Inner Space Philosophy

A unique philosophic fantasia, using imagination and drama to argue for philosophy’s vital importance to the human future.

Inner Space Philosophy is both a work of original philosophy and an entertainment package, since Tartaglia believes imaginative presentation to be a crucial feature of our philosophical traditions, one which has been neglected to our detriment in the drive to model philosophy on science. Arguing for the utmost importance of philosophy to the human future, such that we must eventually become 'a philosophical people', Tartaglia discusses topics such as the meaning of life, idealism, materialism, determinism, video games and existential threats. These discussions transpire through ethereal encounters with philosophers from throughout world history, some from the distant future and prehistoric past, as well as a cosmic battle between 'Lady Luck', 'Fate' and 'Philosophy', and a biography of Gambo Lai Lai the Cynic, a philosopher from Trinidad who flourished during the golden age of calypso music. This is a book which amazes, challenges and provokes deep reflection in equal measure.

James Tartaglia is Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at Keele University, UK. After studying jazz at Berklee College of Music in Boston, U.S.A., he studied philosophy at University College London, where he graduated with a BA (hons.) in 1996, an M.Phil. (on intentionality) in 1998, and a Ph.D. (on consciousness) in 2002. He tries to write original philosophy books that might interest both the general public and professionals and he is best known for defending the nihilist view that life is meaningless in an evaluatively neutral sense (neither good nor bad), as well as a new form of metaphysical idealism. His main books to-date are Philosophy in a Meaningless Life (2016) and Philosophy in a Technological World: GODS AND TITANS (2020). He is also a jazz saxophonist who makes Jazz-Philosophy Fusion (jazzphilosophyfusion.com).