Immortal Souls now available

After some frustrating delays in distribution, my book Immortal Souls: A Treatise on Human Nature is now in stock and available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  Here are the back cover copy, endorsements, and table of contents:

Immortal Souls provides as ambitious and complete a defense of Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophical anthropology as is currently in print.  Among the many topics covered are the reality and unity of the self, the immateriality of the intellect, the freedom of the will, the immortality of the soul, the critique of artificial intelligence, and the refutation of both Cartesian and materialist conceptions of human nature.  Along the way, the main rival positions in contemporary philosophy and science are thoroughly engaged with and rebutted.

“Edward Feser's book is a Summa of the nature of the human person: it is, therefore, both a rather long – but brilliant – monograph, and a valuable work for consultation.  Each of the human faculties discussed is treated comprehensively, with a broad range of theories considered for and against, and, although Feser's conclusions are firmly Thomistic, one can derive great benefit from his discussions even if one is not a convinced hylomorphist.  Every philosopher of mind would benefit from having this book within easy reach.” Howard Robinson, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Central European University

“Feser defends the Aristotelian and Thomistic system, effectively bringing it into dialogue with recent debates and drawing on some of the best of both analytic (Kripke, Searle, BonJour, Fodor) and phenomenological (Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Dreyfus) philosophy.  He deftly rebuts objections to Thomism, both ancient and modern.  Anyone working today on personal identity, the unity of the self, the semantics of cognition, free will, or qualia will need to engage with the analysis and arguments presented here.” Robert C. Koons, Professor of Philosophy, University of Texas at Austin

CONTENTS

Preface                                                               

Part I: What is Mind?                                        

    1. The Short Answer                                 

    2. The Self                                                         

    3. The Intellect                                             

    4. The Will                                                       

Part II: What is Body?                                                            

    5. Matter                                                         

    6. Animality                                                   

Part III: What is a Human Being?                           

    7. Against Cartesianism                                

    8. Against Materialism                                   

    9. Neither Computers nor Brains                

Part IV: What is the Soul?                                          

    10. Immortality                                              

    11. The Form of the Body                            

Index