 At least some of these claims, or cognates thereof, have formed part of metaphysics carried out in the Quinean spirit. Until recently, however, metaphysics did not provide the means to address these claims properly, says the defender of ground. Consider the claim that the mental depends on the physical. Until recently, metaphysicians would have suggested that this claim is to be cashed out in modal or counterfactual terms. The claim could be given an interpretation in terms of supervenience: Any shift in mental properties necessitates a shift at the level of physical properties. 