Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?: 23 Questions from Great Philosophers

First U.S. edition, 1st printing. 223pp. Translated by Agnieszka Kolakowska. Bright, clean & tight copy, unread, in AS NEW condition. "Do we have free will? How can we know anything? What is justice? Why is there evil in the world?What is the source of truth? Is it possible for God not to exist? Can we really believe what we see? [] These are some of the questions that have intrigued the world's greatest thinkers over the ages. They are questions that make us think about the way we live, work, relate to each other, and see the world. In elegant and accessible prose, the eminent philosopher Leszek Kolakowski explores the essence of these ideas and their ongoing relevance as he introduces us to the great figures of Western thought: from Socrates to St. Augustine, Descartes to Nietzsche, and beyond. [] Reflecting on the great issues that animate our lives--good and evil, truth and beauty, faith and the soul, free will and consciousness--WHY IS THERE SOMETHING RATHER THAN NOTHING? offers a guided tour of Western philosophy by one of the world's greatest living experts." [jacket copy] "A discrete, dialectical wonder, a high-brow, low-key little volume that's strangely synchronous: backward-looking, forward-thinking, and--best of all--wholly free of both condescension and commonplaceness."--The Atlantic. "Each little essay is a masterpiece of exquisitely refined intellectual summary and judgment. One may not always agree, but, in disagreement, one is prompted to think again."--Richard Neuhaus. "Kolakowski is the greatest living intellectual historian."--John Gray. Pristine & handy hardcover w/brilliant corners & crisp edges, a square & tight binding, wrapped in an intact & beautiful jacket.…