This book addresses one of the fundamental topics in philosophy: the relation between appearance and reality. John Yolton draws on a rich combination of historical and contemporary material, ranging from Locke, Berkeley and Hume to Churchland and McDowell, to examine this central philosophical preoccupation, which he presents in terms of distinctions between phenomena and causes, causes and meaning, and persons and man. His important study will be of interest to a wide range of readers in the history of philosophy and in contemporary philosophy of mind, epistemology and metaphysics.