Reality? Knowledge? Philosophy!: An Introduction to Metaphysics and Epistemology

Fundamentally, what are we? And what, if anything, do we know? Minds, bodies; free will; evil; meaningful lives; harmful deaths: do such properties make us whatever we are? Truth; rationality; fallibility; knowledge; observation, reason; sceptical doubts: are these also vital to our being whatever we are? You do not understand yourself and others until you have done battle with those questions. And Reality? Knowledge? Philosophy! shows you how to do that. It can help you to gain a better philosophy of people’s lives. Become a better person too. Be surprised at how easily your thinking philosophically about reality and knowledge can lead to your reflecting on life’s ethical complications.Features* Offers a new way of approaching metaphysics and epistemology – via links to ethical and social questions.* Readable, clear and engaging.* Encourages discussion and independent thought.* Blends thought-provoking theories with questions applicable to everyday life.

Stephen Hetherington is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of New South Wales, in Sydney, Australia. He has written three books on epistemology - Epistemology's Paradox (1992), Knowledge Puzzles (1996), and Good Knowledge, Bad Knowledge (2001).