"Het is 100% zeker dat ik nu, op dit tijdstip van de eeuwigheid, besta en dat ik mij nu hier bevind, precies op dit moment op dit plekje in het onmetelijke heelal, met o.a. ruim 6 miljard mensen voor wie toevallig precies hetzelfde geldt en het is voor mij 100% zeker dat er maar één totale werkelijkheid is die daaraan ten grondslag ligt."

Het waarneembare deel van de werkelijkheid kunnen we zien, horen, voelen, proeven en ruiken. Maar er is een onmetelijk groot deel van de werkelijkheid die...

God is al lang geleden dood verklaard, maar zijn opvolger, de mens, is er vooralsnog niet in geslaagd het paradijs op aarde te creëren. In plaats daarvan verkeert de maatschappij in de greep van het nihilisme.

Nihilisme is een vlucht uit de realiteit. Niet langer geloven we dat we de wereld gezamenlijk ten goede kunnen veranderen. In plaats daarvan zoeken we verdoving en ontsnapping in hedonisme, consumentisme en paranoia. We stellen nauwelijks nog vertrouwen in de politiek om de grote prob...

A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021 'Punchy, funny and invigorating ... Pinker is the high priest of rationalism' Sunday Times 'If you've ever considered taking drugs to make yourself smarter, read Rationality instead. It's cheaper, more entertaining, and more effective' Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind In the twenty-first century, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding - and at the same time appears to be losing its mind.

How can a species that discovered vaccines...

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Democracy refers to both ideal and real forms of government. The concept of democracy means that those governed — the demos — have a say in government. But different conceptions of democracy have left many out.

Naomi Zack provides here a fresh treatment of the history of this idea and its key conceptions. In the ancient world, direct and representative democracy in Athens and Rome privileged elites, as did democratic deliberative bodie...

How do we define consciousness or intentionality? Is the neurophysiology of pain all there is to pain? How do words and mental pictures come to represent things in the world? Do computers think? Barbara Montero tackles these and other thorny issues at the heart of the field of philosophy of mind.

Three young friends meet over apricot cocktails at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on the rue Montparnasse. They are Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and their friend Raymond Aron, who opens their eyes to a radical new way of thinking...

Should we financially reward children for good marks? Is it ethical to pay people to donate organs? What about hiring mercenaries to fight our wars, outsourcing inmates to for-profit prisons or selling citizenship? In this title, the author asks: Isn't there something wrong with a world in which everything is for sale?

Immanuel Kant's views on politics, peace, and history have lost none of their relevance since their publication more than two centuries ago. This volume contains a comprehensive collection of Kant's writings on international relations theory and political philosophy, superbly translated and accompanied by stimulating essays. Pauline Kleingeld provides a lucid introduction to the main themes of the volume, and three essays by distinguished contributors follow: Jeremy Waldron on Kant's theory o...

The Logic Manual is the ideal introduction to logic for beginning philosophy students. It offers a concise but complete introductory course, giving a firm grounding in the logic that is needed to study contemporary philosophy. Exercises, examples, and sample examination papers are provided on an accompanying website.