Markus Gabriel was born in 1980 and studied in Heidelberg, Lisbon and New York. Since 2009 he has held the chair for Epistemology at the University of Bonn and with that is Germany's youngest philosophy professor. He is also the director of the International Center for Philosophy in Bonn.

• Thinking Philosophy Anew 1Appearance and Being 2New Realism 5The Plurality of Worlds 8Less than Nothing 11I What is this Actually: the World? 16You and the Universe 21Materialism 28“The World is Everything that is the Case” 32Constructivism 38Philosophers and Physicists 44II What is Existence? 50The Super-Object 53Monism, Dualism, Pluralism 56Absolute and Relative Differences 61Fields of Sense 65III Why the World Does Not Exist 73The Super-Thought 78Nihilism and Non-Existence 81The External and the Internal World 91Why the World Does Not ExistIV The Worldview of Natural Science 99Naturalism 106Monism 111The Book of the World 115Subjective Truths 126Holzwege 131Science and Art 137V The Meaning of Religion 146Fetishism 154The Infinite 162Religion and the Search for Meaning 168The Function of God 178VI The Meaning of Art 184Ambivalences 186On Sense and Reference 190The Demon of Analogy 194Reflexivity 197Diversity 204VII Closing Credits: Television 209A Show about Nothing 212The Senses . . . 215. . . and the Meaning of Life 220Notes 222Glossary 231Index of Names 237

"A majestic thought experiment"—Slavoj Zizek"Imagine a philosopher. This philosopher has the verve and pop-culture curiosity of Slavoj Zizek; Graham Priest's comfort with unresolved ambiguity; the transparent prose of John Gray; and Martin Heidegger's​ nose for the faint scent of being. Your imagined thinker is Markus Gabriel, and his book is Why the World Does Not Exist —Sydney Morning Herald"The world might not exist, but Markus Gabriel clearly does, and his fresh, buoyant and bracing intelligence is evidenced on every page of this compelling new book. It is a rare gift to be able to philosophize from first principles in a way that is neither patronizingly derivative nor technically arcane and in a manner that is accessible to the general reader. But Gabriel possesses that gift in bucketloads."—Simon Critchley, New School for Social Research"Gabriel has written a gripping thriller, which is of course what all good philosophy should be."—Die Literarische Welt"Markus Gabriel shows with great verve how to tackle fundamental philosophical questions, without being overly academic or dumbing down his subject matter."—Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung"With great wit and intellectual provocation, Markus Gabriel explores the perennial questions of humanity."—Der Spiegel"This delightful book, translated by Gregory Moss, upholds Wittgenstein's remark that 'whatever can be said at all can be said clearly'."—The Guardian"Why the World Does Not Exist, is confirmation… that modern works of German philosophy can be both profound and successful."—Foreign Policy

Markus Gabriel was born in 1980 and studied in Heidelberg, Lisbon and New York. Since 2009 he has held the chair for Epistemology at the University of Bonn and with that is Germany's youngest philosophy professor. He is also the director of the International Center for Philosophy in Bonn.

• Thinking Philosophy Anew 1Appearance and Being 2New Realism 5The Plurality of Worlds 8Less than Nothing 11I What is this Actually: the World? 16You and the Universe 21Materialism 28“The World is Everything that is the Case” 32Constructivism 38Philosophers and Physicists 44II What is Existence? 50The Super-Object 53Monism, Dualism, Pluralism 56Absolute and Relative Differences 61Fields of Sense 65III Why the World Does Not Exist 73The Super-Thought 78Nihilism and Non-Existence 81The External and the Internal World 91Why the World Does Not ExistIV The Worldview of Natural Science 99Naturalism 106Monism 111The Book of the World 115Subjective Truths 126Holzwege 131Science and Art 137V The Meaning of Religion 146Fetishism 154The Infinite 162Religion and the Search for Meaning 168The Function of God 178VI The Meaning of Art 184Ambivalences 186On Sense and Reference 190The Demon of Analogy 194Reflexivity 197Diversity 204VII Closing Credits: Television 209A Show about Nothing 212The Senses . . . 215. . . and the Meaning of Life 220Notes 222Glossary 231Index of Names 237

"A majestic thought experiment"—Slavoj Zizek"Imagine a philosopher. This philosopher has the verve and pop-culture curiosity of Slavoj Zizek; Graham Priest's comfort with unresolved ambiguity; the transparent prose of John Gray; and Martin Heidegger's​ nose for the faint scent of being. Your imagined thinker is Markus Gabriel, and his book is Why the World Does Not Exist —Sydney Morning Herald"The world might not exist, but Markus Gabriel clearly does, and his fresh, buoyant and bracing intelligence is evidenced on every page of this compelling new book. It is a rare gift to be able to philosophize from first principles in a way that is neither patronizingly derivative nor technically arcane and in a manner that is accessible to the general reader. But Gabriel possesses that gift in bucketloads."—Simon Critchley, New School for Social Research"Gabriel has written a gripping thriller, which is of course what all good philosophy should be."—Die Literarische Welt"Markus Gabriel shows with great verve how to tackle fundamental philosophical questions, without being overly academic or dumbing down his subject matter."—Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung"With great wit and intellectual provocation, Markus Gabriel explores the perennial questions of humanity."—Der Spiegel"This delightful book, translated by Gregory Moss, upholds Wittgenstein's remark that 'whatever can be said at all can be said clearly'."—The Guardian"Why the World Does Not Exist, is confirmation… that modern works of German philosophy can be both profound and successful."—Foreign Policy

Markus Gabriel was born in 1980 and studied in Heidelberg, Lisbon and New York. Since 2009 he has held the chair for Epistemology at the University of Bonn and with that is Germany's youngest philosophy professor. He is also the director of the International Center for Philosophy in Bonn.

• Thinking Philosophy Anew 1Appearance and Being 2New Realism 5The Plurality of Worlds 8Less than Nothing 11I What is this Actually: the World? 16You and the Universe 21Materialism 28“The World is Everything that is the Case” 32Constructivism 38Philosophers and Physicists 44II What is Existence? 50The Super-Object 53Monism, Dualism, Pluralism 56Absolute and Relative Differences 61Fields of Sense 65III Why the World Does Not Exist 73The Super-Thought 78Nihilism and Non-Existence 81The External and the Internal World 91Why the World Does Not ExistIV The Worldview of Natural Science 99Naturalism 106Monism 111The Book of the World 115Subjective Truths 126Holzwege 131Science and Art 137V The Meaning of Religion 146Fetishism 154The Infinite 162Religion and the Search for Meaning 168The Function of God 178VI The Meaning of Art 184Ambivalences 186On Sense and Reference 190The Demon of Analogy 194Reflexivity 197Diversity 204VII Closing Credits: Television 209A Show about Nothing 212The Senses . . . 215. . . and the Meaning of Life 220Notes 222Glossary 231Index of Names 237

"A majestic thought experiment"—Slavoj Zizek"Imagine a philosopher. This philosopher has the verve and pop-culture curiosity of Slavoj Zizek; Graham Priest's comfort with unresolved ambiguity; the transparent prose of John Gray; and Martin Heidegger's​ nose for the faint scent of being. Your imagined thinker is Markus Gabriel, and his book is Why the World Does Not Exist —Sydney Morning Herald"The world might not exist, but Markus Gabriel clearly does, and his fresh, buoyant and bracing intelligence is evidenced on every page of this compelling new book. It is a rare gift to be able to philosophize from first principles in a way that is neither patronizingly derivative nor technically arcane and in a manner that is accessible to the general reader. But Gabriel possesses that gift in bucketloads."—Simon Critchley, New School for Social Research"Gabriel has written a gripping thriller, which is of course what all good philosophy should be."—Die Literarische Welt"Markus Gabriel shows with great verve how to tackle fundamental philosophical questions, without being overly academic or dumbing down his subject matter."—Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung"With great wit and intellectual provocation, Markus Gabriel explores the perennial questions of humanity."—Der Spiegel"This delightful book, translated by Gregory Moss, upholds Wittgenstein's remark that 'whatever can be said at all can be said clearly'."—The Guardian"Why the World Does Not Exist, is confirmation… that modern works of German philosophy can be both profound and successful."—Foreign Policy