Description
Book SynopsisThis 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.
Trade Review"A majestic thought experiment."
—
Slavoj Zizek
"It is a rare gift to be able to philosophize from the first principles in a way that is neither patronizingly derivative nor technically arcane and in a manner that is accessible to the general reader. But Gabriel possesses that gift in bucketloads."
—
Simon Critchley, New School for Social Research
"Imagine a philosopher. This philosopher has the verve and pop-culture curiosity of Slavoj Zizek; Graham Priest's comfort with unresolved ambiguity; the transparent prose of John Gray; and Martin Heidegger's nose for the faint scent of being. Your imagined thinker is Markus Gabriel, and his book is
Why the World Does Not Exist."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
"This delightful book, translated by Gregory Moss, upholds Wittgenstein's remark that 'whatever can be said at all can be said clearly'."
—
The Guardian
"Gabriel has written a gripping thriller, which is of course what all good philosophy should be."
—
Die Literarische Welt
"Markus Gabriel shows with great verve how to tackle fundamental philosophical questions, without being overly academic or dumbing down his subject matter."
—
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
"With great wit and intellectual provocation, Markus Gabriel explores the perennial questions of humanity."
—
Der Spiegel
"
Why the World Does Not Exist, is confirmation… that modern works of German philosophy can be both profound and successful."
—Foreign PolicyTable of ContentsThinking Philosophy Anew 1
Appearance and Being 2
New Realism 5
The Plurality of Worlds 8
Less than Nothing 11
I What is this Actually: the World? 16
You and the Universe 21
Materialism 28
“The World is Everything that is the Case” 32
Constructivism 38
Philosophers and Physicists 44
II What is Existence? 50
The Super-Object 53
Monism, Dualism, Pluralism 56
Absolute and Relative Differences 61
Fields of Sense 65
III Why the World Does Not Exist 73
The Super-Thought 78
Nihilism and Non-Existence 81
The External and the Internal World 91
IV The Worldview of Natural Science 99
Naturalism 106
Monism 111
The Book of the World 115
Subjective Truths 126
Holzwege 131
Science and Art 137
V The Meaning of Religion 146
Fetishism 154
The Infinite 162
Religion and the Search for Meaning 168
The Function of God 178
VI The Meaning of Art 184
Ambivalences 186
On Sense and Reference 190
The Demon of Analogy 194
Reflexivity 197
Diversity 204
VII Closing Credits: Television 209
A Show about Nothing 212
The Senses . . . 215
. . . and the Meaning of Life 220
Notes 222
Glossary 231
Index of Names 237
