's two award-winning essays, published in Analysis in 1983 and The Philosophical Quarterly in 1992, to his latest ideas about Fatalism and the Grandfather Paradox. This book will be of interest to students and professional philosophers in the field of analytic philosophy.

LIFE It was my mother who taught me to never hide how I feel, and if I was going to cry tears of pain; than the tears better be real. If you''re mad at the world; than you better learn how to contain your rage, Everyone needs to cry sometime. These are my tears falling on this page. She said life is not always going to go your way every single time, just remember who your true friends are and you should be just fine. By Brian Garrett

LIFE It was my mother who taught me to never hide how I feel, and if I was going to cry tears of pain; than the tears better be real. If you''re mad at the world; than you better learn how to contain your rage, Everyone needs to cry sometime. These are my tears falling on this page. She said life is not always going to go your way every single time, just remember who your true friends are and you should be just fine. By Brian Garrett