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Cover

Riddles of Existence

A Guided Tour of Metaphysics

Second Edition

Earl Conee and Theodore Sider

Publication Date - 04 February 2015

ISBN: 9780198724049

272 pages
Paperback
8.0 x 5.3 inches

In Stock

An ideal first book for anyone curious about philosophy, filled with clear discussions of some the deepest and most puzzling questions we can ponder

Description

Now in its second edition, Riddles of Existence is the first book to make metaphysics genuinely accessible and fun. Its lively, informal style brings metaphysical questions to life and shows how stimulating it can be to think about them.

Earl Conee and Theodore Sider offer a lucid discussion of the major topics in metaphysics. What makes me the same person I was as a child? Is everything fated to be exactly as it is? Does time flow? How fast does it flow, and can one travel back in time, against the current? Does God exist? Why is there anything at all rather than nothing? If our actions are caused by things science can predict and control, how can we have free will? The authors approach these topics in an open-minded and non-dogmatic manner, giving students a full sense of the issues involved.

About the Author(s)

Earl Conee is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Rochester.
Theodore Sider is Professor of Philosophy at New York University.

Table of Contents

    Introduction
    1. Personal Identity
    2. Fatalism
    3. Time
    4. God
    5. Why Not Nothing?
    6. Free Will and Determinism
    7. Constitution
    8. Universals
    9. Possibility and Necessity
    10. The Metaphysics of Ethics
    11. What is Metaphysics?
    12. Metametaphysics
    Acknowledgements
    Index

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