In Basic Structures of Reality, Colin McGinn deals with questions of metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of mind from the vantage point of physics. In Basic Structures of Reality, Colin McGinn deals with questions of metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of mind from the vantage point of physics. Combining general philosophy with physics, he covers such topics as the definition of matter, the nature of space, motion, gravity, electromagnetic fields, the character of physical knowledge, and consciousness and meaning. Throughout, McGinn maintains an historical perspective and seeks to determine how much we reallyknow of the world described by physics. He defends a version of "structuralism": the thesis that our knowledge is partial and merely abstract, leaving a large epistemological gap at the center of physics. McGinn then connects this element of mystery to parallel mysteries in relation to the mind. Consciousnessemerges as just one more mystery of physics. A theory of matter and space is developed, according to which the impenetrability of matter is explained as the deletion of volumes of space. McGinn proposes a philosophy of science that distinguishes physics from both psychology and biology, explores the ontology of energy, and considers the relevance of physics to seemingly remote fields such as the theory of meaning. In the form of a series of aphorisms, the author presents a metaphysical systemthat takes laws of nature as fundamental. With its broad scope and deep studyof the fundamental questions at the heart of philosophy of physics, this bookis not intended primarily for specialists, but for the general philosophical reader interested in how physics and philosophyintersect. PART ONEIntroduction: Philosophy and PhysicsChapter 1: The Concept of MatterPostscript: Particles as Fields: An ObjectionAppendix One: The Uniformity of MatterAppendix Two: Divisibility and SizeChapter 2: What is a Physical Object?Chapter 3: The Possibility of MotionChapter 4: Motion, Change, and PhysicsChapter 5: The Law of InertiaChapter 6: Mass, Gravity, and MotionChapter 7: Electric Charge: A Case StudyChapter 8: Two Types of ScienceChapter 9: The Ontology of EnergyChapter 10: Consciousness as a Form of MatterChapter 11: Matter and MeaningPART TWOPrincipia Metaphysica
- ISBN: 978-0-19-984110-3
- Editorial: Oxford University
- Encuadernacion: Cartoné
- Páginas: 256
- Fecha Publicación: 05/01/2012
- Nº Volúmenes: 1
- Idioma: Inglés