“I want Paula or her body—I don’t care which.”This was the command of her wealthy, ruthless father. But Abel Cain, who undertook the search, found that he had been presented with only one side of the ugly truth. There were others looking for the hidden heiress too, and among them were the forces of jealousy, greed, and murderous vengeance.When and island orgy held by Paula’s friends backfired and the two-faced revelers uncovered a surprise coffin, Cain foun...

Atheism is a familiar kind of skepticism about religion. Moral error theory is an analogous kind of skepticism about morality, though less well known outside academic circles. Both kinds of skeptic face a “what next?” question: If we have decided that the subject matter (religion/morality) is mistaken, then what should we do with this way of talking and thinking? The natural assumption is that we should abolish the mistaken topic, just as we previously eliminated talk of, say, bodily humor...

There are a bewildering variety of ways the terms "realism" and "anti-realism" have been used in philosophy and furthermore the different uses of these terms are only loosely connected with one another. Rather than give a piecemeal map of this very diverse landscape, the authors focus on what they see as the core concept: realism about a particular domain is the view that there are facts or entities distinctive of that domain, and their existence and nature is in some important sense objec...

A Critical Introduction to Fictionalism provides a clear and comprehensive understanding of an important alternative to realism. Drawing on questions from ethics, the philosophy of religion, art, mathematics, logic and science, this is a complete exploration of how fictionalism contrasts with other non-realist doctrines and motivates influential fictionalist treatments across a range of philosophical issues.Defending and criticizing influential as well as emerging fictiona...

Eleven original essays discuss a range of puzzling philosophical questions about fictional characters, and more generally about fictional objects. For example, they ask questions like the following: Do they really exist? What would fictional objects be like if they existed? Do they exist eternally? Are they created? Who by? When and how? Can they be destroyed? If so, how? Are they abstract or concrete? Are they actual? Are they complete objects? Are they possible objects? How many fictiona...

A former Hollywood star discovers the one thing she has always wished for could come true in this classic novel of second chances and timeless love by #1 New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels.A brilliant movie career, two adoring husbands—none of it is enough to erase the memory of Ariel Hart’s one true love. Back when she was plain, shy Aggie Bixby, a dark-eyed young man named Felix touched her heart . . . then vanished from her life.Now...

An urgent defense of reason, the essential method for resolving—or even discussing—divisive issues: "A timely masterpiece."—Patricia S. Churchland, author of Touching a NerveReason, long held as the highest human achievement, is under siege. According to Aristotle, the capacity for reason sets us apart from other animals, yet today it has ceased to be a universally admired faculty. Rationality and reason have become political, disputed con...

Human beings have the unique ability to view the world in a detached way: We can think about the world in terms that transcend our own experience or interest, and consider the world from a vantage point that is, in Nagel's words, "nowhere in particular". At the same time, each of us is a particular person in a particular place, each with his own "personal" view of the world, a view that we can recognize as just one aspect of the whole. How do we reconcile these two standpoints--intellectua...

A philosophical exploration of female submission, using insights from feminist thinkers—especially Simone de Beauvoir—to reveal the complexities of women’s reality and lived experienceWhat role do women play in the perpetuation of patriarchy? On the one hand, popular media urges women to be independent, outspoken, and career-minded. Yet, this same media glorifies a specific, sometimes voluntary, female submissiveness as a source of satisfaction. In philosophy, even...

Crime scene cleaner Sadie Novak has been blessed with the gift of second sight. But with ghosts of murder victims always popping up when she’s trying to work, her blessing sometimes seems more like a curse…With business slow, her mortgage payment looming, and her relationship with on-again off-again boyfriend Zack somewhere in limbo, Sadie could use a drink and a little rejuvenating R&R. But when women start getting killed in fancy hotels, Sadie suddenly finds hers...

The last book by the eminent American philosopher and public intellectual Richard Rorty, providing the definitive statement of his mature philosophical and political views.Richard Rorty’s Pragmatism as Anti-Authoritarianism is a last statement by one of America’s foremost philosophers. Here Rorty offers his culminating thoughts on the influential version of pragmatism he began to articulate decades ago in his groundbreaking Philosophy and the Mirror of...

Sadie Novak cleans up crime scenes for a living, and often finds herself face-to-face with the dead. Blessed—or cursed—with the gift of second sight, she can’t seem to finish a job without being visited by an earth-bound spirit...Sadie’s going through a rough time. Since her dad passed away, she's had to juggle her widowed mother, her lying boyfriend, Zack, her struggling business—and the fact that her father’s spirit is reluctant to move on. Now, on top of all tha...