Philosophical analysis in the twentieth century. Volume 2, The age of meaning / Scott Soames.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Soames, Scott.

Series:

Philosophical Analysis in the Twentieth Century Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Analysis (Philosophy).

Methodology--History--20th century.

Methodology.

Philosophy--History--20th century.

Philosophy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (501 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, c2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This is a major, wide-ranging history of analytic philosophy since 1900, told by one of the tradition's leading contemporary figures. The first volume takes the story from 1900 to mid-century. The second brings the history up to date. As Scott Soames tells it, the story of analytic philosophy is one of great but uneven progress, with leading thinkers making important advances toward solving the tradition's core problems. Though no broad philosophical position ever achieved lasting dominance, Soames argues that two methodological developments have, over time, remade the philosophical landscape. These are (1) analytic philosophers' hard-won success in understanding, and distinguishing the notions of logical truth, a priori truth, and necessary truth, and (2) gradual acceptance of the idea that philosophical speculation must be grounded in sound prephilosophical thought. Though Soames views this history in a positive light, he also illustrates the difficulties, false starts, and disappointments endured along the way. As he engages with the work of his predecessors and contemporaries--from Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein to Donald Davidson and Saul Kripke--he seeks to highlight their accomplishments while also pinpointing their shortcomings, especially where their perspectives were limited by an incomplete grasp of matters that have now become clear. Soames himself has been at the center of some of the tradition's most important debates, and throughout writes with exceptional ease about its often complex ideas. His gift for clear exposition makes the history as accessible to advanced undergraduates as it will be important to scholars. Despite its centrality to philosophy in the English-speaking world, the analytic tradition in philosophy has had very few synthetic histories. This will be the benchmark against which all future accounts will be measured.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION: OVERVIEW AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

PART ONE: LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN'S PHILOSOPHICAL INVESTIGATIONS

CHAPTER 1. Rejection of the Tractarian Conception of Language and Analysis

CHAPTER 2. Rule Following and the Private Language Argument

PART TWO: CLASSICS OF ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY: TRUTH, GOODNESS, THE MIND, AND ANALYSIS

CHAPTER 3. Ryle's Dilemmas

CHAPTER 4. Ryle's Concept of Mind

CHAPTER 5. Strawson's Performative Theory of Truth

CHAPTER 6. Hare's Performative Theory of Goodness

PART THREE: MORE CLASSICS OF ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY: THE RESPONSE TO RADICAL SKEPTICISM

CHAPTER 7. Malcolm's Paradigm Case Argument

CHAPTER 8. Austin's Sense and Sensibilia

PART FOUR: PAUL GRICE AND THE END OF ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY

CHAPTER 9. Language Use and the Logic of Conversation

PART FIVE: THE PHILOSOPHICAL NATURALISM OF WILLARD VAN ORMAN QUINE

CHAPTER 10. The Indeterminacy of Translation

CHAPTER 11. Quine's Radical Semantic Eliminativism

PART SIX: DONALD DAVIDSON ON TRUTH AND MEANING

CHAPTER 12. Theories of Truth as Theories of Meaning

CHAPTER 13. Truth, Interpretation, and the Alleged Unintelligibility of Alternative Conceptual Schemes

PART SEVEN: SAUL KRIPKE ON NAMING AND NECESSITY

CHAPTER 14. Names, Essence, and Possibility

CHAPTER 15. The Necessary Aposteriori

CHAPTER 16. The Contingent Apriori

CHAPTER 17. Natural Kind Terms and Theoretical Identification Statements

EPILOGUE: The Era of Specialization

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9786612129384

9781282129382

1282129384

9781400825806

1400825806

OCLC:

505088766