Are the characteristics and relationships among spatio-temporal entities 'real' or are they simply conventional terms that note similarities among things in the world but lack any reality of their own? Or if they are real, what sort of reality do they have? Do we live in a world of causes and effects, or is this relation a useful contrivance for our convenience? What is the nature of this 'I' that we invoke when referring to ourselves? Is it body? Mind? Both? Neither? And once its nature is understood, what can be said of the choices it makes? Are they really ours, freely made by an independent will? Or is each choice determined more by the internal makeup of the 'I' we happen to be and the social/environmental circumstances in which this 'I' finds itself, rather than by any act of will? But if each of us 'could not have chosen otherwise' than we have, are we no better than the machines we construct? Then again, maybe some of our more advanced machines should be considered conscious entities? This volume is a unique invitation to join a distinguished group of theorists as they tackle tough questions concerning the existence of universals, the nature of causation, understanding personal identity, the tangled web of free will, and the challenges posed by the advent of artificial intelligence.
