Filosofia

The Mystery of Existence – do you get dizzy over ‘nothing’?

John Leslie and Robert Kuhn introduce foundational thinking on the question of existence from major thinkers spanning millennia, from Plato and Aristotle to modern thinkers including Stephen Hawking and the Dalai Lama.

“This book gathers together some of the best that has been thought and written on what may be the most fundamental question of all: Why does anything exist? Readers won’t find a definite answer – perhaps there isn’t one that we’re capable of understanding – but they will at least get a feel for the nature of the question. And in philosophy, understanding the question is in itself an important step forward.” —Martin J. Rees, Astronomer Royal (UK), Author of Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces that Shape the Universe

Informative and helpful editorial introductions to each section will ground diverse audiences, without requiring mathematics, and make the issues seem engagingly simple, concentrating on why they are exciting. As is said when contemplating “Why is there anything at all?” - if you don’t get dizzy, you just don’t get it.

Does the cosmos exist simply because this is good? Does the universe exists by chance, but perhaps in a way on which quantum physics can throw light? Are there infinitely many universes? Is Mind is the ultimate basis of everything? Can an absence of all things even be meaningfully described?

To read what others are saying and the introduction, click here.

Are you offering a relevant course in philosophy, religion, or science? Request an exam copy.

About the Editors

John Leslie, University Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Guelph, Canada, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

Robert Lawrence Kuhn is a public intellectual and the creator and host of Closer To Truth, the long-running PBS/public television series on science and philosophy.

- The 2014 St. Thomas Summer Seminar In Philosophy Of Religion And Philosophical Theology
Recent PhDs and current graduate students in philosophy, theology, or religious studies are invited to apply to the 2014 St. Thomas Summer Seminar in Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Theology. The seminar will be held at the University of St....

- Second Lisbon International Conference On Philosophy Of Science: Philosophy Of Science In The 21st Century – Challenges And Tasks
The Centre for Philosophy of Science of the University of Lisbon (CFCUL) is pleased to announce the Second Lisbon International Conference on Philosophy of Science: Philosophy of Science in the 21st Century – Challenges and Tasks, that will...

- Zagreb Applied Ethics Conference
Zagreb ⋅ Croatia ⋅ 12-14 June 2013 The Society for the Advancement of Philosophy (www.upf.hr) and Center for Croatian Studies of the University of Zagreb (www.hrstud.unizg.hr/philosophy) are organizing the ZAGREB APPLIED ETHICS...

- God And The Multiverse: A Workshop
Ryerson University, Toronto, CanadaFebruary 15-16, 2013 In recent decades, there has been tremendous growth in scientific theories which postulate the existence of many universes beyond our own. Once considered outré or patently absurd, multiverse...

- Philosophy And The Sciences – Old Visions, New Directions
Friday, 30 November 2012 to Saturday, 1 December 2012 Location: CRASSH, Alison Richard Building, 7 West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DT This meeting links the CamPoS (Cambridge Philosophy of Science) group and the Cambridge Pragmatism...

Filosofia