Being and Nothing

Absolute nothingness is unthinkable. This apparently innocuous philosophical insight is the structuring point in Lorenz Puntel’s seminal Being and Nothingness. From this principle, Puntel shows how fundamentally flawed key philosophers – from Parmenides to Heidegger – have addressed the question of being. It’s an intriguing exercise in history of philosophy that is critical yet constructive, leading to Puntel’s own alternative proposal that has both broad scope and deep insights – Michael Agerbo Mørch, Assistant professor in systematic theology, Dansk Bibel-Institut, DenmarkIn this rigorously argued, impressively erudite tour of the history of philosophy, Lorenz Puntel makes a compelling case for the claim that traditional philosophy, from Parmenides to the present, has overlooked the primordial question of philosophy: the question of Being. This is historically-informed systematic philosophy at its very best. – Michael Baur, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Adjunct Professor of Law, Fordham University, USA

Lorenz B. Puntel was Professor Emeritus in the Department of Philosophy at Ludwig-Maximillians University, Germany.

Alan White is Mark Hopkins Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Williams College, USA.