Properties

When we say a certain rose is red, we seem to be attributing a property, redness, to it. But are there really such properties? If so, what are they like, how do we know about them, and how are they related to the objects which have them and the linguistic devices which we use to talk about them? This collection presents these ancient problems in a modern light. In particular, it makes accessible for the first time the most important contributions to the contemporary controversy about the nature of properties. Those new to the subject will find the clearly-written introduction, by two experts in the field, an invaluable guide to the intricacies of this debate. The volume illustrates very well the aims and methods of modern metaphysics and show how a thorough understanding of the metaphysics of properties is crucial to most of analytic philosophy.

D. H. Mellor is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, and Fellow of Darwin College. His books include The Facts of Causation (1995), Matters of Metaphysics (1991), and Real Time (1981).

Alex Oliver is University Assistant Lecturer in Philosophy at Cambridge University, and Fellow of and Director of Studies in Philosophy at Queens College, Cambridge. He was previously Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.