The Contingency of Necessity

Argues that that all necessity is consequent, and that reason and God are contingent, albeit eternal, necessities Focusing on the central striking claim that there is something rather than nothing - that all necessity is consequent - Tritten engages with a wide range of ancient as well as contemporary philosophers including Quentin Meillassoux, Richard Kearney, Friedrich Schelling, Emile Boutroux and Markus Gabriel. He examines the ramifications of this truth arguing that even reason and God, while necessary according to essence, are utterly contingent with respect to existence. Key Features Shows how all necessary truths are products of an epistemic framework that is itself historically contingent Explains the nature of contingency as something that stems from the facticity of being itself Explains the emergence and ontological status of reason, particularly the principle of sufficient reason Argues for the contingency of God's existence while maintaining the necessity of his essence Provides an alternative to Quentin Meillassoux's thesis for the necessity of contingency