Tells about truth, and the enemies of truth, and the wars that are fought between them. This guide looks at relativism and absolutism, toleration and belief, objectivity and knowledge, science and pseudo-science, and the moral and political implications, as well as the nuances, of all these.

In What Do We Really Know? Simon Blackburn addresses the twenty most-asked philosophical questions, including 'Can machines think?', 'What is the meaning of life?', 'Is death to be feared?', 'Why be good?', 'What am I?' and 'What do we really know?'

Each 3000-word essay examines a question that has eternally perplexed enquiring minds, and provides answers from history's great thinkers.

The 'How to Read' series is an introduction to some of the most influential and challenging writers in history, exploring the minds and philosophies of those who have shaped our intellectual and political landscape.

Ideas in Profile: Small Introductions to Big Topics

Truth has always been a thorny topic. How does it work? Who decides what it is? And why is it seen as so important? In this lucid introduction to the topic, leading scholar Simon Blackburn describes the main approaches to the notion of truth and considers how these relate to different perspectives on belief, interpretation, facts, knowledge and action. He then looks at how these ideas can be applied to:

- aesthetics, taste and the judgement of art;
- ethics and how people decide how they should (or should not) live;
-...