Idealism is a family of metaphysical views each of which gives priority to the mental. The best-known forms of idealism in Western philosophy are Berkeleyan idealism, which gives ontological priority to the mental (minds and ideas) over the physical (bodies), and Kantian idealism, which gives a kind of explanatory priority to the mental (the structure of the understanding) over the physical (the structure of the empirical world).

Although idealism was once a dominant view in Western philosophy, it has suffered almost total neglect over the last several decades. This book rectifies this situation by bringing together seventeen essays by leading philosophers on the topic of metaphysical idealism. The various essays explain, attack, or defend a variety of idealistic theories, including not only Berkeleyan and Kantian idealisms but also those developed in traditions less familiar to analytic philosophers, including Buddhism and Hassidic Judaism. Although a number of the articles draw on historical sources, all will be of interest to philosophers working in contemporary metaphysics. This volume aims to spark a revival of serious philosophical interest in metaphysical idealism.

Tyron Goldschmidt is a visiting assistant professor in philosophy at Wake Forest University. He has journal publications in metaphysics, philosophy of religion and the history of philosophy. He co-authored Berkeley's Principles: Expanded and Explained (Routledge, 2016) and edited The Puzzle of Existence: Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing? (Routledge, 2013).

Kenneth Pearce is Ussher Assistant Professor in Berkeley Studies (Early Modern Philosophy) at Trinity College Dublin. He has journal publications in early modern philosophy, metaphysics and philosophy of religion. He is the author of Language and the Structure of Berkeley's World (OUP, 2017).

Contributors:

Arif Ahmed, Cambridge University

Sara Bernstein, Duke University

Todd Buras, Baylor University

Trent Dougherty, Baylor University

Bronwyn Finnigan, Australian National University

Tyron Goldschmidt, Wake Forest University

Daniel Greco, Yale University

Thomas Hofweber, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Marc Lange, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Samuel Lebens, University of Haifa

Kris McDaniel, Syracuse University

Graham Oppy, Monash University

Kenneth L. Pearce, Trinity College Dublin

Jacob Ross, University of Southern California

Susan Schneider, University of Connecticut

Aaron Segal, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Robert Smithson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Nick Stang, University of Toronto

Helen Yetter-Chappell, University of York