Insurmountable Simplicities

Insurmountable Simplicities

Thirty-Nine Philosophical Conundrums

  • Auteur: Casati, Roberto; Varzi, Achille; Varzi, Achille
  • Éditeur: Columbia University Press
  • ISBN: 9780231510400
  • eISBN Pdf: 9780231510400
  • Lieu de publication:  New York , United States
  • Année de publication électronique: 2006
  • Mois : Mai
  • Langue: Anglais

"Perhaps not all the stories that follow are true. They could, however, be true, and the Reader is invited to ponder this."

So begins Insurmountable Simplicities, Roberto Casati and Achille Varzi's colorful incarnation of the many philosophical conundrums that hide in the wrinkles of everyday life. Why do mirrors seem to invert left and right but not up and down? How do we know whether strawberries taste the same for everyone? Where is it written that we must observe the law, and if it is not written, why should we observe it? What if we could swap brains-or the rest of our bodies?

Insurmountable Simplicities is filled with stories, dialogues, and epistolary exchanges that cover a range of themes-such as personal identity, causality and responsibility, fortune, the nature of things, the paradoxes of time and space, the interface between logic and language-in captivating and inventive ways.

Clear, concise, and intellectually engaging, this internationally acclaimed book brilliantly demonstrates that the beauty of philosophy resides in its thorough engagement with the simplicities of the world, insurmountable as they might initially appear.

  • CONTENTS
  • ONE
    • ROOM 88
    • ABOUT A USELESS PROJECT
    • THE POET AS A YOUNG MAN
    • THE CHAIN OF EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE GOAL
  • TWO
    • ZOMIE, INC. SLEEPING PILLS
    • PARTIAL AMNESIA
    • PERSON TRANSPLANT
    • MY ICE CREAM, YOUR ICE CREAM
  • THREE
    • PLAYING LOTTO IN REVERSE CITY
    • LUCKY NUMBERS
    • THE INVISIBLE DISORDER
  • FOUR
    • A MISSIVE FROM THE BELL-RINGER
    • SPARKLING BUBBLES
    • DATES OF BIRTH
    • FOUR-SEASONS ISLAND
    • LOST BEAUTY SPOTS
    • HIC SUNT LEONES
    • REFLECTIONS
  • FIVE
    • THE LAST CASE OF THE PRESIDENT OF AMOEBAS
    • THE HIDDEN STATUE
    • A CUPBOARD IN PIECES
    • HOLTER MONITOR
    • ROW 13
    • TRAIN CANCELLED
    • SATELLITES
  • SIX
    • VERBATIM
    • THE INTELLIGENT DICTIONARY
    • THE TRAVELER’S PICTIONARY
    • INK MARKS
  • SEVEN
    • FORCED CHOICES
    • WHAT DOES THE MAJORITY WANT?
    • LAW NUMBER ONE
  • EIGHT
    • PROUD TO BE THIRD
    • THE PLACEBO EFFECT
    • INTERESTING!
    • SELF-REFERENCE SELF-EXPLAINED
    • THE SURPRISE VISIT
    • A RISKY CAKE
  • CODA
    • UNIVERSAL ACID
  • NOTE

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