This introductory chapter begins with a brief outline of the purpose of this book, which to offer an argument in support of a realism of properties and against an operationalist account and a tendency toward Pythagoreanism that may spring from the solely quantitative emphasis common in interpretations of scientific theory. It then discusses the role of dispositionality, nonmental dispositional systems, the functions that make a system mental, and perception and imagery.
Keywords: realism, scientific theory, dispositionality, nonmental dispositional systems, perception, imagery, Pythagoreanism