In "The Philosophy of Nature," Brian Ellis provides a clear and forthright general summation of, and introduction to, the new essentialist position. Although the theory that the laws of nature are immanent in things, rather than imposed on them from without, is an ancient one, much recent work has been done to revive interest in essentialism and "The Philosophy of Nature" is a distinctive contribution to this lively current debate. Brian Ellis exposes the philosophical and scientific credentials of the prevailing Humean metaphysic as less than compelling and makes the case for new essentialism as an alternative metaphysical perspective in lucid and unambiguous terms. This book develops this alternative metaphysic and considers the consequences for philosophy, and for some other areas of investigation, of working with such a metaphysic. Ellis argues that these consequences are profound and that a new essentialism provides a comprehensive new philosophy of nature for a modern scientific understanding of the world.

About the Author
Brian Ellis is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at La Trobe University and Professorial Fellow in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Melbourne.

Reviews
"Ellis's challenge to the dominant world view of contemporary metaphysics represents a welcome addition to a literature that usually simply takes the world view for granted." - Mind "An engaging, non-technical introduction to fundamental issues in metaphysics and the philosophy of science. Ellis has done us all a favour in rendering accessible topics that have a direct bearing on the way we see ourselves and our relation to the cosmos." - John Heil, Davidson College, North Carolina



Book Information
ISBN 9781902683621
Author Brian Ellis
Format Paperback
Page Count 192
Imprint Acumen Publishing Ltd
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 453g