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That we are now entering a post-Western world is no longer merely a thesis in international studies. But what does the dissolution of “Western” hegemony signify for humanity’s rich learning traditions and the civilizing quest for wisdom? How can this human inheritance assist us today? "Reintroducing Philosophy" seeks a more realistic framework for discourse on these questions than offered by the Western-centric worldview, which continues to be taught in schools almost by rote. It analyzes themes from several world traditions in logic, knowledge and metaphysics connected with the quest for completeness of thinking and practice. Its examination of the relation of knowing and being is based on sources as varied as Leibniz and Frege, Qūnawī and Ṣadrā, ancient Greek and classical Indian and Chinese thought. Shaker brings into the discussion the paradigm (unmūzaj) that Ṣadrā presented as that of man’s being in the world, encapsulating philosophy’s longstanding view of thinking as the gathering of civilization. "Reintroducing Philosophy" is based on a concentrated reading of all these sources, simply because human civilization had already been global and advanced before the present age.
This 1983 book is a lively and clearly written introduction to the philosophy of natural science, organized around the central theme of scientific realism. It has two parts. 'Representing' deals with the different philosophical accounts of scientific objectivity and the reality of scientific entities. The views of Kuhn, Feyerabend, Lakatos, Putnam, van Fraassen, and others, are all considered. 'Intervening' presents the first sustained treatment of experimental science for many years and uses it to give a new direction to debates about realism. Hacking illustrates how experimentation often has a life independent of theory. He argues that although the philosophical problems of scientific realism can not be resolved when put in terms of theory alone, a sound philosophy of experiment provides compelling grounds for a realistic attitude. A great many scientific examples are described in both parts of the book, which also includes lucid expositions of recent high energy physics and a remarkable chapter on the microscope in cell biology.
Quantum theory launched a revolution in physics. But we have yet to understand the revolution's significance for philosophy. Richard Healey opens a path to such understanding. The first part of this book offers a self-contained but opinionated introduction to quantum theory. The second part assesses the theory's philosophical significance.
Philosophy matters for the social sciences. Our world faces ever more complex and hazardous problems and, social science ontology and methods need to be adequate to the changing nature of the social realm. Imagination and new ways of thinking are crucial to the social sciences. Based on Daniel Little's popular blog, this book provides an accessible introduction to the latest developments and debates in the philosophy of social science. Each chapter addresses a leading issue in the philosophy of the social sciences today. Little advocates for an 'actor-centred sociology', endorsing the idea of meso-level causation and proposing a solution to the problem of 'mechanisms or powers?'. The book draws significant conclusions from the facts of complexity and heterogeneity in the social world. The book develops a series of arguments that serve to provide a new framework for the philosophy of social science through deep engagement with social scientists and philosophers in the field. Topics covered include: - the heterogeneity and plasticity of the social world; - the complexity of social causation; - the nuts and bolts of causal mechanisms; - the applicability of the theory of causal powers to the social world; - the intellectual coherence of the perspective of scientific realism in application to social science.
'Intentional Disruption: Expanding Access to Philosophy' is intended for those interested in pre-college philosophy; the nine contributions within cover a wide array of approaches to bringing philosophy to younger students in a number of new settings. The chapters in this book describe programs taking place across the United States-some inside school and some in unexpected settings such as camps, art museums and nature trails-and offer help to those who want to establish or enrich philosophy programs at pre-college levels while discussing an underlying philosophy and the challenges the programs have faced. At a time when institutional philosophy is imperiled, the programs in this volume point towards new directions being forged to bring the benefits of doing philosophy to more people. This volume will be of particular interest to those interested in pre-college philosophy, and it is intended for philosophy professors, graduate students in philosophy or education, and philosophy teachers in pre-college settings. 'Intentional Disruption: Expanding Access to Philosophy' will also be helpful to school administrators, parents and philosophy camps instructors.
This engaging collection of essays locates the debate between theism and naturalism in the broader context of reflection on imagination and aesthetics. The eleven original essays will be of interest to anyone who is fascinated by the power of imagination and the role of aesthetics in deciding between worldviews or philosophies of nature.
Highly recommended as a first philosophy book...-Library JournalThis lucid, informal, and very accessible history of Western thought takes the unique approach of interpreting skepticism-i.e., doubts about knowledge claims and the criteria for making such claims-as an important stimulus for the development of philosophy. The authors argue that practically every great thinker from the time of the Greeks to the present has produced theories designed to forestall or refute skepticism: from Plato to Moore and Wittgenstein. The influence of and responses to such 20th-century skeptics as Russell and Derrida are also discussed critically.Popkin and Stroll review each major theory of philosophy chronologically and then further organize these theories into their respective subject areas: metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, and philosophy of religion. Within each subject area the authors discuss how the skeptical challenge gave rise to new philosophical positions. The volume concludes with an especially interesting debate between the authors on the merits of skepticism today. Stroll thinks that ultimately the doubts expressed by skeptics can be refuted, while Popkin denies this.This is an outstanding introduction to the problems of philosophy by two eminent philosophers with a gift for presenting the history of ideas in a very enjoyable fashion.Richard Popkin (Los Angeles, CA) is professor emeritus of philosophy at Washington University, St. Louis, and adjunct professor of history and philosophy at the University of California at Los Angeles.Avrum Stroll (San Diego, CA) is research professor of philosophy at the University of California, San Diego.
"A departure at right angles to thinking in the modern Western world. An important, original work, that should get the widest possible hearing" (Iain McGilchrist, author of The Master and his Emissary) Middle Way Philosophy is not about compromise, but about the avoidance of dogma and the integration of conflicting assumptions. To rely on experience as our guide, we need to avoid the interpretation of experience through unnecessary dogmas. Drawing on a range of influences in Buddhist practice, Western philosophy and psychology, Middle Way Philosophy questions alike the assumptions of scientific naturalism, religious revelation and political absolutism, trying to separate what addresses experience in these doctrines from what is merely assumed. This Omnibus edition of Middle Way Philosophy includes all four of the volumes previously published separately: 1. The Path of Objectivity, 2. The Integration of Desire, 3. The Integration of Meaning, and 4. The Integration of Belief.
Recreative Minds develops a philosophical theory of imagination that draws upon recent theories and results in psychology. Ideas about how we read the minds of others have put the concept of imagination firmly back on the agenda for philosophy and psychology. Currie and Ravenscroft present atheory of what they call imaginative projection; they show how it fits into a philosophically motivated picture of the mind and of mental states, and how it illuminates and is illuminated by recent developments in cognitive psychology. They argue that we need to recognize a category ofdesire-in-imagination, and that supposition and fantasy should be classed as forms of imagination. They accommodate some of the peculiarities of perceptual forms of imagining such as visual and motor imagery, and suggest that they are important for mind-reading. They argue for a novel view about therelations between imagination and pretence, and suggest that imagining can be, but need not be, the cause of pretending. They show how the theory accommodates but goes beyond the idea of mental simulation, and argue that the contrast between simulation and theory is neither exclusive nor exhaustive.They argue that we can understand certain developmental and psychiatric disorders as arising from faulty imagination. Throughout, they link their discussion to the uses of imagination in our encounters with art, and they conclude with a chapter on responses to tragedy. The final chapter also offersa theory of the emotions that suggests that these states have much in common with perceptual states.Currie and Ravenscroft offer a lucid exploration of a fascinating subject, for readers in philosophy, psychology, and aesthetics.
"Knowledge, Reality, and Values" provides readings that reflect the history of philosophy as it spread from ancient Greece into the Muslim world of the Middle Ages, which in turn influenced the development of philosophy in Medieval and Enlightenment Europe. It presents a broad view of philosophy, including a diversity of viewpoints representing the complexity of both the analytic and continental philosophical traditions, and offers critical perspectives from feminism, postcolonial theory, and critical race studies. "Knowledge, Reality, and Values" introduces philosophy through concise selections representing the diversity of philosophical thought, from ancient Greek philosophy through contemporary work in metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. The text highlights a variety of contemporary approaches, including analytic philosophy, American pragmatism, and existentialism. Beginning with a section on critical thinking, introducing deductive validity and soundness and inductive reasoning, "Knowledge, Reality, and Values" equips the student with the reasoning skills needed to comprehend and assess the readings. "Knowledge, Reality, and Values" is best suited for introductory undergraduate courses in general philosophy, ethics, and social and political philosophy, as well as for continuing education courses and the interested casual reade b>Jamie Lindsay holds an M.A. from San Francisco State University and an M.Phil. from the Graduate Center, City University of New York, where he is currently working towards his Ph.D. He teaches Political Philosophy, Social Philosophy, and Ethics courses at Hunter College and Brooklyn College, where he has also taught within the SEEK Program and College Now. Dena Shottenkirk, a Lecturer at Brooklyn College, received her Ph.D. from the Graduate Center, City University of New York. She also holds an M.F.A. in visual art from Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. Shottenkirk exhibits her artwork and disseminates her writings under the banner of The System Project.