Epistemology Books - Page 3

A Guide for the Perplexed

E.F. Schumacher

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Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The author of the world wide best-seller, Small Is Beautiful, now tackles the subject of Man, the World, and the Meaning of Living. Schumacher writes about man's relation to the world. man has obligations -- to other men, to the earth, to progress and technology, but most importantly himself. If man can fulfill these obligations, then and only then can he enjoy a real relationship with the world, then and only then can he know the meaning of living.

Schumacher says we need maps: a "map of knowledge" and a "map of living." The concern of the mapmaker--in this instance, Schumacher--is to find for everything it's proper place. Things out of place tend to get lost; they become invisible and there proper places end to be filled by other things that ought not be there at all and therefore serve to mislead.

A Guide for the Perplexed teaches us to be our own map makers. This constantly surprising, always stimulating book will be welcomed by a large audience, including the many new fans who believe strongly in what Schumacher has to say.

Fear of Knowledge: Against Relativism and Constructivism

Paul A. Boghossian

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Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Relativist and constructivist conceptions of truth and knowledge have become orthodoxy in vast stretches of the academic world in recent times. In his long-awaited first book, Paul Boghossian critically examines such views and exposes their fundamental flaws.

Boghossian focuses on three different ways of reading the claim that knowledge is socially constructed--one as a thesis about truth and two about justification. And he rejects all three. The intuitive, common-sense view is that there is a way the world is that is independent of human opinion; and that we are capable of arriving at beliefs about how it is that are objectively reasonable, binding on anyone capable of appreciating the relevant evidence regardless of their social or cultural perspective. Difficult as these notions may be, it is a mistake to think that philosophy has uncovered powerful reasons for rejecting them.

This short, lucid, witty book shows that philosophy provides rock-solid support for common sense against the relativists. It will prove provocative reading throughout the discipline and beyond.

Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson

Jennifer Michael Hecht

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Total reviews: 41 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

I Enjoyed This Book! 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This is my first review for [...], but I feel like I need to share my thoughts on Jennifer Michael Hecht's survey of doubt because of my response to how she has done us a great favor in putting this before us.
This is not intended to be a complete, in-depth treatise on the entire history of doubt. What Hecht has done is to illustrate the surprising ways that doubt has informed our societies over the past 2600 years. Doubt has led to change, to revolution, to enlightenment and to freedom. None of these things could have been achieved by faith in revealed religion.
Hecht includes the philosphers we have never heard much of, people who lit candles in the darkness and said "Wait, this doesn't make sense!" It is a history of challenge, courage and seeking further answers than provided by our priests, gods and kings.
And it is a survey. It can't be all-inclusive, but what it has inspired in me is to seek out further readings of the men and women who came before us and dared to ask what the universe was made of if not the manifestations of gods. So, read it and keep it as a reference.
The author lets in glimpses of her own personal beliefs and so it is not a purely scholarly work; but I hope it does for you as it has done for me in opening up pathways of exploration that may never have occurred to you in the past. And finally, a brief excerpt from the final chaper:
"People should be able to speak to each other about doubt without having to establish all of the old arguments every time the conversation begins again. Doubters and believers alike should know that Epicurus and Lucretius, the books of Job and Ecclesiastes, and the teachings of the Buddha have been remarkably constant resources in the history of unbelief. So has the whole history of Skepticism and doubt in our ability to know the world from the Carvaka, Socrates, Pyrrho, Sextus Empiricus, Montaigne, Charron, Hume, Bayle, through to all of the modern skeptics."

Editorial Review:

" Hecht is right that doubt' s story deserves to be told ... and] she tells it in just the right spirit."

Truth and method

Hans Georg Gadamer

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Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Klassisch! 5 out of 5 stars.
31 of 33 people found this review helpful.

First, Truth and Method is a true classic. Basically, it sees Gadamer revitalise 'nonscientific' truth, i.e. the experience of truth inaccessible to method and irreducible to bare statement. The book itself does have a structure/setting that makes it difficult to get into initially (it is usefully read in tandem with a good commentary eg. Joel Weinsheimer's 'Gadamer's Hermeneutics'), but it is simply worth the effort.

Second, the review below is mistaken when it attributes to Gadamer the idea that the Old Testament should be read literally. Gadamer refers to Luther's position that "the Scripture has a univocal sense that can be derived from the text", but he does this as part of an historical overview of hermeneutics and, on the very next page, Luther gets refuted by 18thC historicism. Gadamer moves beyond both these positions to reveal how 'literalism' (and - more pressingly - 'historicism') is a projection of unproductive prejudices. It is an "obstruction", that gets in the way of the truth Gadamer seeks. Also, while T&M is relevant to theology, it should be made clear that Gadamer is writing of a philosophical-universal hermeneutics and not something regional.

Editorial Review:

Written in the 1960s, TRUTH AND METHOD is Gadamer's magnum opus. Looking behind the self-consciousness of science, he discusses the tense relationship between truth and methodology. In examining the different experiences of truth, he aims to "present the hermeneutic phenomenon in its fullest extent.

The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge (Theory and History of Literature, Volume 10)

Jean-Francois Lyotard

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Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Post-Nuclear Philosophical Fallout 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.

If, as William Barrett once remarked, existentialism is "philosophy for the atomic age," then the atomic age's look into the future - by way of Jean-Francois Lyotard's The Postmodern Condition - is nothing short of a nightmarish vision of what post-nuclear philosophy would be like. If the Cold War was ultimately the product of two totalizing visions - the two remaining totalizing visions of the modern age, namely liberal democracy and socialism - locked into prolonged, agonizing conflict behind facades such as international diplomacy, then the postmodern condition is the worldview of a world brought back from the brink of total annihilation. Postmodernism, claims Lyotard at the beginning of his book, is "incredulity towards metanarratives" (xxiv). Rather than seeking a new way of understanding the world en toto - a new totalizing vision/metanarrative - the postmodern condition backs away from the philosophical One and seeks what it seeks - itself or, rather, the disparate fragments that indicate the existence of itself - among the philosophical Many. As Lyotard also writes, postmodernism "refines our sensitivity to differences" - the exact opposite of the totalitarian visions that caused so much death in the 20th century.

The Postmodern Condition is a work that is as fascinating as it is complicated. Lyotard is heavily interested in the question of legitimation - specifically, how knowledge is made and validated. What defines knowledge? One could, in many ways, see this work as fundamentally epistemological, for he spends a considerable amount of time in this work focusing on how it is that the university system, in particular, can survive if knowledge is both under the sway of the forces of capital and no longer considered emancipatory. I am not entirely sure if Lyotard wants a return to a pre-postmodern world; the book is written in such a straight, matter-of-fact style that it is hard to tell whether or not he is for or against that which he writes of. Perhaps there is some irony in the fact that he appears so disinterested in describing a worldview - or, perhaps better, an anti-worldview - in which the notion of disinterested knowledge or unbiased reporting is conceived as being nothing more than a fiction. If there is any irony here, it is of the driest sort.

There is a certain Marxist hue, however, to many of the analyses contained in these pages. The ability of economic interests to determine the shape of research in a university with the subsequent result that some knowledge is found to sell and other kinds aren't - that which sells is therefore seen as more legitimate than that which doesn't - causes Lyotard considerable concern. Rather than philosophy or metaphysics being seen as capable of validating claims - truth, he notes, is no longer the main concern - science proves itself by way of its functionality. What it does and how that makes life on earth better becomes the sine qua non of our own material interests - and knowledge is therefore conceived as material, rather than ideal/metaphysical. There is no meta-language game that serves as the ground for other games: what matters is what you can *do* with a particular type of research, or a given object. Science is thus isolated from other fields, just as philosophy is. There is no longer a "queen of the sciences." Knowledge, in a holistic sense, is thus fragmented and all is placed under the final sway of capital - or, more specifically, market forces. Lyotard's analysis is nothing short of brilliant.

Included as an appendix to the present volume is one of Lyotard's most widely re-published essays: "Answering the Question: What is Postmodernism?" A short work - not quite 10 full pages in length - it is a perfect compliment to Lyotard's longer consideration of the matter. However, unlike the Report, the appendix deals little with the question of scientific knowledge, and much more with aesthetics. Whereas the Report is concerned with academia, the appendix turns towards popular culture, specifically fashion: "Eclecticism is the degree zero of contemporary general culture" (76). Thus, the appendix can be scene as something like the popular counterpart to the more densely argued Report - popular in its focus, and in terms of the audience that it is geared to. Whether or not this means that postmodern philosophy is ultimately intended to leave the academy - the philosophical-institutional One - where knowledge cannot be validated and live, instead, among the philosophical-cultural Many remains a point of debate still today. Perhaps this is good reason for believing, then, that we do live in a postmodern age - and Lyotard's The Postmodern Condition remains as prescient (future anterior) for understanding that age as ever.

Hamlet's Mill: An Essay Investigating the Origins of Human Knowledge And Its Transmission Through Myth

Giorgio De Santillana; Hertha Von Dechend

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Total reviews: 37 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Offkilter 3 out of 5 stars.
4 of 7 people found this review helpful.

A lot of interesting theses and odd connections, but the horrid presentation and possibly untrustworthy sources lessen the value of this book.

Editorial Review:

Ever since the Greeks coined the language we commonly use for scientific description, mythology and science have developed separately. But what came before the Greeks? What if we could prove that all myths have one common origin in a celestial cosmology? What if the gods, the places they lived, and what they did are but ciphers for celestial activity, a language for the perpetuation of complex astronomical data? Drawing on scientific data, historical and literary sources, the authors argue that our myths are the remains of a preliterate astronomy, an exacting science whose power and accuracy were suppressed and then forgotten by an emergent Greco-Roman world view. This fascinating book throws into doubt the self-congratulatory assumptions of Western science about the unfolding development and transmission of knowledge. This is a truly seminal and original thesis, a book that should be read by anyone interested in science, myth, and the interactions between the two.

To Have or to Be? (Cass Canfield Book)

Erich Fromm

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Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Process, not possession 5 out of 5 stars.
49 of 49 people found this review helpful.

To have or to be?

Well... to be, says Fromm.

In response to the materialism of our century and our propensity to reification, psychoanalyst Erich Fromm proposes a mode of living that he argues is the way out of our psychospiritual conundrum.

Within the pages of this book, one of the last before his demise, the author of the bestseller _ The Art of Loving_ describes the two modes possible--that of having and being. 20th century culture he says has developed into employing and relying on the having mode--of appropriating things and even humans for oneself. Even love has been turned into an object, when in fact no such thing exists. Only the act of loving is possible.

In contradistinction to having is being. It is a mode of active participation in life. While the misnomer 'falling in love' is touted by the world as the norm, Fromm argues that true loving is an effortful activity. While accumulating knowledge is the way of having, the being mode of knowing is a process of understanding.

Although written nearly three decades ago, Fromm's worldview continues to be the ideal. This work of his is a timeless caveat against the dehumanization of society.

Editorial Review:

To Have Or To Be? is regarded as one of the seminal books of the second half of the 20th century. This book is a summary of the penetrating thought of Erich Fromm. His thesis is that two modes of existence are struggling for the spirit of humankind: the having mode; and the being mode. Fromm explains why the having mode is taking the world to the brink of psychological and ecological disaster.

The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History

Howard K. Bloom

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Total reviews: 139 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Overrated but interesting 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The general themes and ideas presented in this book are interesting: That we are all part of a competitive social superorganism driven by memetic transmission. However, I find his understanding of certain concepts (e.g. stress, religion, philosophy) to be extremely limited.

So while I found the book to be thought provoking, it was hard to overlook the cherry-picking of factual "evidence" and limited understanding of important concepts (see above).

Frustrating to Read 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I thought Bloom had many interesting things to say about the interdependence of life but unfortunately the bulk of his historical interpretations are terribly superficial. Much of the book feels like you've tuned in to CNN or Fox for a mindless analysis of world affairs where Cuban communism or Islamic fundamentalism emerge for no other reason than to obtain power. That works if you forget about Batiste or Mossadegh, but many of us see world affairs quite differently, where third world radicalism is the spawn of western imperialism. Whatever your opinions about these kinds of things may be, I would highly recommend comparing the quality of Bloom's scholarship with any of Noam Chomsky's work. For some that may be a loaded statement, but there is no denying that the evidence presented to back up important assertions are simply incomparable; Bloom provides virtually nothing except interpretations as references whereas Chomsky makes serious attempts to provide first hand accounts. In Bloom's case, shining the lens of the superorganism on world history seems to be a much less effective tool of interpretation then applying concepts from critical theory and economics, despite the fact that they should be equivalent.

Editorial Review:

Covering the entire span of the Earth's as well as mankind's history, this ambitious and revolutionary book explores the intricate relationships between genetics, human behavior, and culture to put forth the thesis that "evil" is a by-product of nature's strategies for creation and that it is woven into our most basic biological fabric.

Critique of Pure Reason (Philosophical Classics)

Immanuel Kant

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A foundation stone of modern philosophy 5 out of 5 stars.
20 of 21 people found this review helpful.

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is considered one of the giants of philosophy, of his age or any other. It is largely this book that provides the foundation of this assessment. Whether one loves Kant or hates him (philosophically, that is), one cannot really ignore him; even when one isn't directly dealing with Kantian ideas, chances are great that Kant is made an impact.

Kant was a professor of philosophy in the German city of Konigsberg, where he spent his entire life and career. Kant had a very organised and clockwork life - his habits were so regular that it was considered that the people of Konigsberg could set their clocks by his walks. The same regularity was part of his publication history, until 1770, when Kant had a ten-year hiatus in publishing. This was largely because he was working on this book, the 'Critique of Pure Reason'.

Kant as a professor of philosophy was familiar with the Rationalists, such as Descartes, who founded the Enlightenment and in many ways started the phenomenon of modern philosophy. He was also familiar with the Empiricist school (John Locke and David Hume are perhaps the best known names in this), which challenged the rationalist framework. Between Leibniz' monads and Hume's development of Empiricism to its logical (and self-destructive) conclusion, coupled with the Romantic ideals typified by Rousseau, the philosophical edifice of the Enlightenment seemed about to topple.

Kant rode to the rescue, so to speak. He developed an idea that was a synthesis of Empirical and Rationalist ideas. He developed the idea of a priori knowledge (that coming from pure reasoning) and a posterior knowledge (that coming from experience) and put them together into synthetic a priori statements as being possible. Knowledge, for Kant, comes from a synthesis of pure reason concepts and experience. Pure thought and sense experience were intertwined. However, there were definite limits to knowledge. Appearance/phenomenon was different from Reality/noumena - Kant held that the unknowable was the 'ding-an-sich', roughly translated as the 'thing-in-itself', for we can only know the appearance and categorial aspects of things.

Kant was involved heavily in scientific method, including logic and mathematical methods, to try to describe the various aspects of his development. This is part of what makes Kant difficult reading for even the most dedicated of philosophy students and readers. He spends a lot of pages on logical reasoning, including what makes for fallacious and faulty reasoning. He also does a good deal of development on the ideas of God, the soul, and the universe as a whole as being essentially beyond the realm of this new science of metaphysics - these are not things that can be known in terms of the spatiotemporal realm, and thus proofs and constructs about them in reason are bound to fail.

Kant does go on to attempt to prove the existence of God and the soul (and other things) from moral grounds, but that these cannot be proved in the scientific methodology of his metaphysics and logic. This book presents Kant's epistemology and a new concept of metaphysics that involves transcendental knowledge, a new category of concepts that aims to prove one proposition as the necessary presupposition of another. This becomes the difficulty for later philosophers, but it does become a matter that needs to be addressed by them.

As Kant writes at the end of the text, 'The critical path alone is still open. If the reader has had the courtesy and patience to accompany me along this path, he may now judge for himself whether, if he cares to lend his aid in making this path into a high-road, it may not be possible to achieve before the end of the present century what many centuries have not been able to accomplish; namely, to secure for human reason complete satisfacton in regard to that with which it has all along so eagerly occupied itself, though hitherto in vain.' This is heavy reading, but worthwhile for those who will make the journey with Kant.

Editorial Review:

One of the cornerstone books of Western philosophy, here is Kant's seminal treatise, where he seeks to define the nature of reason itself and builds his own unique system of philosophical thought with an approach known as transcendental idealism. He argues that human knowledge is limited by the capacity for perception.

The world as will and representation

Arthur Schopenhauer

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Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Philosophy for independent thinkers 5 out of 5 stars.
18 of 18 people found this review helpful.

Schopenhauer's magnum opus towers high above the silly word games of the analysts. This book is philosophy at its very best- a book that no educated person should miss for Schopenhauer wrote primarily for the layman. Like Nietzsche, he was highly skeptical of the "professionals" of his time. One thing that immediately strikes the reader is Schopenhauer's clear and crisp command of the written word unlike the severe case of abstractionitis that both Hegel and Heidegger seem to suffer from.

The World as Will and Representation clothes Transcendental Idealism in a pessimistic dress and offers a glorious, bold and innovated view of Kant's critical philosophy. Its scope and breadth reaches the outer limitations of human understanding creating a new and beautiful, yet cold and austere, vision that will forever challenge, shake, and destroy most people's views of reality. This book along with Kant's Critique gives a possible answer to one of the most perplexing problems of human understanding: it challenges and attempts to disarm Hume's powerful attack against the perceived "illusion" of causality. Whether it succeeds or not is left to the reader to decide.

Schopenhauer starts where Kant stops and he easily transcends him showing us how the world is a hostile place to live in and how reality is forever unknown to the knower. Few professional philosophers would probably agree with Schopenhauer. This in no way dimishes the value of his philosophy.

It is amazing that today most people simply ignore Schopenhauer and take him as a minor figure in the Western tradition. Part of the reason for this is because of Bertrand Russell, one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century, who simply dismissed Schopenhauer and gave him a bad reputation in his popular book "History of Western Philosophy." (This book is heavily biased and is probably one of Russell's worst books causing more harm than good for people new to philosophy.) Russell basically rejected Schopenhauer's work on the premise of hypocrisy since Schopenhauer did not actually practice the philosophy that he preached; yet ironically enough, Russell, being a brilliant logician and no less than the father of modern analytic philosophy, succumbed to emotionalism via the tu quoque fallacy. (i.e. judging a claim as false based on the character of the person claiming it instead of its truth value)

The best thing to do is to simply read the book yourself. Commentaries are helpful after one has understood the work, never before. It is highly recommended that one read Kant and then follow-up with Schopenhauer's book. (Though many have still profited skipping Kant altogether.) Very few things in life will probably be more important or rewarding than doing this.

Editorial Review:

Volume 1 of the definitive English translation of one of the most important philosophical works of the 19th century, the basic statement in one important stream of post-Kantian thought. Corrects nearly 1,000 errors and omissions in the older Haldane-Kemp translation. For the first time, this edition translates and locates all quotes and provides full index.