The Nature and Future of Philosophy

Philosophy is a discipline that makes no observations, conducts no experiments, and needs no input from experience. It is an armchair subject, requiring only thought. Yet that thought can advance knowledge in unexpected directions, not only through the discovery of new facts but also through the enhancement of what we already know. Philosophy can clarify our vision of the world and provide exciting ways to interpret it.

Of course, philosophy's unified purpose hasn't kept the discipline from splintering into warring camps. Departments all over the world are divided among analytical and continental schools, Heidegger, Hegel, and other major thinkers, challenging the growth of the discipline and obscuring its relevance and intent. Having spent decades teaching in American, Asian, African, and European universities, Michael Dummett has felt firsthand the fractured state of contemporary practice and the urgent need for reconciliation. Setting forth a proposal for renewal and reengagement, Dummett begins with the nature of philosophical inquiry as it has developed for centuries, especially its exceptional openness and perspective-which has, ironically, led to our present crisis. He discusses philosophy in relation to science, religion, morality, language, and meaning and recommends avenues for healing around a renewed investigation of mind, language, and thought. Employing his trademark frankness and accessibility, Dummett asks philosophers to resolve theoretical difference and reclaim the vital work of their practice.

Auteur

Michael Dummett

Contenu

1. Philosophy as an Academic Subject
   
   2. What Is a Philosophical Question?
   3. Philosophy as the Grammar of Thought
   4. Science
   5. Psychology and Scientism
   6. Religion and Philosophy
   7. Religion and Morality
   8. The Influence of Gottlob Frege
   9. Frege's Analysis of Sentences
   10. Frege's Theory of Meaning
   11. Gadamer on Language
   12. The Paradox of Analysis
   13. Thought and Language
   14. Realism
   15. Relativism
   16. The Future of Philosophy