Metaphysical horror
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Metaphysical horror
University of Chicago Press, 2001
Rev. ed. / edited by Agnieszka Kołakowska
- : pbk
Available at 1 libraries
Description and Table of Contents
Description
For over a century, philosophers have argued that philosophy is impossible or useless, or both. Although the basic notion dates back to the days of Socrates, there is still heated disagreement about the nature of truth, reality, knowledge, the good, and God. This leaves us with a feeling of radical uncertainty, a feeling described by Kolakowski as "metaphysical horror". "The horror is this" , he says, "if nothing truly exists except the Absolute, the Absolute is nothing; if nothing truly exists except myself, I am nothing". The aim of this book, for Kolakowski, is finding a way out of this seeming dead end. This book confronts these dilemmas through examinations of prominent Western philosophers including Descartes, Spinoza, Husserl, and many of the Neo-Platonists. He argues that philosophy may not provide definitive answers to the fundamental questions, yet the quest itself transforms our lives. It may undermine most of our certainties, yet it still leaves room for our spiritual yearnings and religious beliefs.
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