Physicalism and Mental Causation

Physicalism-the thesis that everything there is in the world, including our minds, is constituted by basic physical entities-has dominated the philosophy of mind during the last few decades. But although the conceptual foundations of the physicalist agenda-including a proper explication of notions such as 'causation', 'determination', 'realization' or even 'physicalism' itself-must be settled before more specific problems (e.g. the problems of mental causation and human agency) can be satisfactorily addressed, a comprehensive philosophical reflection on the relationships between the various key concepts of the debate on physicalism is yet missing. This book presents a range of essays on the conceptual foundations of physicalism, mental causation and human agency, written by established and leading authors in the field.