Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Kurt Goedel first published his celebrated theorem, showing that no axiomatization can determine the whole truth and nothing but the truth concerning arithmetic, nearly a century ago. The theorem challenged prevalent presuppositions about the nature of mathematics and was consequently of considerable mathematical interest, while also raising various deep philosophical questions. Goedel's Theorem has since established itself as a landmark intellectual achievement, having a profound impact on today's mathematical ideas. Goedel and his theorem have attracted something of a cult following, though his theorem is often misunderstood. This Very Short Introduction places the theorem in its intellectual and historical context, and explains the key concepts as well as common misunderstandings of what it actually states. A. W. Moore provides a clear statement of the theorem, presenting two proofs, each of which has something distinctive to teach about its content. Moore also discusses the most important philosophical implications of the theorem. In particular, Moore addresses the famous question of whether the theorem shows the human mind to have mathematical powers beyond those of any possible computer ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Is it possible for ethical thinking to be grounded in pure reason? In this bold and innovative new work, Adrian Moore provides a refreshing and challenging look at Kant's moral and religious philosophy and uses it to arrive at a distinctive way of understanding and answering this question. Noble in Reason, Infinite in Faculty identifies three Kantain Themes - morality, freedom and religion - and presents variations on each of these themes in turn. Moore concedes that there are difficulties with the Kantian view that morality can be governed by 'pure' reason, but defends a closely related view involving a notion of reason as socially and culturally conditioned. In the course of doing this, Moore considers in detail ideas at the heart of Kant's thought, such as the categorical imperative, free will, evil, hope, eternal life, and God. He also makes creative use of ideas in contemporary philosophy, both within the analytic tradition and outside it, such as 'thick' ethical concepts, forms of life, and 'becoming those that we are'. Throughout the book, a guiding precept is that to be rational is to make sense, and that nothing is of greater value to us than making sense. Noble in Reason, Infinite in Faculty is essential reading for all those interested in Kant, ethics, and philosophy of religion.

In this bold and innovative new work, Adrian Moore provides a refreshing but challenging new interpretation of Kant's moral philosophy and argues that it can enrich our understanding of a central problem in contemporary ethical debate: the problem of rationality.
Noble in Reason, Infinite in Faculty is essential reading for all those interested in Kant, ethics and philosophy of religion.

eBook available with sample pages: 020346009X

We are all captivated and puzzled by the infinite, in its many varied guises; by the endlessness of space and time; by the thought that between any two points in space, however close, there is always another; by the fact that numbers go on forever; and by the idea of an all-knowing, all-powerful God. In this acclaimed introduction to the infinite, A. W. Moore takes us on a journey back to early Greek thought about the infinite, from its inception to Aristotle. He then examines medieval and early modern conceptions of the infinite, including a brief history of the calculus, before turning to Kant and post-Kantian ideas. He also gives an account of Cantor's remarkable discovery that some infinities are bigger than others. In the second part of the book, Moore develops his own views, drawing on technical advances in the mathematics of the infinite, including the celebrated theorems of Skolem and Goedel, and deriving inspiration from Wittgenstein. He concludes this part with a discussion of death and human finitude. For this third edition Moore has added a new part, 'Infinity superseded', which contains two new chapters refining his own ideas through a re-examination of the ideas of Spinoza, Hegel, and Nietzsche. This new part is heavily influenced by the work of Deleuze. Also new for the third edition are: a technical appendix on still unresolved questions about different infinite sizes; an expanded glossary; and updated references and further reading. The Infinite, Third Edition is ideal reading for anyone interested in an engaging and historically informed account of this fascinating topic, whether from a philosophical point of view, a mathematical point of view, or a religious point of view.

These essays by A.W. Moore are all concerned with the business of representing how things are - its nature, its scope, and its limits. The essays in Part One deal with linguistic representation and discuss topics such as rules of representation and their nature, the sorites paradox, and the very distinction between sense and nonsense. Wittgenstein's work, both early and late, figures prominently. One thesis that surfaces at various points is that some things are beyond representation. The essays in Part Two deal with representation more generally and with the character of what is represented, and owe much to Bernard Williams's argument for the possibility of representation from no point of view. They touch more or less directly on the distinction between representation from a point of view and representation from no point of view-in some cases by exploring various consequences of Kant's belief that representation of how things are physically is always, eo ipso, representation from a point of view. One thesis that surfaces at various points is that nothing is beyond representation. Each of the essays in Part Three, which draw inspiration from the early work of Wittgenstein, indicate how the resulting tension between Parts One and Two is to be resolved: namely, by construing the first part as a thesis about states of knowledge or understanding, and the second part as a thesis about facts or truths.

We are all captivated and puzzled by the infinite, in its many varied guises; by the endlessness of space and time; by the thought that between any two points in space, however close, there is always another; by the fact that numbers go on forever; and by the idea of an all-knowing, all-powerful God. In this acclaimed introduction to the infinite, A. W. Moore takes us on a journey back to early Greek thought about the infinite, from its inception to Aristotle. He then examines medieval and early modern conceptions of the infinite, including a brief history of the calculus, before turning to Kant and post-Kantian ideas. He also gives an account of Cantor's remarkable discovery that some infinities are bigger than others. In the second part of the book, Moore develops his own views, drawing on technical advances in the mathematics of the infinite, including the celebrated theorems of Skolem and Goedel, and deriving inspiration from Wittgenstein. He concludes this part with a discussion of death and human finitude. For this third edition Moore has added a new part, 'Infinity superseded', which contains two new chapters refining his own ideas through a re-examination of the ideas of Spinoza, Hegel, and Nietzsche. This new part is heavily influenced by the work of Deleuze. Also new for the third edition are: a technical appendix on still unresolved questions about different infinite sizes; an expanded glossary; and updated references and further reading. The Infinite, Third Edition is ideal reading for anyone interested in an engaging and historically informed account of this fascinating topic, whether from a philosophical point of view, a mathematical point of view, or a religious point of view.

This book is concerned with the history of metaphysics since Descartes. Taking as its definition of metaphysics 'the most general attempt to make sense of things', it charts the evolution of this enterprise through various competing conceptions of its possibility, scope, and limits. The book is divided into three parts, dealing respectively with the early modern period, the late modern period in the analytic tradition, and the late modern period in non-analytic traditions. In its unusually wide range, A. W. Moore's study refutes the tired old cliche that there is some unbridgeable gulf between analytic philosophy and philosophy of other kinds. It also advances its own distinctive and compelling conception of what metaphysics is and why it matters. Moore explores how metaphysics can help us to cope with continually changing demands on our humanity by making sense of things in ways that are radically new.

This book is concerned with the history of metaphysics since Descartes. Taking as its definition of metaphysics 'the most general attempt to make sense of things', it charts the evolution of this enterprise through various competing conceptions of its possibility, scope, and limits. The book is divided into three parts, dealing respectively with the early modern period, the late modern period in the analytic tradition, and the late modern period in non-analytic traditions. In its unusually wide range, A. W. Moore's study refutes the tired old cliche that there is some unbridgeable gulf between analytic philosophy and philosophy of other kinds. It also advances its own distinctive and compelling conception of what metaphysics is and why it matters. Moore explores how metaphysics can help us to cope with continually changing demands on our humanity by making sense of things in ways that are radically new."

A. W. Moore argues in this bold and ambitious book that it is possible to think about the world 'from no point of view'. He examines this idea, explains its significance, and considers reasons for thinking that such a thing is not possible. In particular, drawing on the work of Kant and Wittgenstein, he considers transcendental idealism. This leads to the heart of his project: a study of ineffability and nonsense. His fundamental idea is that transcendental idealism is nonsense resulting from the attempt to express certain inexpressible insights. This idea is applied to a wide range of fundamental philosophical issues, including the nature of persons, the subject-matter of mathematics, anti-realism, value, and God; Moores original approach forges unexpected connections between the various questions he addresses. Points of View is a lucid and lively study of the relation between reality and our representations of it, the upshot of which is a powerful critique of our own finitude.

The Human A Priori is a collection of essays by A.W. Moore, one of them previously unpublished and the rest all revised. These essays are all concerned, more or less directly, with something ineliminably anthropocentric in our systematic pursuit of a priori sense-making. Part I deals with the nature, scope, and limits of a priori sense-making in general. Parts II, III, and IV deal with what are often thought to be the three great exemplars of the systematic pursuit of such sense-making: philosophy in the case of Part II, ethics in the case of Part III, and mathematics in the case of Part IV. Much of the attention throughout is devoted to the work of other philosophers: Kant and Wittgenstein feature prominently, and five of the essays take the form of reviews or critical notices of recent work in philosophy. But the interest in never purely exegetical. One of the lessons that emerges from the essays, either in opposition to the views of these other philosophers or by invocation of their views, is that we humans achieve nothing of real significance in philosophy, ethics, or mathematics except from a human point of view, and hence that all three of these pursuits can be said to betoken what may reasonably be called 'the human a priori'.

"The book should immediately become a staple in the library of anyone with an interest in contemporary English-language philosophy. The collection contains many excellent essays that have been hard to locate for a while, or which have not been previously published. The title essay, 'Philosophy as a Humanistic Discipline, ' is a rich and remarkable essay, and this is a splendid collection."--Richard Moran, Professor of Philosophy, Harvard University, author of "Authority and Estrangement" (Princeton)

"Bernard Williams brought human life into philosophy, and so into the philosophy of all of us. No one outdid him in his mastery of those abstract complexities without which no real philosophy is possible. But through all the intricate reasonings his eye was always on what counts most: making the best sense of the lives of human beings."--Barry Stroud, University of California at Berkeley

"Williams was one of the most important philosophers of the late twentieth century, who managed to combine an extraordinary philosophical command with an equally impressive gift for keeping in touch with the deepest issues of human life. These essays take up questions about practical reason, the will to believe, and the relation between belief and other mental states, whose modern discussion was transformed by the power and originality of his contributions. Central to all his work is a resistance to what might be called the scientism of much analytical philosophy, something that Williams always stood against in the spheres of ethics and politics."--Kwame Anthony Appiah, Laurance S. Rockefeller University Professor of Philosophy, Princeton University, and author of "The Ethics of Identity" (Princeton)

The aim of this series is to bring together important recent writings in major areas of philosophical inquiry, selected from a wide variety of souces, mostly periodicals, which may not be conveniently available to the university student or the general reader. The editor of each volume contributes an introductory essay on the items chosen and on the question which which they deal. A selective bibliography is appended as a guide to further reading.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1891 Edition.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1891 Edition.

1891. Contents: Myths Connected with the Legendary History of the Isle of Man; Hagiological and Mytho-Historical Legends; Fairies and Familiar Spirits; Hobgoblins, Monsters, Giants, Mermaids, Apparitions; Magic, Witchcraft; Customs and Superstitions Connected with the Seasons; Superstitions Connected with the Sun, Animals, Trees, Plants, Sacred Edifices; Customs and Superstitions Connected with Birth, Marriage and Death; Customs Formerly Enforced by Law; and Proverbs and Sayings.

1891. Contents: Myths Connected with the Legendary History of the Isle of Man; Hagiological and Mytho-Historical Legends; Fairies and Familiar Spirits; Hobgoblins, Monsters, Giants, Mermaids, Apparitions; Magic, Witchcraft; Customs and Superstitions Connected with the Seasons; Superstitions Connected with the Sun, Animals, Trees, Plants, Sacred Edifices; Customs and Superstitions Connected with Birth, Marriage and Death; Customs Formerly Enforced by Law; and Proverbs and Sayings.

1891. Contents: Myths Connected with the Legendary History of the Isle of Man; Hagiological and Mytho-Historical Legends; Fairies and Familiar Spirits; Hobgoblins, Monsters, Giants, Mermaids, Apparitions; Magic, Witchcraft; Customs and Superstitions Connected with the Seasons; Superstitions Connected with the Sun, Animals, Trees, Plants, Sacred Edifices; Customs and Superstitions Connected with Birth, Marriage and Death; Customs Formerly Enforced by Law; and Proverbs and Sayings.