Starmaking : realism, anti-realism, and irrealism / edited by Peter J. McCormick.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

McCormick, Peter (Peter J.)

Series:

Representation and mind

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Goodman, Nelson.

Putnam, Hilary.

Scheffler, Israel.

Hempel, Carl G. (Carl Gustav), 1905-1997.

Hempel, Carl G.

Realism.

Pluralism.

Knowledge, Theory of.

Ontology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xix, 218 pages) : 1 illustration.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, ©1996.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"Starmaking" brings together a cluster of work published over the past 35 years by Nelson Goodman and two Harvard colleagues, Hilary Putnam and Israel Scheffler, on the conceptual connections between monism and pluralism, absolutism and relativism, and idealism and different notions of realism -- issues that are central to metaphysics and epistemology. The title alludes to Goodman's famous defense of the claim that because all true representations of stars and other objects are human creations, it follows that in an important sense the stars themselves are made by us. More generally, the argument moves from the fact that our right representations are constructed by us to the claim that the world itself is similarly constructed. "Starmaking" addresses the question of whether this seeming paradox can be turned into a serious philosophical view. Goodman and Putnam are sympathetic; Scheffler is the critic. Although many others continue to write about pluralism, relativism, and constructionalism, "Starmaking" brings together the protagonists in the debate since its beginnings and follows closely its still developing form and substance, focusing sharply on Goodman's claim that "we make versions, and right versions make worlds."

Notes:

"A Bradford book."

OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.

ISBN:

0-262-27939-8

0-585-02120-1

OCLC:

42854184