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In this anthology, distinguished editors Sven Bernecker and Fred Dretske offer the most comprehensive review available of contemporary epistemology. They bring together the most important and influential writings in the field, including selections that cover frequently neglected topics such as dominant responses to skepticism, introspection, memory, and testimony. Knowledge is divided into fifteen subject areas and includes forty-one readings by eminent contributors. An accessible introduction to each subject area outlines the problems discussed in the essays that follow so that students can focus on analyzing them. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good introduction to academic philosopher's approach to Epistemology
This large collection of essays is a very thorough examination of the contemporary views on knowledge held by professional philosophers. My purpose in purchasing this was to get a better idea of what problems epistemologists are grappling with in today's philosophy programs. In this respect, the book is all I could ask for. Most of the major positions on knowledge are presented through the important essays of their leading advocates.

Bottom line: If you are looking to quickly understand the lay-of-the-land in the debate about knowledge, this book is recommended.

How we know what we know - or why we shouldn't know what we know
This is a fabulous text on epistemology. There are 41 articles divided into five parts: Justified True Belief, Externalism and Internalism, Foundations and Norms, Scepticism, and Sources of Knowledge.

This book was one of a couple books required for my "Theories of Knowledge and Reality" class that I took in undergraduate school. I have not read every artical in the book but I have read many to most of them.

Some of the brightest philosophers are featured in this text: Dretske, Putnam, and Quine. Some of the most interesting and best presented arguments are "Knowledge and Scepticism," by Robert Nozick; "Brains in a Vat," by Hilary Putnam; and "A Priori Knowledge, necessity, and contingency," by Saul Kripke.

With such a wide range of topics that cover the vast range of epistemology discussed inside this book, the quality of the authors, and of course, the foundations and sound arguments made, I consider this a complete text on philosophy. It is possible and plausible that you, as the reader, may have read some of these articles before. However, it is a good compilation all in one edition.

I also recommend "Metaphysics: An Anthology," edited by Jaegwon Kim and Ernest Sosa. It is a collection of articles and essays that cover another broad topic in philosophy.

If by chance you are deciding on buying this book or not based on my review, please keep in mind that I am not a scholar of philosophy, just a "casual" reader of the subject. ... Read more

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This important book will do much to reestablish the significance of Thomas Reid for philosophy today. Nicholas Wolterstorff has produced the first systematic account of Reid's epistemology. Relating Reid's philosophy to present-day epistemological discussions the author demonstrates how they are at once remarkably timely, relevant, and provocative. There is no competing book that both uncovers the deep pattern of Reid's thought and relates it to contemporary philosophical debate.It must be read by historians of philosophy as well as all philosophers concerned with epistemology and the philosophy of mind. ... Read more

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An enjoyable introduction to the philosophy of Thomas Reid
This book successfully presents the importance of the work of Thomas Reid to those who are familiar with the Western philosophical tradition, or, as Reid likes to call it, the Way of Ideas.In particular, the explanations of Reid's arguments against the philosophical theses of the British empiricists (Locke, Hume and Berkeley) is particularly well-done, and are helpful in revealing assumptions of their outlooks.See especially the sections on indirect vs. direct perception and the chapter "Reid's Way with the Skeptic."
The only warning that I would issue concerning this book is that the section on the doctrine of common sense may be difficult for those with little background in the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, especially his "On Certainty," since Wolterstorff explains Reid's doctrine by way of Wittgenstein.However, he does a fairly good job of explaining both, so that this characteristic ought not to be a stumbling block for the sufficiently patient reader. ... Read more

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Top scholars examine the work of Donald T. Campbell, one of the first to emphasize the social structure of science. ... Read more

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Ever since Plato it has been thought that one knows only if one's belief hits the mark of truth and does so with adequate justification. The issues debated by Laurence BonJour and Ernest Sosa concern mostly the nature and conditions of such epistemic justification, and its place in our understanding of human knowledge.

• Presents central issues pertaining to internalism vs. externalism and foundationalism vs. virtue epistemology in the form of a philosophical debate.
  
• Introduces students to fundamental questions within epistemology while engaging in contemporary debates.
  
• Written by two of today’s foremost epistemologists.
  
• Includes an extensive bibliography.

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This book is the ideal introduction to the fundamental problems and issues of epistemology. It assumes no prior knowledge of the subject and is valuable both as a core text for beginning students and as support material for more advanced courses. ... Read more

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Superb introduction to epistemology
Landesman has taught epistemology at the graduate and undergraduate levels for many years, and this book reflects that experience in finding ways to get these often rather abstruse ideas across.It is everything an introductory treatment should be.It is very intelligently organized and written with an obvious eye to clarity at each point.It gives the reader a basic understanding of the key issues in the history of epistemological debate, and it also provides a look at questions closer to the current frontier of thediscipline.To take the reader from Descartes to Quine in 200 pages without losing focus along the way is no mean feat, but Landesman does it.If there is a better introduction to this philosophical specialty, I haven't seen it.Recommended without reservation. ... Read more

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In these challenging pages, Unger argues for the extreme skeptical view that, not only can nothing ever be known, but no one can ever have any reason at all for anything. A consequence of this is that we cannot ever have any emotions about anything: no one can ever be happy or sad about anything. Finally, in this reduction to absurdity of virtually all our supposed thought, he argues that no one can ever believe, or even say, that anything is the case. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Excellent Explanation of a Dead End View
I read this book as an undergraduate philosophy student when it was published, and I give it four stars because it is well written, entertaining, and a thorough, rigorous, and unflinching defense of scepticism.If you subscribe to the metaphysical dogmas of "ordinary language analysis" and fellow-traveler schools of epistemology, you will get a kick out of this book.

As a guide to the issues of what we know and how we know it, I would class this book as an excellent example of why so many people think philosophers are over-educated idiots wasting time by blowing hot air.The book is totally within the confines of a certain way of doing theory of knowledge, the dominant way among English-speaking philosophers.That doesn't mean it's the RIGHT way!As with much in the history of philosophy, I believe that this topic will gradually be addressed by more scientific approaches (physics used to be philosophy, too!) and this abstract, logic-based analysis will give way to real investigation and experiment.This means that we will begin to redefine the term "knowledge"by examining how organisms that appear to know things actually get that way.

Like most philosophers, Unger assumes he knows what knowledge is, and he goes on to demonstrate how we all "know" nothing.Perhaps so, but hardly relevant if the definition of "knowledge" is arbitrary or wrong to begin with.The traditional dichotomy between knowledge-belief isn't germane if you examine the question from the standpoint of evolution and neurobiology.

This book, like most treatments of the topic, assumes that animals know nothing (Can a dog know how to do a trick? Is a dog subject to this sceptical nihilism?If there is no knowledge, why does a dog "learn" to do tricks anyway?) and that the only kind of knowledge worth talking about is logical propositions, e.g., "There is a table there." I recall making the objection in my class that Unger's arguments were irrelevant regarding the statement, "I know how to walk," and being treated to a condescending reply along the lines of, "Well, that's not what we're talking about here."Maybe we should be.

Is skepticism useful?
Following Russell (Human Knowledge: its scope and limits)I agree that
all knowledge is of an approximate character and always will be. But
I think that something like Pascal's wager can be applied here. Pascal
suggested that there was little to lose if you were a theist and proven
wrong but much to be gained if proven right.Conversely, there
was much to lose if you were an atheist and proven wrong but little to
gain if you were an atheist and proven right.Similarly, I would argue
that in being a skeptic there is little for you to gain if you are right
or wrong.On the other hand, if you are a scientific realist and proven
wrong you lose nothing you wouldn't lose anyway.But if you are a
realist and proven right there is all of modern science and technology.
It doesn't matter what is behind appearances, be it quarks, strings,
or demons.In both cases we are seeking ways of manipulating WHATEVER
is out there for our own advantage.If fuzing atoms and moving charges proves useful I'll "believe" in physics.If bringing sacrifices and
making prayers works I'll "believe" in demons/gods. I choose science
for the time being because moving charges is working for me.What is
lacking in Unger's book is any way in which his skepticism can work for
me.Which sacrifices should I bring to which god?How can I get the
mad scientist to do for me what I want him to?The question for
skepticism is, "What's in it for me?"

Bizarre to say the least...........
I read the book description.
....Unger argues for the extreme skeptical view that, not only can nothing ever be known, but no one can ever have any reason at all for anything.......
Why the hell would I ever have any reason to spend my money on this book?S. Guha obviously did and told us the rest of us can't be fair unless we read this book.There are thousands of books to be read.A book with this absurd claim (and how could the author know anything if nothing can be known, and how can S. Guha know anything?) is not worth the expenditure of time or money.
Readers who defend this kind of crap .... keep going.
There are lots of Kool-Aid drinkers who will believe you.
Stephen Struk
(my real name)
Wyckoff, NJ

Skepticism, No Holds Barred
I write this review to counterbalance the arrogant schmuck who calls Unger's excellent work an "insult to reason".Unger is wrong, I think, and more than a little wacky.But *reason* involves certain intellectual virtues, one of which is fairness; it is not fair to a book, or its author, to dismiss it on the basis of its dust jacket--at least not if the author is a well-respected philosopher, as Unger is.

As someone who has read *past* the dust jacket, I can say unequivocally that Unger is a first-rate philosopher, and this book is a first-rate defense of radical skepticism.Philosophical dogmatists of all stripes (and I include myself here) should be willing to test their mettle against the skeptic, and no-one else that I know of has presented the skeptical stance so forcefully and uncompromisingly as Unger, including even Sextus Empiricus.Of *course* Unger is well aware that his position may seem self-refuting, and he tries to deal with that problem in the book.One may judge his defense inadequate, *if one has read it*.But even if Unger's position turns out to be self-refuting--which I think is not at all obvious to anyone who actually reads the book and understands his views--his skeptical arguments confront all the rest of us non-skeptics.(I won't try to summarize these arguments here, for that would do injustice to their subtle presentation in the book.)Maybe *all* current positions are self-refuting (including mine).Maybe *every* current and past philosophy ends up undermining itself.Maybe, as Unger argues, the very notions of truth, reason, and knowledge are incoherent.If so, it's cold comfort if Unger's position is self-refuting.Unger's book is a call--whether well-founded or misguided--for radical reform of our basic philosophical ideas, theories, and practices.Unger may be wrong--if so, we can always disagree with him--but he is not obviously wrong.Since philosophy has not been a smashing theoretical (or practical!) success to date--philosophers can't seem to agree amongst themselves about anything to speak of, after all--it seems hasty to dismiss such a call out of hand.After all, our attempts to understand the notions of truth, rationality, and knowledge to date have run into numerous paradoxes and contradictions.Maybe these notions *don't* make sense.Maybe radical change is called for, and Unger has the key to it.Even if this is not so, we do not lessen Unger's abilities by insulting them.We merely lessen ourselves.

Insult to Reason
The book description gives it away: "Unger argues for the extreme skeptical view that, not only can nothing ever be known, but no one can ever have any reason at all for anything." Good, so there is no reason to read this book. Further: "he argues that no one can ever believe, or even say, that anything is the case." In which case he has nothing to say. To pass off such absurdity as intellectualism is an insult to anyone with a brain, so spare yourself. ... Read more

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The philosophy of perception is a microcosm of the metaphysics of mind. Its central problems--What is perception? What is the nature of perceptual consciousness? How can one fit an account of perceptual experience into a broader account of the nature of the mind and the world?--are at the heart of metaphysics. Rather than try to cover all of the many strands in the philosophy of perception, this book focuses on a particular orthodoxy about the nature of visual perception.The central problem for visual science has been to explain how the brain bridges the gap between what is given to the visual system and what is actually experienced by the perceiver. The orthodox view of perception is that it is a process whereby the brain, or a dedicated subsystem of the brain, builds up representations of relevant figures of the environment on the basis of information encoded by the sensory receptors. Most adherents of the orthodox view also believe that for every conscious perceptual state of the subject, there is a particular set of neurons whose activities are sufficient for the occurrence of that state. Some of the essays in this book defend the orthodoxy; most criticize it; and some propose alternatives to it. Many of the essays are classics. The contributors include, among others, G. E. M. Anscombe, Dana Ballard, Daniel Dennett, Fred Dretske, Jerry Fodor, H. P. Grice, David Marr, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Zenon Pylyshyn, Paul Snowdon, and P. F. Strawson. ... Read more

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Leading scholars explore how different forms of ignorance are produced and sustained, and the role they play in knowledge practices. ... Read more

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Brilliantly written book!
As a PhD student engaged in Critical Race Theory and Critical Whiteness Studies, I found this book to be extremely helpful. Quite simply, the book focuses on how it is possible that so many white USAmericans continue to remain ignorant about their own white privilege and ignorant about the ways in which brown and black folk STILL live through racism in the USA. It's a philosophy book, actually.

Essays are dedicated to analyzing and conveying how ignorance is actually structured and institutionalized in the USA, in a way those of the white racial status quo can remain "ignorant about their ignorance" around the issues of race, racism, histories of colonialism, and white privilege. The contributors to the volume are actually responding to Charles Mill's "Racial Contract", a book that was written by the professor in 1997. I highly recommend that you read "Racial Contract" first so you understand why this book is so important. ... Read more

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Epistemology or the theory of knowledge is one of the cornerstones of analytic philosophy, and this book provides a clear and accessible introduction to the subject. It discusses some of the main theories of justification, including foundationalism, coherentism, reliabilism, and virtue epistemology. Other topics include the Gettier problem, internalism and externalism, skepticism, the problem of epistemic circularity, the problem of the criterion, a priori knowledge, and naturalized epistemology. Intended primarily for students taking a first class in epistemology, this lucid and well-written text would also provide an excellent introduction for anyone interested in knowing more about this important area of philosophy. ... Read more

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Good introductory survey
Philosophy is woefully lacking in good introductory surveys in its various subdisciplines... which is why it's so great to see a book like this -- an accessible, clearly-written, comprehensive intro to epistemology.It covers all the basics (the "standard view" of knowledge as justified true belief, Gettier problems, foundationalism/coherentism/relaibilism, etc.) and has a decent balance of theoretical discussion and specific examples.Also, it highlights some of the more recent developments in the field (e.g. writings by Ernest Sosa).While not perfect -- for example, sometimes terms aren't defined as thoroughly as they could/should be -- for my money this is the best intro epistemology survey out there.(Though Richard Feldman's is also good.Feldman's is probably best if you have no background in philosophy, while this is a little more philosophically rigorous.) ... Read more

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The works translated here deal with two major themes in the thinking of St Augustine (354-430): free will and divine grace. On the one hand, free will enables human beings to make their own choices; on the other hand, God's grace is required for these choices to be efficacious. 'On the Free Choice of the Will', 'On Grace and Free Choice', 'On Reprimand and Grace' and 'On the Gift of Perseverance' set out Augustine's theory of human responsibility, and sketch a subtle reconciliation of will and grace. This volume is the first to bring together Augustine's early and later writings on these two themes, in a new translation by Peter King, enabling the reader to see what Augustine regarded as the crowning achievement of his work. The volume also includes a clear and accessible introduction that analyzes Augustine's key philosophical lines of thought. ... Read more

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Ever since Plato, philosophers have faced one central question:what is the scope and nature of human knowledge? In this volume the distinguished philosopher Ernest Sosa collects essays on this subject written over a period of twenty-five years.All the major topics of contemporary epistemology are covered:the nature of propositional knowledge; externalism versus internalism; foundationalism versus coherentism; and the problem of the criterion. ... Read more

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A Virtue Epistemology presents a new approach to some of the oldest and most gripping problems of philosophy, those of knowledge and skepticism. Ernest Sosa argues for two levels of knowledge, the animal and the reflective, each viewed as a distinctive human accomplishment. By adopting a kind of virtue epistemology in line with the tradition found in Aristotle, Aquinas, Reid, and especially Descartes, he presents an account of knowledge which can be used to shed light on different varieties of skepticism, the nature and status of intuitions, and epistemic normativity. ... Read more

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Virtue Epistemology
If you are looking into this book you should already have a working knowledge of the vocabulary and problems one uses and faces respectively while investigating what we know and how we know it. In this book Sosa takes a rare approach to the usual questions raised in epistemology: skeptical challenges to knowledge, the things we are most closely acquainted with, and what counts as knowledge over and above true belief. For an epistemologist, his strong stance that knowledge is a performance (possibly even a performance that necessarily requires more than one person, but that is a matter of interpretation) calls for consideration and response. Bear in mind before purchase that his arguments are brief but thorough, which means he uses many condensed phrases that require close atention. ... Read more

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What is knowledge? Why do we want it? Is knowledge possible? How do we get it? What about other epistemic values like understanding and certainty? Why are so many epistemologists worried about luck? In ON EPISTEMOLOGY Linda Zagzebski situates epistemological questions within the broader framework of what we care about and why we care about it. Questions of value shape all of the above questions and explain some significant philosophical trends: the obsession with answering the skeptic, the flight from realism, and the debate between naturalism and anti-naturalism. THE WADSWORTH PHILOSOPHICAL TOPICS SERIES (under the general editorship of Robert Talisse, Vanderbilt University) presents readers with concise, timely, and insightful introductions to a variety of traditional and contemporary philosophical subjects. With this series, students of philosophy will be able to discover the richness of philosophical inquiry across a wide array of concepts, including hallmark philosophical themes and themes typically underrepresented in mainstream philosophy publishing. Written by a distinguished list of scholars who have garnered particular recognition for their excellence in teaching, this series presents the vast sweep of today's philosophical exploration in highly accessible and affordable volumes. These books will prove valuable to philosophy teachers and their students as well as to other readers who share a general interest in philosophy. ... Read more

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In a contemporary climate that tends to dismiss philosophy as an outmoded and increasingly useless discipline, philosophers have been forced to reconsider much of what they have formerly taken for granted. RedirectingPhilosophy, Hugo Meynell's reassessment of the foundations and nature of knowledge, is a compelling response to this trend.

This illuminating study surveys and analysis the views of the most influential contemporary thinkers in the English-speaking world (Wittgenstein, Strawson, Searle, Popper, Feyerabend, Kuhn, Rorty, Lonergan) and in continental philosophy (Husserl, Heidegger, Derrida, Foucault, Habermas). In setting those views against the background of classical philosophy, Meynell offers fresh perspectives on the basic problems that occupy philosophers today - problems such as scepticism, truth, experience, metaphysics, method, power, humane values, and the role of science.

An insightful, up-to-date guide to philosophy and the theory of science, Meynell's book will be stimulating and valuable reading both in and out of the classroom. ... Read more

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A well written introduction to Thomist epistemology
Meynell is a vary lucid writer and he is quite good at giving a general overview ofthe philosophical positions that he thinks are incorrect.

This book includes arguements against extreme and moderate scepticism.On the first of these scepticisms his arguements are cogent. He does not,however, overcome the force of Hume's arguements for moderate scepticism.

Next, Meynell explains his version of the correspondence theory oftruth, based on how we come to know. Sense-data are taken to bemetaphysical simples, from which we articulate intelligable theories aboutthe world. These theories approximate reality, Meynell claims, because theycan predict how things would have been if they were true. Since we maycombine this feature of expirimentation with intelligent thinking and ourexperience of a designed world we can have knowledge about the world.

Although Meynell does not state Theism at the beginning of the book histheory does not seem plausable without it, due to the fact that his realismis permeated with idealism. If there were no Necessary being what reason dowe have to hold that the world, reached through our experience of knowing,is a world for knowing? In short, Meynell's world looks like a world madeto be known. His order of presentation leads me to think that he wanted toshow the reverse of this point: that because the world is knowable it ismade.

Meynell then claims that this view of correspondence implies aradical Cartesian internalism and a Thomistic metaphysics of immaterialessences along with mind\body interactionist deulism. By the end of thebook his realism surely does require these positions, however I cannot seehow Meynell arrives at his Thomistic conclusion from his initial chapterrson truth, reality and data. It seems to me that Meynell's love for Godmakes him exagerate the implications of his premises. Naturally, my claimhere instanciates both the fallacy of "to the man" and theso-called "genetic fallacy." Here I hope not to argue againstMeynell, but simply to give my impression of his book.

I also think hefails to explain the metaphysics of causation, in most of the particulardetails of his Lonerganian philosophy.

This book is fun and worth readingbecause of its broad outlook and its innocent, though not uninformed, andspeculative view of philosophical problems. Indeed, correspondence theoriesof truth are not dead, as long as we have articulate and acute Englishmenlike Meynell to endorse them. Meynell also seems like a good person. ... Read more

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In this magisterial work, Roland Omnès takes us from the academies of ancient Greece to the laboratories of modern science as he seeks to do no less than rebuild the foundations of the philosophy of knowledge. One of the world's leading quantum physicists, Omnès reviews the history and recent development of mathematics, logic, and the physical sciences to show that current work in quantum theory offers new answers to questions that have puzzled philosophers for centuries: Is the world ultimately intelligible? Are all events caused? Do objects have definitive locations? Omnès addresses these profound questions with vigorous arguments and clear, colorful writing, aiming not just to advance scholarship but to enlighten readers with no background in science or philosophy.

The book opens with an insightful and sweeping account of the main developments in science and the philosophy of knowledge from the pre-Socratic era to the nineteenth century. Omnès then traces the emergence in modern thought of a fracture between our intuitive, commonsense views of the world and the abstract and--for most people--incomprehensible world portrayed by advanced physics, math, and logic. He argues that the fracture appeared because the insights of Einstein and Bohr, the logical advances of Frege, Russell, and Gödel, and the necessary mathematics of infinity of Cantor and Hilbert cannot be fully expressed by words or images only. Quantum mechanics played an important role in this development, as it seemed to undermine intuitive notions of intelligibility, locality, and causality. However, Omnès argues that common sense and quantum mechanics are not as incompatible as many have thought. In fact, he makes the provocative argument that the "consistent-histories" approach to quantum mechanics, developed over the past fifteen years, places common sense (slightly reappraised and circumscribed) on a firm scientific and philosophical footing for the first time. In doing so, it provides what philosophers have sought through the ages: a sure foundation for human knowledge.

Quantum Philosophy is a profound work of contemporary science and philosophy and an eloquent history of the long struggle to understand the nature of the world and of knowledge itself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

No substance - a log of history
All throughout the book there is chronic references to the founding fathers of the physics, mathematics and philosophy - no doubt a good coverage - however no original thought. The author rebelliously (only apparent towards the end of the book) tries to refute the most accepted *candidates* for interpretation of quantum mechanics. And tries to offer the rebuttal to the founding fathers of Quantum Mechanic like Bohr, to put forward his naive interpretation. It is not his caliber to attempt this. In all there is no substance to this book, but only a historical log of advances in mathematics, philosophy and physics. Worst of all, again towards the end, one will see the author has an agenda - and yes certainly influenced by his religion.

Destined to be a classic
Quite simply, this may be one of the best books in recent history,
on quantum theory and its role in the philosophy of science.The
author, admirably, does not insult his reader by leaving out the
important mathematics needed to make quantum theory comprehensible.
Neither are mathematical models left to speak for themselves; rather,
the meaning of the theory is carefully and skillfully guided through
the abstract symbols.

Honors should also go to translator.One never feels that this easy
to read book was ever written in any language but English.

Healing the Fractures
Professor Omnes (University of Paris XI) is one of France's noted experimental physicists today. "Quantum Philosophy" is a poetic narrative of science from Ancient Greece to contemporary Quantum Mechanics is written with literary elegance which Arturo Sangalli's translation has preserved.

Although there are no equations, this book is not for the beginner. Omnes alludes to people, theories, events and ideas, which if not already known would remain quite mysterious. For the informed philosopher of science it is an insightful account of the main developments leading up to 20th Century formalism and the triumph of mathematics which was necessary to heal the fracture brought about by the post-intuitive sciences of Einstein, Bohr, Godel, Cantor and Hilbert.

Probable futures...
Roland Omnes is a professor of physics at the University of Paris.Like many physicists and astronomers of our time, he is concerned about the interpretations of science among the general public, particularly as science becomes increasingly specialized and difficult for non-mathematically and non-scientifically trained persons to understand.There are many areas of misunderstanding in the general conception of physics, with the cutting-edge theories developing out of the strands of relativity and quantum physics that even physicists themselves have trouble understanding and explaining.

Omnes does a good job in the first half of the text tracing an historical development of physics from the earliest, pre-Socratic times in ancient Greece, a time when philosophy and science were not readily separable (a time that is re-emerging in many ways) through to the triumph of science, with physics in the forefront, as a worldview acceptable to Enlightenment thinkers, general academia, and the public at large.The first several chapters each take a turn at this broad topic - a chapter on classical logic comes first, looking in much the way a geometrist might the underlying postulate and axioms of later thought.Omnes then discusses classical physics and astronomy , leading up from the Greeks to Kepler, Newton, and finally Maxwell and his electro-magnetism theories.

The third chapter looks at the historical development of classical mathematics, and the fourth at the philosophy of knowledge, not exclusively but primarily in epistemological terms.Figures such as Bacon, Descartes, Locke, Hume and Kant are discussed here.The history of mathematics and epistemology has a profound if understated effect on later scientific development.

The second primary section deals with what Omnes terms `the fracture'.In discussing the processes of formal mathematics, logic, and physics in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, he brings up the trouble-spots - Godel's Incompleteness Theorem, varying philosophies in mathematics, relativistic challenges to classical physics models, and the increasing problem of epistemology in the processes of mathematics and science.To what extent are concerns about interpretation valid?Omnes discusses the importance of interpretation as justified for three reasons - that quantum mechanics `could not be more obscure' (and thus in need of interpretative illumination); the idea of who (or what) the observer is, is no longer clear in modern thinking; and, the issues of probability must be reconciled to the reality of existence.

The third primary section is the heart of Omnes' argument.Going beyond the `traditional' quantum theory, he introduces the idea of consistent histories.Omnes argues strongly for a common sense approach (citing John Bell, among others); physics is about physicality, and reality is that which emerges from the structure of the laws of physics and mathematics, a construct Omnes opts to call in a term laced with theological overtones, the Logos.However, this logical construct, deriving from the general laws of nature, cannot be free from the influence of probability.

The final section of the book looks at key questions and topics - how can we define science?What is the proper methodology for science, mathematics and the theory of knowledge in terms how we can know things in a probability-laced, quantum age?How does common sense play a factor in the way things progress from here?

Omnes puts the current state as being able to summarized in three points:logic is part of the world of matter, not a subject merely of our consciousness; that we have enough knowledge now to understand the laws of reality in a common sense manner; and finally, that we can acknowledge the ultimate separation of theory from reality.Beginning in this way, Omnes presents a tentative theory of knowledge destined to influence scientists and philosophers in the future.

Omnes presents his discussion with a minimum of mathematical equations, preferring once again to incorporate his common sense approach even to his own writing.Those who are knowledgeable in the hard sciences and mathematics will find this book intriguing; those without such a background will still find this a useful and sometimes inspiring text.

Christian physics...
From page 241 of the hardcover edition--

"On tackling this kind of subject, even briefly, one must clearly show his true colors. Thus, I, the author, call myself a Christian, though my preferences in matters of belief are closer to Nicholas de Cues' [sic--Cusa?]"Docta Ignorantia" than to Thomas Aquinas' "Summa Theologica" or Karl Barth's "Dogmatik". By this personal note I wished to assure my Christian friends that the targets of my criticism are only certain thoughtless proselytes."

Speaking of "thoughtless proselytes," how about moving that confession up to the Preface so the reader will know the entire volume is biased? ... Read more

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This new volume in the acclaimed Oxford Readings in Philosophy sereis offers a selection of the most important philosophical work being done in the new and fast-growing interdisciplinary area of artificial life. Artificial life research seeks to synthesize the characteristics of life by artificial means, particularly employing computer technology.The essays here explore such fascinating themes as the nature of life, the relation between life and mind, and the limits of technology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Precise and perfect.Not designed for light reading.
What kinds of things exist?What do you need to know about an object in order to differentiate it from any other object that exists?Ten years ago, these were academic questions.With the advent of terabyte databases searchable from the web, these questions have suddenly become very practical.Bunge seems to have been aware of the new importance of ontology before anybody else.This book is precise and perfect.I dare say that the mathematical notation will drive away most philosophers and all casual readers, but that the same notation will appeal strongly to logicians and computer scientists.I only wish that there were more copies in print. ... Read more

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Against traditional interpretations, which claim either that Heidegger has rendered all accounts of subjectivity - and consequently of ethics - impossible, or, on the contrary, that Heidegger merely renews the modern metaphysics of subjectivity, Raffoul demonstrates how Heidegger's destruction/deconstruction of the subject opens the space for a radically non-subjectivistic formulation of human being. Raffoul reconstitutes and analyses Heidegger's debate with the great thinkers of subjectivity (Descartes, Kant, Husserl), in order to show that Heidegger's 'destructive' reading of the modern metaphysics of subjectivity is, in fact, a positive re-appropriation of the ontological foundations of the subject. Raffoul's recasting of Heidegger's work on human subjectivity should prove indispensable in future debates on the fate of the subject in the post-modern era. ... Read more

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Afirst-rate analysis of Heidegger's thought of selfhood
This is a first-rate and thorough analysis of Heidegger's thought of selfhood, from the early writings focusing on fundamental ontology to the last seminars in the late sixties and early seventies. Raffoul provides an in-depth treatment of Heidegger's critique of the tradition of the subject, particularly through close readings of Descartes and Kant. He then carefully unfolds Heidegger's ontological appropriation of the subject, focusing on Heidegger's thought of Dasein, of transcendence and being-in-the-world, ecstasis and reflection. The work culminates in a meditation on Heidegger's notion of 'mineness' (Jemeinigkeit), a notion that indicates that the event of being is 'each time mine,' that is, each time my own task to be. Raffoul thus argues that Heidegger's thought is not without a reflection on the proper being of human beings, and that his critique of the subject opens onto a renewed understanding of what it means to be human.This is an important work, for it engages Heidegger's texts rigorously while staying away from sterile polemics. It is both a contribution to Heidegger studies and to the task of a philosophical rethinking of selfhood. ... Read more