This book investigates the ontological status of dispositional properties and their fundamental role in shaping our understanding of the physical and psychological world. Stephen Mumford, a prominent philosopher, argues that dispositions—such as solubility or fragility—are not merely linguistic conveniences but are real, objective features of the world. He constructs a rigorous framework to explain how these properties function within metaphysics and the philosophy of science, challenging traditional categorical views of reality.

Experts recognize this work as a foundational text for those studying the metaphysics of properties and causal powers. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which requires a strong background in analytic philosophy to fully grasp the nuances of the argument.