An expansive, yet succinct, analysis of the Philosophy of Religion - from metaphysics through theology. Organized into two sections, the text first examines truths concerning what is possible and what is necessary. These chapters lay the foundation for the book's second part - the search for a metaphysical framework that permits the possibility of an ultimate explanation that is correct and complete.

• A cutting-edge scholarly work which engages with the traditional metaphysician's quest for a true ultimate explanation of the most general features of the world we inhabit
• Develops an original view concerning the epistemology and metaphysics of modality, or truths concerning what is possible or necessary
• Applies this framework to a re-examination of the cosmological argument for theism
• Defends a novel version of the Leibnizian cosmological argument

About the Author
Timothy O'Connor is Professor of Philosophy at Indiana University, Bloomington. He has published widely in the areas of metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of religion. He is the author of Persons and Causes (2000), and the editor of Agents, Causes and Events (1995) and Philosophy of Mind: Contemporary Readings (2003).

Reviews
"This trim but highly technical volume is indisensable for scholars and graudate-level researchers in the field. Summing Up: Essential. Graduate students and researchers/faculty." (Choice, 1 October 2012)

"Despite these limitations, this book is worth reading. It will alert theologians to the philosophical strength of cosmological arguments and the superficial objections to them. It will also interest philosophers of religion and those working on modal logic." (The Journal of Religion, 2011)

"It will alert theologians to the philosophical strength of cosmological arguments and the superficial objections to them. It will also interest philosophers of religion and those working on modal logic." (Journal of Religion, 1 April 2011)

"O'Connor does not disappoint those who are used to the high levels of clarity, rigor, and originality that readers of his work on free will and emergence have come to expect from him." (Mind, July 2009)

"A breathtaking sweep from metaphysics through theology. This is a superb book in the philosophy of religion, the like of whose quality and originality is rare."
Alexander Pruss, Baylor University

Book Information
ISBN 9781405169691
Author Timothy O'Connor
Format Hardback
Page Count 192
Imprint Wiley-Blackwell
Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Weight(grams) 426g
Dimensions(mm) 237mm * 161mm * 20mm