false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177388632m/700141.jpg 700141 1 There are no statues. Or rocks. Or chairs. Or stars. But there are microscopic objects arranged statuewise and rockwise and chairwise and starwise. Moreover, there are--in addition to microscopic objects arranged humanwise--composite human beings. Or so Trenton Merricks argues. The ontology of Objects and Persons is motivated, in large part, by causal considerations. One of the central ideas is that physical objects are causally non-redundant: physical objects cause things that are not wholly overdetermined by their proper parts. Merricks 'eliminates' statues and other inanimate composite macrophysical objects on the grounds that they would--if they existed--be at best completely causally redundant. Merricks defends our existence by arguing, from certain facts about mental causation, that we human beings cause things that are not overdetermined by our proper parts. A second strand of argument for Merricks's overall ontology involves a variety of philosophical puzzles, puzzles that are dealt with in illuminating and often novel ways. Many other issues are addressed along the way, including free will, the 'reduction' of a composite object to its parts, and the ways in which identity over time can "for practical purposes" be a matter of convention. Anyone working in metaphysics will enjoy this lucid and provocative book. 686452 2003 Objects and Persons total:4|4:3|2:1| 4 14 7 1 4 0 false false Thu Mar 05 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 01 13:50:52 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 05 19:07:42 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Tue Sep 01 08:15:45 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 01 08:15:45 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Mar 31 11:17:18 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 11:17:18 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Jan 28 08:09:10 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 28 08:09:10 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Fri Mar 21 17:27:41 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 21 17:27:50 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Tue Jan 08 20:43:15 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 08 20:43:15 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Fri Oct 26 11:03:44 -0700 2007 Fri Oct 26 11:03:44 -0700 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=700141