The failures of philosophy : a historical essay / Stephen Gaukroger.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gaukroger, Stephen, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Philosophy--History.

Philosophy.

History.

Physical Description:

xi, 300 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey ; Woodstock, Oxfordshire : Princeton University Press, [2020]

Summary:

"Taking the long view of the history of philosophy, The Failures of Philosophy shows how philosophy has in fact collapsed several times, been completely abandoned, sometimes for centuries, and been replaced by something quite different from philosophy. The book focuses on what are historically the most significant failures of philosophy: attempts to provide an account of 'the good life' and how to live; to establish philosophy as a discipline that can stand in judgement over and assess other forms of thought; attempts to establish philosophy as a theory of everything; and attempts to construe it as a discipline that parallels or rationalizes the empirical and mathematical sciences, building up technical credentials that mimic those of science. The central atrgument of the book is that examination of these failures tells us much more about the nature of philosophical enquiry, and about the ultimate point of the exercise, than its successes possibly could. Examination of its failures shows us the significant differences in the way in which philosophers have conceived of the point at different times, and why they have been obliged to shift focus. It tells us why philosophy has been thought to bring distinctive skills to questions, and whether these are actually fruitful skills. And, above all, it allows us to open up the question whether philosophy has anything to offer over and above other ways of engaging cognate questions"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part I The Rise and Fall of Philosophy in Antiquity p. 23

Chapter 1 The Emergence of Philosophy p. 25

Coming to Terms with the World p. 28

A Presocratic Genealogy p. 33

The Transition to Philosophy p. 39

Outwitting Opponents vs Intellectual Morality p. 47

The Metaphysics of Morals p. 50

Moral Complexity p. 53

Chapter 2 Metaphysics as a Form of Understanding p. 59

Explanation by Essential Properties p. 62

Logic as a Route to Understanding p. 68

Epistemology and Morality p. 71

Chapter 3 Philosophy's Loss of Autonomy p. 79

The Good Life p. 81

The Undisturbed Life p. 88

The Vagaries of Platonism p. 92

The Christian Assimilation of Philosophy p. 99

Part II Philosophy Re-Purposed as the Ultimate Arbiter p. 109

Chapter 4 The Creation of an Autonomous Role for Philosophy p. 111

Philosophy as a Tool of Theology p. 112

The Revival of Aristotle p. 120

The Role of Metaphysics p. 123

Losing Control: Renaissance Naturalism p. 126

Regaining Control: The Abandonment of Aristotle p. 129

The Persona of the New Natural Philosopher p. 132

Chapter 5 From Natural Philosophy to Epistemology p. 139

Reconfiguring Knowledge p. 141

Optics and Representationalism p. 150

Knowledge of the World p. 162

Does Natural Philosophy Replace Sense Perception? p. 168

Chapter 6 Reason versus Sensibility p. 173

Contact with the World p. 175

Moral Diversity and Moral Complexity p. 186

Beyond Philosophy? p. 198

Part III The Decline of Philosophy and its Re-Purposing as Metascience p. 201

Chapter 7 The Retreat from Philosophy p. 203

The Perils of Metaphysics p. 204

Medicine of the Mind p. 217

Philosophy and the Shaping of Character p. 225

The Collapse of the Standing of Philosophy p. 227

Chapter 8 The Search for a Theory of Everything p. 231

Philosophy as a Theory of Everything p. 237

All or Nothing p. 247

Science as a Theory of Everything p. 251

The Quantification of Morality p. 255

Chapter 9 Science Assimilates Philosophy p. 261

Philosophy as a Metatheory of Science p. 262

The Logical Structure of the World p. 266

Rethinking the Nature of Philosophy p. 277.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

069120750X

9780691207506

OCLC:

1151060711