Philosophical Papers

This volume is one of five that brings together various papers of David Lewis (one more volume is published by Oxford University Press, the rest by Cambridge). This volume contains 11 previously published papers, 9 of which are easily obtained to anyone with access to JSTOR. In addition to those 11 papers, there is an introduction, two previously unpublished paper ("Causal Explanation" and "Events"), and six postscripts (to "Counterfactual Dependence and Time's Arrow," "A Subjectivist's Guide to Objective Chance," "Probabilities of Conditionals and Conditional Probabilities," "Causation," "Veridical Hallucination and Prosthetic Vision," and "Causal Decision Theory").In my opinion, this volume is wonderful. First, David Lewis is a masterful philosopher, and learning from his work is always rewarding. Second, his brief introduction gives a useful unification to his work. Third, many of the papers in this volume are classics in their respective areas, and having them easily at hand is very useful. Fourth, there is a bibliography that lists all of Lewis' publications from 1966 to 1986; it also includes abstracts for each published work. Finally, and in my mind most importantly, are the postscripts, especially the postscripts to "Counterfactual Dependence" and "A Subjectivist's Guide." They expand, clarify, qualify, and defend his work in a way that is instructive. If you are a causal reader of Lewis, this volume may not be worth it; but if you are a serious student of Lewis, or any of the areas that Lewis worked on, this volume would be a welcomed addition to your library.

It was on his wish list for Christmas. He already had Volume I and requested Volume II