The uses of the past from Heidegger to Rorty : doing philosophy historically / Robert Piercey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Piercey, Robert, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Philosophy, Modern--20th century.

Philosophy, Modern.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 221 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In this book Robert Piercey asks how it is possible to do philosophy by studying the thinkers of the past. He develops his answer through readings of Martin Heidegger, Richard Rorty, Paul Ricoeur, Alasdair MacIntyre and other historically-minded philosophers. Piercey shows that what is distinctive about these figures is a concern with philosophical pictures - extremely general conceptions of what the world is like - rather than specific theories. He offers a comprehensive and illuminating exploration of the way in which these thinkers use narrative to evaluate and criticise these pictures. The result is a powerful and original account of how philosophers use the past.

Contents:

Introduction: The uses of the past

1. Doing philosophy historically

2. The role of narrative

3. Defending the historical thesis

4. The critical approach: MacIntyre

5. The diagnostic approach: Heidegger

6. The synthetic approach: Ricoeur.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 24 Feb 2016).

Includes bibliographical references (p. 212-218) and index.

ISBN:

1-107-19139-4

9786612058639

0-511-57625-0

0-511-50851-4

0-511-50492-6

0-511-50917-0

0-511-50706-2

OCLC:

437110185