How can we be sure of a world outside of our own consciousness? Using this fundamental question as a launching point, Dr. Timothy Chappell takes his readers through a wide-ranging overview of the major themes of Western philosophical thought. Drawing on examples ranging from the great philosophical works of the past to modern pop-culture phenomena like The Matrix, Dr. Chappell provides a stimulating introduction to the issues that have consumed Western philosophers for millennia. Presenting complex arguments in accessible terms, this is the perfect guidebook for the first-year college student, or for anyone intrigued by the mysteries of human existence.
Dr Timothy Chappell (MA, Classics and Philosophy, Oxford 1988, PhD Edinburgh 1992) was a Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford, and a College Lecturer at Merton College, Oxford, from 1992 to 1995. Since then he has held tenured posts at a series of Universities ever closer to the winter climbing on Ben Nevis - UEA, Manchester, and (since 1998) Dundee. Since 2000 he has been Treasurer of the Mind Association; since 2002 he has been Reviews Editor of The Philosophical Quarterly. In 2001-2 he held an AHRB research fellowship, and was a Visiting Fellow in the School of Latin, Greek and Ancient History in St Andrews. In January to May 2003 he was a Visiting Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.