Human Knowing: A Prelude to Metaphysics

Human Knowing is a clearly written, brief introduction that guides the reader through an exploration of sense perception, ordinary knowing, scientific knowing, and philosophic knowing. This journey culminates in a justification of philosophy as a genuine form of knowing and thus a natural prelude to metaphysics. Though Felt manages to avoid technical language, the development of his argument is a genuine exercise in philosophic thinking. The outcome is a contemporary expression of a position similar to that of Thomas Aquinas, significantly enriched by insights from Bergson, Whitehead, and phenomenology. This book is accessible, smart, and refreshing. Any interested general reader or student will profit from reading it.

James W. Felt, S.J., is professor emeritus of philosophy at Santa Clara University. He has published a number of books, including Making Sense of Your Freedom: Philosophy for the Perplexed (Cornell University Press, 1994; reprinted by University of Notre Dame Press, 2005); Coming To Be: Toward a Thomistic-Whiteheadian Metaphysics of Becoming (State University of New York Press, 2001); and Human Knowing: A Prelude to Metaphysics (2005), Aims: A Brief Metaphysics for Today (2007), Adventures in Unfashionable Philosophy (2009) all pubished by the University of Notre Dame Press.