God And Metaphysics

This collection of seminal articles by Richard M. Gale represents the areas of philosophy to which he has made significant contributions - God, time, non-being, and pragmatism. His 1968 book, The Language of Time, along with his 1957 anthology, The Philosophy of Time, were instrumental in helping to stimulate philosophers to take seriously the opposition between the A- and B-theories of time. Articles that were important steps along the way to these publications are included, along with more recent work that he has done in this area.
His 1976 monograph, Problems of Negation and Non-Being appears in its entirety. This is the only book-length treatment of this topic, from both a historical and critical point of view.
His 1991 book, On the Nature and Existence of God, was a major contribution to the ongoing discussion of traditional arguments for and against the existence of God. Of special interest is his new cosmological argument (coauthored with Alexander Pruss) that is attracting considerable critical attention in professional journals. Many of his publications in this area are included.
Gale’s 1999 work, The Divided Self of William James, which was hailed by its reviewers as being one of the very best books ever done on James, if not the best, has spawned a lot of critical reaction. Along with many pieces that Gale published on James are some essays on John Dewey, which give a new way of understanding his metaphysics.
Some previously unpublished writings in aesthetics and the philosophy of language are also included. They deal with the problem of the perfect fake and the status of propositions.
Philosophers working on these topics will profit from reading Gale’s works, which are models of clarity, leavened with humor.