Can God's existence be proven by logic? Are computers smart enough to follow rules--or to cheat? What is an out-of-body experience? How can tables be solid when physicists say they're made of subatomic particles that are only probability functions? Does science depend on trust? What is conscience? Does it come from God? From religious teaching? Social training? Is it rational to pursue your own self-interest? Can we all survive if we do this? In this collection of stories and dialogues Trudy Govier shows how these old and new philosophical questions arise, and offers imaginative and striking depictions of some of the theories and arguments they have inspired.
This philosophy book is excellent if you are interested in the subject but feels intimidated by the subject. Govier breaks down several classic philosophy questions and explores them through short stories and conversations among three main characters. The conversations are informative and well written, exploring multiple angles of the subject without becoming overly confusing. My only criticism of this book is that the author tends to look at things from a heavily Christian view. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to slowly wade into philosophy from the shallow end of the pool.
Excellent, highly readable introduction to metaphysics
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
This book offers an excellent, humorous and highly readable introduction to metaphysics; I use it for my undergrad course on Philosophy of Inquiry. The author creates a number of dialogues among fictitional college students who ponder the nature of God, the cosmos, human nature, good and evil and, of course, pizza. Instead of standard answers or conclusions, it provides a useful foundation for getting students to work out their own paths to inquiry. Four stars, out of five.
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