
Insurmountable Simplicities
Thirty-Nine Philosophical Conundrums
Columbia University Press
Will be published approx. on 3. March 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
144 pages
978-0-231-13723-2 (ISBN)
Description
"Perhaps not all the stories that follow are true. They could, however, be true, and the Reader is invited to ponder this." So begins Insurmountable Simplicities, Roberto Casati and Achille Varzi's colorful incarnation of the many philosophical conundrums that hide in the wrinkles of everyday life. Why do mirrors seem to invert left and right but not up and down? How do we know whether strawberries taste the same for everyone? Where is it written that we must observe the law, and if it is not written, why should we observe it? What if we could swap brains-or the rest of our bodies? Insurmountable Simplicities is filled with stories, dialogues, and epistolary exchanges that cover a range of themes-such as personal identity, causality and responsibility, fortune, the nature of things, the paradoxes of time and space, the interface between logic and language-in captivating and inventive ways. Clear, concise, and intellectually engaging, this internationally acclaimed book brilliantly demonstrates that the beauty of philosophy resides in its thorough engagement with the simplicities of the world, insurmountable as they might initially appear.
Reviews / Votes
Bite-sized bits of thought-provoking philosophy are cunningly explored in this little book of brainteasers. Publishers Weekly The authors creatively weave...cleverly written stories. Highly recommended. Library Journal An excellent and mentally stimulating introduction to a wide variety of difficult and deep questions. Midwest Book ReviewMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 206 mm
Width: 134 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
228 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-231-13723-2 (9780231137232)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
09/2015
1st Edition
De Gruyter
from
€17.95
Available for download

Book
05/2006
Columbia University Press
€55.80
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Previous edition

Book
05/2006
Columbia University Press
€55.80
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
Roberto Casati is research director at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris. He is the author of The Shadow Club and (with Achille Varzi) Parts and Places: The Structures of Spatial Representation and Holes and Other Superficialities. Achille Varzi is professor of philosophy at Columbia University. In addition to the books coauthored with Casati, he is the author of several volumes, including An Essay in Universal Semantics and Theory and Problems of Logic.
Author
Institut Nicod
Columbia University
Translation
Columbia University
Content
Room 88 About a Useless Project The Poet as a Young Man The Chain of Events Leading Up to the Goal Zombie, Inc. Sleeping Pills Partial Amnesia Person Transplant My Ice Cream, Your Ice Cream Playing Lotto in Reverse City Lucky Numbers The Invisible Disorder A Missive from the Bell-Ringer Sparkling Bubbles Dates of Birth Four-Seasons Island Lost Beauty Spots Hic Sunt Leones Reflections The Last Case of the President of Amoebas The Hidden Statue A Cupboard in Pieces Holter Monitor Row 13 Train Cancelled Satellites Verbatim The Intelligent Dictionary The Traveler's Pictionary Ink Marks Forced Choices What Does the Majority Want? Law Number One Proud To Be Third The Placebo Effect Interesting! Self-Reference Self-Explained The Surprise Visit A Risky Cake Coda Universal Acid Note