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
Well, I ordered the book on Amazon on June 23rd, 2024. After delays, finally at some point in August they set the delivery date for October 8th, today. Instead of the book, I got an email notice from Amazon asking me if I still wanted the product: "There is a delay in shipping your order because of a supply chain issue. We’ll make every effort to get the delayed item to you as soon as possible. If you still want this item, please confirm below. We apologize for the delay." So frustrating!
ReplyDeleteI've been having the same experience. Looks like November 7th is the new date.
DeleteI'm glad Ed's book is this popular.
Same here, it is very frustrating indeed.
DeleteYep. Currently set to arrive Monday, but it hasn't shipped yet. I wait with baited breath.
DeleteYep. Mine says it's arriving Monday, but hasn't shipped yet. I'm excited for the call with Amazon support on Monday - LOL
DeleteNot terribly surprising, but I ended up in the same situation as Paolo and bmiller. Now slated for mid-November.
DeleteSo whatever supply chain/distribution issues have been holding it up still seem to be in effect unfortunately.
I canceled my Amazon order after it got pushed to November and ordered it from ThriftBooks.com
DeleteAmazon cancelled my order; I ended up getting the Nook app and downloading it from Barnes and Noble.
DeleteHey Prof, Very Quickly, Would it be fine to recommend the book to a popular audience and for that matter the entire series Aristotle's revenge etc ? Or is some level of learning required?
ReplyDeleteProf Feser writes scholarly books, but his books are clearly written and can be understood by the average reader with effort and attention. He doesn't write for academic specialists. He writes for everyone.
DeleteHi Anon
DeleteThanks, just wanted to confirm
Generally I know that Prof writes in a very clear way.
DeleteBut everytime I see these two endorsements, both of them made a point of recommending it to professionals. Of course it could be for both scholars and the general audience a because as you said Prof writes scholarly books but in a very clear way.
So that's why I was wondering.
I 100% agree with Anthony Kenny's complement of Prof which I come across everyday while visiting the blog.
Prof does have that rare and enviable gift :)
Cheers
I would also add that Prof. Feser is an all-around good guy, even if I disagree with him on a number of issues. I don't see how he finds the time to do all his outside writing in addition to being a full-time college professor and a husband and father with six children.
DeleteHis book Aquinas is more suitable for beginners. Also The Last Superstition if people don’t mind a more polemical tone.
DeleteAnon
DeleteI remember Prof mentioning somewhere that even his Aquinas book wasn't actually for "beginners". The beginners guide was actual the name of the series and Prof said his book was more challenging than that.
http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2014/05/dominicans-interactive-reviews-aquinas.html
So actually for beginners in Aquinas, I would actually recommend they start with "The Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas: A Sketch" by Fr Stephen Brock.
It's recommended by Fr Thomas Joseph White on the Thomistic institute website. And I think it's quite useful because Fr Brock explains the basics very well because he spends more time on them.
After reading that, then I would recommend Prof's Aquinas which is also excellent.
Anyways just to settle it,
Would it be fair to say Immortal Souls is a work that is primarily aimed at scholars in the field but can be accessible to the general public if they willing to put in the time and effort.
Prof ?
It would definitely be more challenging for the non-expert, although some parts will be more so than others
DeleteYou can read quite a number pages of the book here free online:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.google.com/books/edition/Immortal_Souls/X-ceEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA3&printsec=frontcover
An Avicennian critique of Thomistic psychology (in last of ch. of Feser's book):
ReplyDeletehttps://mashshai.wordpress.com/2024/10/11/a-problem-in-thomistic-psychology/#more-1898
Are you going to review Hunt's "Something for Nothing", or have you published a review already? I haven't read Hunt's book (yet), but wondering about your take.
ReplyDelete"Would it be fair to say Immortal Souls is a work that is primarily aimed at scholars in the field but can be accessible to the general public if they willing to put in the time and effort?"
ReplyDeleteYes, Norm, that is essentially what I said, "effort and attention."
I would be remiss if I didn't mention two intros to Aquinas by Fr. Brian Davies: Both are accessible for the average reader, but the first probably more so:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/Aquinas-Outstanding-Christian-Thinkers-Davies/dp/0826470955/?_en
https://www.amazon.com/Thought-Thomas-Aquinas-Clarendon-Paperbacks/dp/0198267533
Hi Ed, I'd be interested to hear your take on the following Youtube video: "Proof Of AN AFTERLIFE: the Shared Near-Death Experience" featuring Raymond Moody and Paul Perry, in an interview hosted by Sergei Davidoff on the About Freedom show. Here's the link:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc7mhQr5G7g&t=4s
Raymond Moody, who coined the term "near-death experience," has both a PhD in philosophy and an MD. As you'll see in the interview, he's a big fan of Plato, but he candidly acknowledges the problems facing the study of the near-death experience. His latest book, "Proof of Life after Life: 7 Reasons to Believe There Is an Afterlife," which he co-authored with Paul Perry, is available here:
https://www.amazon.com/Proof-Life-after-Reasons-Afterlife-ebook/dp/B0BTZ7FLXZ
Thoughts?
Read the criticism of Moody's writings
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Moody
Yes, that would be interesting, especially as the afterlife Moody believes he has evidence or even proof for is not the Christian one.
DeleteI haven’t read the book and I probably won’t be able to order it for a while, but for those that read the book or for even Feser himself, I’d like to know what view he takes on free will
ReplyDeleteHi Ed, do you address the topic of Near-Death Experiences in your book? Or if you don't, could you explain whether you think this type of argument is a good line of reasoning for the existence of the soul?
ReplyDeleteBarnes & Noble near me won't carry it in the store; it can only be ordered online. Amazon just let my account get hacked, and won't talk to me. Since Amazon allowed my account to be hacked, I had to cancel my credit card, and the new credit card isn't here yet. The book was supposed to have been delivered from Amazon on Monday 14 Oct, but it still isn't here. Because Amazon let me account get hacked, I can't even track it.
ReplyDeleteRe spiritual soul: why should we believe that the intellect is impressed by the form of the object? What pieces of information shall we think are conveyed by what we say is the form? When Aristotle talked about bees, did he know all that is known now about what is true of the bee as bee? Given all the myriad facts that are true of the bee as bee, it seems unlikely that people who in popular parlance know what a bee is know all that in science constitutes the bee as a bee. I am contesting the AT claim that the intellect takes in the form of the object. I think we get a sense of things as bearers of the names we give those universals in language, but we do not in our language grasp all that is true of the thing in nature. Maybe only scientists grasp that, if indeed even they. Who knows what the bee is in all the properties that constitute it in nature?
ReplyDelete"Who knows what the bee is in all the properties that constitute it in nature?"
DeleteWhat makes you think that possessing the form in the intellect means (or entails) knowing everything that could be known about the object? It does not and no one ever maintained it does. Here is Oderberg, from Real Essentialism, pgs 55-56:
"But, as has already been stressed, it is no part of essentialism that a person who knows the essence of something must know all of its
essence or know its essence in precise detail. If I identify a human as an animal and a scarecrow as inanimate, I have identified part of the essence of each. It is at least arguable that in most cases of material object identification, just as in mathematical, we identify objects by parts of their essence, even if in the material case we also rely heavily on accidental characteristics."
@grodrigues: thanks for the reference. I'll check out what Oderberg wrote. Does Feser go into this problem in his new book?
DeleteI got it last week from Blackwells in Oxford, UK.
ReplyDeleteMichael Gray
Berrima Australia