The Big Questions: Philosophy

by Simon Blackburn

Overview

The Big Questions series is designed to let renowned experts confront the 20 most fundamental and frequently asked questions of a major branch of science or philosophy. Each 3000-word essay simply and concisely examines a question that has eternally perplexed enquiring minds, and provides answers from history's great thinkers. This ambitious project is a unique distillation of humanity's best ideas.
In Big Questions: Philosophy, bestselling author Simon Blackburn addresses 20 essential questions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781849166072
Publisher:	Quercus Publishing
Publication date:	01/05/2012
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Simon Blackburn is Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge University, and one of the most distinguished philosophers writing today. He is the author of the bestselling Dictionary of Philosophy, Think and Being Good, which has appeared in 15 languages. His Truth: A Guide for the Perplexed, a guidebook to philosophical ideas about truth and its distortions, from classical times to the present, has been published to rave reviews.

Table of Contents

Preface. Am I a ghost in a machine? - the search for consciousness. What is human nature? - the problems of interpretation. Am I free? - choices and responsibility. What do we know? - virtual realities and valuable authorities. Are we rational animals? - reason in theory and practice. How can I lie to myself? - self-deception, seduction and motivation. Is there such a thing as society? - the individual and the group. Can we understand each other? - treating words carefully. Can machines think? - artificial intelligence and cognitive powers. Why be good? - annoying behaviour and annoying questions. Is it all relative? - problems of toleration, truth and confidence. Does time go by? - the strange river of time. Why do things keep on keeping on? - problems of constancy and chaos. Why is there something and not nothing? - the strange ways of being. What fills up space? - the curious nature of things and their properties. What is beauty? - the fatal attraction of things. Do we need God? - hope, consolation and judgement. What is it all for? - the pursuit of the meaning of life. What are my rights? - positive, negative and natural rights. Is death to be feared? - the awful abyss of extinction. Notes. Key philosophers. Index.