Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?: 23 Questions from Great Philosophers

Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?: 23 Questions from Great Philosophers

by Leszek Kolakowski
Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?: 23 Questions from Great Philosophers

Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?: 23 Questions from Great Philosophers

by Leszek Kolakowski

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Overview

Do we have free will?
How can we know anything?
What is justice?
Why is there evil in the world?
What is the source of truth?
Is it possible for God not to exist?
Can we really believe what we see?

These are some of the questions that have intrigued the world's greatest thinkers over the ages. They are questions that make us think about the way we live, work, relate to each other, and see the world. In elegant and accessible prose, the eminent philosopher Leszek Kolakowski explores the essence of these ideas and their ongoing relevance as he introduces us to the great figures of Western thought: from Socrates to St. Augustine, Descartes to Nietzsche, and beyond.

Reflecting on the great issues that animate our lives — good and evil, truth and beauty, faith and the soul, free will and consciousness — Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing? offers a guided tour of Western philosophy by one of the world's greatest living experts.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780465004997
Publisher: Basic Books
Publication date: 11/13/2007
Pages: 240
Sales rank: 925,607
Product dimensions: 4.25(w) x 6.25(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Leszek Kolakowski is currently senior research fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. He is the author of numerous books on topics in philosophy, religion, and intellectual history, including Main Currents of Marxism. He is the recipient of many major awards, including the Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society and the Library of Congress John W. Kluge Prize in the Human Sciences. He lives in Oxford, England.

Table of Contents


Introduction: What These Essays Are For
Note on the English edition

Truth and the Good: Why do we do evil?
SOCRATES

Being and Non-Being: What is real?
PARMENIDES OF ELBA

Change, Conflict and Harmony: How does the cosmos work?
HERACLITUS OF EPHESUS

The Good and the Just: What is the source of truth?
PLATO

Life in Accordance with Nature: Can it make us happy?
EPICTETUS OF HIERAPOLIS

Knowledge and Belief: Can we know anything?
SEXTUS EMPIRICUS

God and Man: What is evil?
ST AUGUSTINE

God’s Necessity: Could God not exist?
ST ANSELM

Knowledge, Faith and the Soul: Is the world good?
ST THOMAS AQUINAS

What There Is: Do ideas exist?
WILLIAM OF OCKHAM

God, the World and our Minds: How can we achieve certainty?
RENE DESCARTES

The Nature of God: Do we have free will?
BENEDICT SPINOZA

God and the World: Why is there something rather than nothing?
GOTTFRIED WILHELM LEIBNIZ

Faith:Why should we believe?
BLAISE PASCAL

Reason, Freedom and Equality: What did God endow us with?
JOHN LOCKE

Perception and Causality: What can we know?
DAVID HUME

Reason, Necessity and Morality:How is knowledge possible?
IMMANUEL KANT

History and the Absolute:Progress without good and evil?
GEORG WILHELM FRIEDRICH HEGEL

World, Will and Sex:Should we commit suicide?
ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER

God and Faith:Do we need the Church?
SOREN AABYE KIERKEGAARD

The Will to Power:Is there good and evil?
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE

Consciousness and Evolution:What is the human spirit?
HENRI BERGSON

The Foundations of Certainty:What can we know and how can we know it?
EDMUND HUSSERL

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