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
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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?
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| To read what others are saying and the introduction, click here. |
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| Are you offering a relevant course in philosophy, religion, or science? Request an exam copy. |
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| About the Editors |
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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.
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