Nothing: A Philosophical History

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Roy Sorensen (Professor of Philosophy, Professor of Philosophy, The University of Texas at Austin)

Nothing

A Philosophical History

Roy Sorensen (Professor of Philosophy, Professor of Philosophy, The University of Texas at Austin)

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English

Oxford University Press
01 August 2022

Philosophy; Philosophy: metaphysics & ontology

An entertaining history of the idea of nothing - including absences, omissions, and shadows - from the Ancient Greeks through the 20th centuryHow can nothing cause something?

The absence of something might seem to indicate a null or a void, an emptiness as ineffectual as a shadow.

In fact, 'nothing' is one of the most powerful ideas the human mind has ever conceived.

This short and entertaining book by Roy Sorensen is a lively tour of the history and philosophy of nothing, explaining how various thinkers throughout history have conceived and grappled with the mysterious power of absence -- and how these ideas about shadows, gaps, and holes have in turned played a very positive role in the development of some of humankind's most important ideas.

Filled with Sorensen's characteristically entertaining mix of anecdotes, puzzles, curiosities, and philosophical speculation, the book is ordered chronologically, starting with the Taoists, the Buddhists, and the ancient Greeks, moving forward to the middle ages and the early modern period, then up to the existentialists and present day philosophy.

The result is a diverting tour through the history of human thought as seen from a novel and unusual perspective.

By: Roy Sorensen (Professor of Philosophy Professor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 142mm, Width: 203mm, Spine: 36mm
Weight: 1g
ISBN: 9780199742837
ISBN 10: 0199742839
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 01 August 2022
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction Nothing Represented 1 The Makapansgat Hominid: Pictorial Absence 2 Hermetes Trismegistus: Discursive Absence Relative Nothing 3 Lao Tzu: Absence of Action 4 Buddha: Absence of Wholes 5 Nagarjuna: Absence of Ground Absolute Nothing 6 Parmenides: Absence of Absence 7 Anaxagoras: Absence of Total Absences 8 Leucippus: Local Absolute Absences Potential Nothing 9 Plato: Shades of Absence 10 Aristotle: Potential Absence meets Absence of Potential 11 Lucretius: Your Future Infinite Absence Divine Nothing 12 Saint Katherine of Alexandria: Absence of Non-existent Women Philosophers 13 Augustine: The Evil of Absence is an Absence of Evil 14 Fridugisus: Synesthesia and Absences 15 Maimonides: The Divination of Absence Scientific Nothing 16 Bradwardine: Absence of Determination 17 Newton: A Safe Space for Absence 18 Leibniz: Absence of Contradiction Secular Nothing 19 Schopenhauer: Absence of Meaning 20 Bergson: The Evolution Absence 21 Sartre: Absence Perceived 22 Bertrand Russell: Absence of Referents References

Roy Sorensen is the author of eight books: Blindspots, Thought Experiments, Pseudo-Problems, A Brief History of the Paradox, Vagueness and Contradiction, Seeing Dark Things, and A Cabinet of Philosophical Curiosities. Prior to joining the UT Austin faculty in 2019, he taught at University of Delaware, New York University, Dartmouth College, and Washington University in St. Louis. Starting in 2020, he will be a Professorial Fellow at St. Andrews University in Scotland.

Reviews for Nothing: A Philosophical History

Sorensen (Univ. of Texas at Austin; frequent visiting professor, St. Andrew's Univ., Scotland) has written a book that seeks above all to be comprehensive both geographically and chronologically. Spanning the ancient Greeks to today and traversing multiple cultures and thus multiple faith traditions, Nothing leaves no stone unturned in this survey of nonbeing. The text is not only informative but also entertaining; Sorensen's analysis is quite quippy at times...this book will provide a broad understanding of the meaning of absence. * Choice *