Philosophical Provocations
Click to look inside
World of Books
The feel-good place to buy books
Philosophical Provocations by Colin Mcginn
Pithy, direct, and bold: essays that propose new ways to think about old problems, spanning a range of philosophical topics.In Philosophical Provocations, Colin McGinn offers a series of short, sharp essays that take on philosophical problems ranging from the concept of mind to paradox, altruism, and the relation between God and the Devil. Avoiding the usual scholarly apparatus and embracing a blunt pithiness, McGinn aims to achieve as much as possible in as short a space as possible while covering as many topics as possible. Much academic philosophical writing today is long, leaden, citation heavy, dense with qualifications, and painful to read. The essays in Philosophical Provocations are short, direct, and engaging, often challenging philosophical orthodoxy as they consider issues in mind, language, knowledge, metaphysics, biology, ethics, and religion.McGinn is looking for new ways to think about old problems. Thus he writes, about consciousness, I think we have been all wrong, and goes on to suggest that both consciousness and the unconscious are mysteries. Summing up his proposal on altruism, he remarks, My suggestion can now be stated, somewhat brutally, as follows: human altruism is the result of parasitic manipulation. He takes a moment to reflect: I really don't know why it is good to be alive, though I am convinced that the standard suggestions don't work. McGinn gets straight to the point and states his position with maximum clarity. These essays offer provocative invitations to think again.
Colin McGinn is a professor of philosophy at Rutgers University. He is the author of sixteen previous books, including The Making of a Philosopher: My Journey Through Twentieth-Century Philosophy; Space Trap, a novel; and, most recently, Mindsight: Image, Dream, Meaning. McGinn's writing has appeared in such publications as The New York Review of Books, London Review of Books, The New Republic, and The New York Times Book Review.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780262036191 |
| ISBN 10 | 0262036193 |
| Title | Philosophical Provocations |
| Author | Colin Mcginn |
| Series | The Mit Press |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | MIT Press Ltd |
| Year published | 2017-08-18 |
| Number of pages | 328 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |