The doctrine of materialism has been scrutinized by twenty-three philosophers, who have found it wanting. The case against materialism comprises a range of arguments, including those stemming from conscious experience, the unity and identity of the person, intentionality, mental causation, and knowledge. The contributors to this volume are leaders in the fields of philosophy of mind, metaphysics, ontology, and epistemology, and they have responded adeptly to the most recent versions and defences of materialism.

The modal arguments of Kripke and Chalmers, Jackson's knowledge argument, Kim's exclusion problem, and Burge's anti-individualism all play a crucial role in building a powerful cumulative case against the materialist research program. Several papers also address the implications of contemporary brain and cognitive research, such as the psychophysics of color perception, blindsight, and the effects of commissurotomies, adding a posteriori arguments to the classical a priori critique of reductionism.

All of the current versions of materialism – reductive and non-reductive, functionalist, eliminativist, and new wave materialism – are subjected to sustained and trenchant attack. Additionally, a wide variety of alternatives to the materialist conception of the person receive new and illuminating attention, including anti-materialist versions of naturalism, property dualism, Aristotelian and Thomistic hylomorphism, and non-Cartesian accounts of substance dualism.

The contributors to this volume bring their considerable expertise to bear on the ongoing debate over the merits of materialism. They have presented a compelling case that the materialist worldview is indefensible, and that alternative conceptions of the person and the nature of mind and consciousness deserve serious consideration. The arguments and analyses presented in this book will be of great interest to scholars and students in the fields of philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and epistemology, as well as to anyone grappling with the fundamental questions of human nature and the nature of reality.

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