Kolakowski, Leszek. Why Is There Something Rather than Nothing?: 23 Questions from Great Philosophers.(Brief article)(Book review)

Kolakowski, Leszek. Why Is There Something Rather than Nothing?: 23 Questions from Great Philosophers. Basic Bks: Perseus. Nov. 2007. c.240p. tr. from Polish by Agnieszka Kolakowska. ISBN 978-0-465-00499-7. $20. PHIL

In this brief overview, Kolakowski (senior research fellow, All Souls Coll., Oxford; Main Currents of Marxism) examines ideas and questions raised by past philosophers who have "opened up new directions of thought for future generations," among them Socrates, Thomas Aquinas, Descartes, and Nietzsche. He explains that the book is not meant to be an introduction to philosophy, but an examination of the …