David Lewis

The work of David Lewis (1941–2001) has influenced most areas of Anglo-American philosophy and remains of fundamental importance in current philosophical inquiry. Lewis's work provides a comprehensive philosophical system that answers a broad range of questions in metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, philosophy of action and many other areas. The breadth and unity of his ideas, however, have meant that a casual reader may miss some of the illuminating connections between apparently quite disparate pieces of work. Daniel Nolan's book not only makes Lewis's work more accessible to a general philosophical readership but provides a unified overview of his many contributions to contemporary philosophy. The first part of the book examines Lewis's metaphysics – the area where he has had the greatest impact and which serves as the framework for the rest of his theories. The second section discusses Lewis's important contributions in the philosophy of mind, language and meaning. The book then explores some of Lewis's work in decision theory, metaethics and applied ethics, areas in which his work is both accessible and important. The final chapter focuses on Lewis's distinctive philosophical method, perhaps one of his most significant legacies, which combines naturalism with "common-sense" theorizing.