Why the World Does Not Exist

Markus Gabriel

ISBN 10: 0745687571 / ISBN 13: 9780745687575

Published by Polity, 2017

About this Item

This new book of popular philosophy is a major bestseller in Germany, where it sold over 40,000 copies in the first few weeks after publication Gabriel argues that the world does not exist because what is, in fact, includes not simply so-called facts, but also views of those facts, dreams, projects, works of art and perspectives. Translator(s): Moss, Gregory. Num Pages: 256 pages. BIC Classification: HPD. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational. Dimension: 215 x 141 x 20. Weight in Grams: 324. . 2017. 1st Edition. Paperback. . . . .

Seller Inventory # V9780745687575

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Why the World Does Not Exist
• Publisher: Polity
• Publication Date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0745687571
• ISBN 13: 9780745687575
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Where do we come from? Are we merely a cluster of elementary particles in a gigantic world receptacle? And what does it all mean?

In this highly original new book, the philosopher Markus Gabriel challenges our notion of what exists and what it means to exist. He questions the idea that there is a world that encompasses everything like a container life, the universe, and everything else. This all-inclusive being does not exist and cannot exist. For the world itself is not found in the world. And even when we think about the world, the world about which we think is obviously not identical with the world in which we think. For, as we are thinking about the world, this is only a very small event in the world. Besides this, there are still innumerable other objects and events: rain showers, toothaches and the World Cup. Drawing on the recent history of philosophy, Gabriel asserts that the world cannot exist at all, because it is not found in the world. Yet with the exception of the world, everything else exists; even unicorns on the far side of the moon wearing police uniforms.

Revelling in witty thought experiments, word play, and the courage of provocation, Markus Gabriel demonstrates the necessity of a questioning mind and the role that humour can play in coming to terms with the abyss of human existence.

About the Author

Markus Gabriel was born in 1980 and studied in Heidelberg, Lisbon and New York. Since 2009 he has held the chair for Epistemology at the University of Bonn and with that is Germany�s youngest philosophy professor. He is also the director of the International Center for Philosophy in Bonn.