This Town: A Complete Metaphysics
Ebook
Overview
Like Thomas Scarborough’s previous book Everything, Briefly (2022), This Town, too, is a metaphysics. However, it adopts the form of a story, which “concretizes” abstract thought. A narrator visits a pre-modern town, where he engages with various people: an old man, a young woman, the chief, and other townsfolk. The method of “concretization” brings a metaphysics down to the level of teens and up--covering core issues of language, reality, ethics, politics, science, math, meaning, holism, and God (this town believes in God). The focus is primarily on how these various areas of philosophy and life may be integrated into one, harmonious whole. This Town serves as an excellent introduction not merely to philosophy, but to philosophical thought.
This Town reads like a breath of fresh air in the world of philosophy! No citations, no dense arguments, no name-dropping of famous philosophers. Instead, what we find are highly readable and interesting stories which take us on a series of adventures exploring the biggest issues of life. A welcome change from the likes of Kant and Hegel!
——Christian B. Miller, author of The Character Gap
Using the deceptively simple allegory of a traveler visiting a remote village, this book charmingly interrogates the meaning and understanding of, well, everything. The boundaries and limits of objects, ideas, and our embedded cultural meanings are carefully unlayered to examine our fuzzily overlapping meanings and choices. An original, challenging work of philosophy refreshingly presented without academic jargon.
——Jeremy L. Dyer, artist and psychologist
This is a great book! The text, gentle humor, and evocative illustrations took me on a journey through both familiar and new territory. I was surprised to find my way past an ancient stumbling block—meaning—the simple truth as clear as day. There are indeed seeds of magic within!
——Nathan Pozarycki, illustrator
I found This Town to be a fascinating read. Very imaginative. Very profound. In fact, it is sheer magic as it unravels the deep recesses of your own consciousness and lets you see things from a whole new perspective. You will not just learn what ‘whole’ is but start feeling ‘whole.’ It is all about experiencing the oneness of all there is!
——Muriel Sherwood, instrumentalist
How do we talk simply about the complex realities of life? Thomas Scarborough shows us how with a story of encounters and conversations on a remote island where villagers and a visitor confront together the meaning of language, ethics, reality, and God. Written in conversational and narrative form and aimed at young adults, This Town succeeds in guiding the reader through big thoughts using simple words and entertaining anecdotes. Highly recommended.
——Rick Dugan, director for international development, World Partners
A story can be much more than fiction. It’s through stories that we teach our children how the world works, and it’s through stories that we communicate our values—think of the Bible. Having written Everything, Briefly—a discourse on, well, everything—Thomas Scarborough has boiled his worldview down into story form. Reading This Town, you get lulled into thinking about fundamental questions of existence before you even know you’re doing anything other than reading a story. This book is at once thoughtful and fun.
——Jill Hacker, author of Problems Solved
- Title: This Town: A Complete Metaphysics
- Authors: Thomas O. Scarborough, Ann Moore
- Publisher: Resource Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Pages: 92
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666783421, 9781666783414, 1666783412, 9781666783407, 1666783404, 1666783420
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666783421
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-22T17:37:42Z
Thomas O. Scarborough holds two postgraduate degrees in three fields: linguistics, theology, and global leadership (including global trends and global thought). A Congregational minister, a prize-winning designer, and an ex UK top ten philosophy editor, Scarborough is journal published in six fields.
B. Ann Moore is a graphic artist, ceramicist, and prize-winning poet. She was mentored by the renowned South African painter Arthur O’Mant.