Every era has its weltanschauung and in much contemporary philosophy the doctrine of ‘physicalism’ plays this role. Such foundational assumptions exert considerable influence by subtly configuring philosophical debates, problems, and projects, though the precise nature of these assumptions is often hard to clearly discern. Happily, however, philosophers have recently begun to subject physicalism to sustained scrutiny, both positive and negative. Exactly how the doctrine of physicalism should be formulated, what its significance is, and whether it has a justification, in addition to a range of other issues, have all recently been discussed.

We believe such attention is intellectually a very healthy development. There are always parts of the reigning weltanschauung that it would be productive to discard and those that ought to be retained. But this process of critically evaluating various assumptions only proceeds in lockstep with the illumination of their natures. The present anthology was conceived with these thoughts in mind and the chapters that follow all seek to further the project of critically illuminating various aspects of physicalism and its implications. Though we shall let the authors speak for themselves, and the variety of their concerns precludes easy summary, it may help the reader to have a general guide to the volume's contents. The largest section, “Part 1, Physicalism,” comprises chapters generally sympathetic to the doctrine of physicalism. Among the work they undertake, is that of articulating the historical genesis and present justification of physicalism; its most adequate formulation; modal status; and its implications for mental causation and the special sciences. A range of more or less critical chapters comprise the next section, “Part 2, Physicalist Discontents,” and take as their focus the metaphysical presuppositions of physicalism, …