{"product_id":"philosophical-provocations-isbn-9780262036191","title":"Philosophical Provocations","description":"\u003cb\u003ePithy, direct, and bold: essays that propose new ways to think about old problems, spanning a range of philosophical topics.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003ePhilosophical Provocations\u003c\/i\u003e, Colin McGinn offers a series of short, sharp essays that take on philosophical problems ranging from the concept of mind to paradox, altruism, and the relation between God and the Devil. Avoiding the usual scholarly apparatus and embracing a blunt pithiness, McGinn aims to achieve as much as possible in as short a space as possible while covering as many topics as possible. Much academic philosophical writing today is long, leaden, citation heavy, dense with qualifications, and painful to read. The essays in \u003ci\u003ePhilosophical Provocations\u003c\/i\u003e are short, direct, and engaging, often challenging philosophical orthodoxy as they consider issues in mind, language, knowledge, metaphysics, biology, ethics, and religion.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMcGinn is looking for new ways to think about old problems. Thus he writes, about consciousness, “I think we have been all wrong,” and goes on to suggest that both consciousness and the unconscious are mysteries. Summing up his proposal on altruism, he remarks, “My suggestion can now be stated, somewhat brutally, as follows: human altruism is the result of parasitic manipulation.” He takes a moment to reflect: “I really don't know why it is good to be alive, though I am convinced that the standard suggestions don't work.” McGinn gets straight to the point and states his position with maximum clarity. These essays offer provocative invitations to think again.\u003c\/p\u003eColin McGinn has taught philosophy at institutions of higher learning including University College London, Rutgers University, and Oxford University. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Character of Mind\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eConsciousness and Its Objects\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Meaning of Disgust\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePhilosophy of Language: The Classics Explained\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eInborn Knowledge: The Mystery Within\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePrehension: The Hand and the Emergence of Humanity\u003c\/i\u003e (the last three published by the MIT Press), and other books.","brand":"The MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300852322533,"sku":"NP9780262036191","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780262036191.jpg?v=1767734721","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/philosophical-provocations-isbn-9780262036191","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}