Metaphilosophy: Philosophy in Philosophical PerspectiveThe definitive mission of metaphilosophy is to facilitate an understanding of how philosophy works—the aim of the enterprise, the instrumental and procedural resources for its work, and the prospect of its success. Nicholas Rescher unites two facets of metaphilosophy to show that historical perspective and forward-thinking normative, or systematic, metaphilosophy cannot be independent of one another. The descriptive, or historical, metaphilosophy provides an account of what has been thought regarding the conduct of philosophical inquiry, and the prescriptive, or normative, metaphilosophy which deliberates about what is to be thought regarding the conduct of philosophizing. Rescher argues that metaphilosophy forms a part of philosophy itself. This is a unique feature of the discipline since the philosophy of biology is not a part of biology and the philosophy of mathematics is not a part of mathematics. Ultimately, the salient features of philosophizing in general—including the inherently controversial and discordant nature of philosophical doctrines—are also bound to afflict metaphilosophy. Thus, only by a careful analysis of the central issues can a plausible view of the enterprise be developed. Metaphilosophy: Philosophy in Philosophical Perspective challenges the static, compartmentalized view of metaphilosophy, providing insight for scholars and students of all areas of philosophy. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 17 | |
3 Philosophical Exposition | 29 |
4 The Taxonomy of Philosophy | 39 |
5 Some Principles of Philosophizing | 63 |
6 Philosophical Method | 75 |
7 Philosophical Legitimation via Systematization | 95 |
8 Philosophical Refutation | 111 |
12 Does Philosophy Make Progress? | 155 |
13 On Philosophy as a Guide to Life | 179 |
14 The Philosophy Industry in the USA | 191 |
15 How the History of Philosophy Relates to Philosophy Itself | 211 |
16 Interpreting Philosophical Texts | 221 |
17 How to Think Like a Philosopher | 229 |
| 231 | |
| 235 | |
9 Coming to Terms with Philosophical Dissensus | 123 |
10 Can Philosophy Be Objective? | 141 |
11 Influence among Philosophers | 149 |
About the Author | 239 |
Common terms and phrases
abandon accept accordingly achieve actually affords alternative American Philosophical Association American philosophy answers aporetic cluster apory applied philosophy argumentation Aristotle author’s basis beliefs Bertrand Russell best available best explanation C. S. Peirce Charles Sanders Peirce claims cogency cogent cognitive values coherence commitment complex concepts consensus considerations contentions course deliberations dialectic discipline distinctions doctrine domain endeavor enterprise epistemology ethics evaluative evidential example experience F. H. Bradley fact history of philosophy human idea Immanuel Kant inconsistency individual inference intellectual interpretation Kant knowledge Leibniz logic matter means merit metaphilosophy metaphysics methodological mode nature never objective one’s orientation overall particular philo philoso philosophical issues philosophical position philosophical questions Plato plausible possible principle probative problems progress rational inquiry reason refutation regarding rejection resolution rhetoric sense Sextus Empiricus simply situation skepticism sophical sophistication sort substantial systematization taxonomy theory thesis things thought tion tive truth