{"product_id":"dark-matters-mara-van-der-lugt-9780691206622","title":"Dark Matters: Pessimism and the Problem of Suffering","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn intellectual history of the philosophers who grappled with the problem of evil, and the case for why pessimism still holds moral value for us today\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, philosophers engaged in heated debates on the question of how God could have allowed evil and suffering in a creation that is supposedly good. \u003ci\u003eDark Matters\u003c\/i\u003e traces how the competing philosophical traditions of optimism and pessimism arose from early modern debates about the problem of evil, and makes a compelling case for the rediscovery of pessimism as a source for compassion, consolation, and perhaps even hope. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBringing to life one of the most vibrant eras in the history of philosophy, Mara van der Lugt discusses legendary figures such as Leibniz, Hume, Voltaire, Rousseau, Kant, and Schopenhauer. She also introduces readers to less familiar names, such as Bayle, King, La Mettrie, and Maupertuis. Van der Lugt describes not only how the earliest optimists and pessimists were deeply concerned with finding an answer to the question of the value of existence that does justice to the reality of human suffering, but also how they were fundamentally divided over what such an answer should look like. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA breathtaking work of intellectual history by one of today's leading scholars, \u003ci\u003eDark Matters\u003c\/i\u003e reveals how the crucial moral aim of pessimism is to find a way of speaking about suffering that offers consolation and does justice to the fragility of life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Mara Van Der Lugt\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691206627\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691206622\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/21\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 472\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.05lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.29h x 6.14w x 1.65d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2022","brand":"Mara Van Der Lugt","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44046046920959,"sku":"9780691206622","price":37.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_1420b892-55ae-4ed5-82c5-adfee791b01c.jpg?v=1684982307","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/dark-matters-mara-van-der-lugt-9780691206622","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}