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Full Description
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.
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.
