Of reality : the purposes of philosophy / Gianni Vattimo ; translated by Robert T. Valgenti.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Vattimo, Gianni, 1936-2023, author.

Contributor:

Valgenti, Robert T., translator.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Philosophy, Modern.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (248 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York, New York : Columbia University Press, 2016.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

We think it is wise to accept reality, rather than fight for something that does not exist or might never be. But in Of Reality, Gianni Vattimo condemns this complacency, with its implicit support of the status quo. Instead he urges us to never stop questioning, contrasting, or overcoming reality, which is not natural, inevitable, or objective. Reality is a construct, reflecting, among other things, our greed, biases, and tendencies toward violence. It is no accident, Vattimo argues, that the call to embrace reality has emerged at a time when the inequalities of liberal capitalism are at their most extreme. Developed from his popular Gifford Lectures, this book advances a critical approach that recovers our interpretive powers and native skepticism toward normative claims. Though he recognizes his ideas invite charges of relativism, the philosopher counters with a discussion of truth, highlighting its longstanding ties to history and social circumstance. Truth is always contingent and provisional, and reason and reasonableness are bound to historical context. Truth is therefore never objective, and resistance to reality is our best hope to defeat the indifference that threatens the scope of freedom and democracy.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

I. THE LEUVEN LECTURES

1. The Nietzsche Effect

2. The Heidegger Effect

3. The Age of the World Picture

II. INTERMISSION

4. The Temptation of Realism

III. THE GIFFORD LECTURES

5. Tarski and the Quotation Marks

6. Beyond Phenomenology

7. Being and Event

8. The Ethical Dissolution of Reality

IV. APPENDIX

9. Metaphysics and Violence: A Question of Method

10. From Heidegger to Marx: Hermeneutics as the Philosophy of Praxis

11. The End of Philosophy in the Age of Democracy

12. True and False Universalism

13. The Evil That Is Not, 1

14. The Evil That Is Not, 2

15. Weak Thought, Thought of the Weak

16. From Dialogue to Conflict

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780231536578

0231536577

OCLC:

944952254