Without objective causal relations and universals, idealism and scepticism win the perennial philosophical battle. Thus claims Evan Fales, who argues for an empiricist yet realist view of this topic, and traces the implications of his view.

Part one Causal realism 1 Natural necessity 2 An ontological analysis of causation 3 Causation and laws of nature 4 Causation and induction 5 Causality and time Part two Universals 6 Nominalism reconnoitered 7 The relation of universals to space and time 8 The nature of universals 9 Generic universals 10 Relations Part three Epistemological realism 111 Skepticism about the existence of the material world 12 Scientific realism