What We Can Never Know

Overview

What We Can Never Know explores the limits of philosophy and science through studies of perception, time, madness and knowledge. Extracts and more information can be found at www.whatwecanneverknow.net. Copies can be purchased from Amazon and the publisher, Continuum.

Publisher's Description

Philosophy and science are striving to provide a complete account of the world and our position in it. In this original and provocative book David Gamez shows that this project is fatally flawed because some of our best and most successful theories clash with each other or contradict their own basic assumptions. We want to understand everything about the world, but blindspots at the heart of our knowledge will always prevent us from achieving a final and complete description of reality.

The failure of key theories in philosophy and science is demonstrated by Gamez in a series of lively studies that examine perception, time, madness and scepticism. Colourful thought experiments and detailed readings are used to criticize theories in each of these areas and reach a number of surprising conclusions:

• There is no evidence for the brain.
• We cannot talk about time.
• Reason and madness are indistinguishable from each other.
• The world is a labyrinth of conflicting aspects.

What We Can Never Know is written in a lively and engaging style that makes minimal assumptions about the reader's prior experience of philosophy. A fascinating journey through contemporary philosophy and science that will leave you questioning everything that you think you know.

What Philosophy Is

Overview

I co-edited What Philosophy Is with Havi Carel and it consists of revised versions of papers presented at the Philosophy As... conference that we co-organised in 2002. More information about this book can be found on the archived version of the Philosophy As... website.

Publisher's Description

What do we mean when we talk about philosophy today? How does philosophy relate to science, to politics, to literature? What methods does the modern philosopher use, and how does philosophy progress? Does philosophy differ from place to place? What can philosophy do for us? And what can it not do?

This book, with contributions from such exciting and influential contemporary philosophers as Simon Blackburn, Michael Friedman, Simon Critchley and Manuel DeLanda, offers us a fascinating picture of the character and methods of philosophy, its possibilities and its limitations. And of course, it is itself a piece of philosophy in action, not merely offering us answers but also prompting us to ask further questions and to philosophize for ourselves.