Epimethean Imaginings Philosophical and Other Meditations on Everyday Light [Hardcover]

These essays, written in the spirit of Goethes Epimetheus who traces the quick deed to the dim realm of form-combining possibilities , display the depth and breadth of Talliss fascination with our lives. Whether discussing philosophical hardy perennials like time, or a mundane artefact like ink, Tallis challenges us to think differently about who we are and why we are.

The first part of the book  Analysis  dives into the deep-end to explore some of the big questions in philosophy: perception, knowledge and belief; time; the relationship between mathematics and reality; and probability and causation. The middle section  Tetchy Interludes  takes a wry look at some aspects of contemporary art; stupidity (including the authors own); and Christmas. The third part  Celebration  is more experimental in both its subject matter and treatment. It celebrates the complexity of ordinary, everyday consciousness by contemplating the miracle of speech, artefacts that have transformed our lives (and what they reveal about our cognition) such as the wheel, the sail, and ink; and snapshots of the authors own consciousness on an ordinary day, of past consciousness, as captured in historical memory.

Notwithstanding their diversity in theme and style, these essays share the common aim of discovering and celebrating the submerged riches in the quick deeds of our everyday lives and perceptions.

Part 1: Analyses  Prefatory Note  1. Seeing and Believing  2. Where is that Itch? Philosophy from Scratch  3. Knowledge and the Subjective Qualities of Experience  4. Does Rover Believe Anything?  5. Draining the River and Quivering the Arrow: Against the Flow and Direction of Time  6. Mistaking Mathematics for Reality: Where Zeno Went Wrong and So Many Followed  7. Could the Universe (Even) Give a Toss?  8. Causes as (Local) Oomph lÃ4