1st Edition
Too Weird to Believe, Too Plausible to Deny Mind-Blowing Philosophical Ideas
Introduction: Too Weird to Believe, Too Plausible to Deny
Part 1: What Should We Do?
1. Having a Disability Can Be Good for You
Joseph A. Stramondo
2. Lying Is Always Wrong
Krista K. Thomason
3. Not Being An Evil Bastard Is Hard
Alastair Norcross
4. Polyamory Is Not Cheating
Carrie Jenkins
5. There’s No Duty to Obey the Law
Jason Brennan
6. More Lives Better Than Good Lives
Jesper Ryberg
7. We Should Not Reproduce
David Benatar
8. Taxes Aren’t Just Theft, They’re Much Worse
Adam Moore
9. Your Property Isn’t Really Yours
Christine Sypnowich
10. Ignorance Is the Foundation of Justice
Marcus Arvan
11. Freedom Without Alternatives
Michael McKenna
12. We’re Not Responsible
Neil Levy
13. It's Your Fault You’re Not Happy
Massimo Pigliucci
14. More Than One True Morality
David B. Wong
15. Moral Facts Are Magic Tricks
Victor Moberger
Part 2: What Is True?
16. Bias Is Good
Louise Antony
17. Against Doing Your Own Research
Jonathan Matheson
18. Anything Can Be Art
Alex King
19. Sex Is Socially Constructed
Kevin Richardson
20. Conscious Intelligent Robots Are Virtually Inevitable
Pete Mandik
21. Consciousness Is Everywhere
Luke Roelofs
22. Consciousness Is Not What It Seems
Keith Frankish
23. There Is No Self
Monima Chadha
24. The Past and Future Are as Real as Now
Heather Dyke
25. We Can't Know If Scientific Theories Are Correct
Angela Potochnik and Dana Tulodziecki
26. The World Is Almost Certainly Not the Way It Seems
Cliff Sosis
27. Reality Doesn’t Matter
Felipe De Brigard
28. Should You Believe Nothing?
Juan Comesaña
29. Nothingness: The Contradiction at the Ground of Reality
Graham Priest
Biography
Cliff Sosis is a Principal Lecturer at Coastal Carolina University, USA. He is interested in philosophy of science, metaphilosophy, and metaethics. He created and runs the website ‘What Is It Like to Be a Philosopher?’, which features in-depth autobiographical interviews with philosophers from a wide range of backgrounds.
“A mind-bending collection of brief, plausible arguments for a wide variety of unusual philosophical views, by an impressive range of contributors. If it doesn't rouse you from your dogmatic slumbers, you must be deeply asleep. It will inspire you to rethink the reasons behind your implicit "common sense" assumptions about ethics and the nature of reality.”
-- Eric Schwitzgebel, Professor of Philosophy at UC Riverside, USA.
“Finally, we have an introductory reader with a distinctively 21st-century orientation towards philosophy. These original essays are about timeless questions, like what counts as art, how to be happy, and what kinds of beings are conscious, and timely questions like the ethics of polyamory, or whether to have children in today’s world. Written by provocateurs who want us to radically revise our preconceptions, or defend them, this is philosophy at its best and most engaging.”
-- Barry Lam, Professor of Philosophy at UC Riverside, USA. Host and Producer of Hi-Phi Nation podcast.
“Each of the essays in this highly readable collection argues for a conclusion that takes us beyond the comforts of common sense. Although the essays are all written by contemporary philosophers, the style they adopt, no doubt due to the editor, is vividly accessible, delightfully jargon-free and engaging. Even if you reject their conclusions, their arguments will force you to work hard in your rejection, deepening your perspective on your own convictions. A brilliant celebration of philosophical courage and the unfamiliar places that reason can take us when we refuse to look away.”
-- Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, author of Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won’t Go Away.
“One of the most enjoyable and thought-provoking philosophy books of recent times. Too Weird to Believe gathers some of the most radical philosophical ideas ever, each defended by contemporary philosophers with careful, intelligent, and easy to understand arguments. If you want to be challenged, and have your mind blown, make sure you get a copy.”
-- Philip Goff, Professor of Philosophy, Durham University, UK.
“Clifford Sosis has put together a wonderful anthology consisting of first-rate philosophers arguing effectively against things most of us are inclined to believe. If you are naturally disagreeable, uncooperative, and skeptical of everything that makes organized society possible, this book can be your bible. If you teach philosophy, it can make a wonderful book for a wide variety of courses, from introductory classes to graduate seminars.”
-- John Perry, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Stanford and UC Riverside, USA.






