The Crisis Of Method In Contemporary Analytic Philosophy

Avner Baz presents a critique of much of the work within mainstream analytic philosophy in the past five decades or so, and in particular of the recent debates within analytic philosophy concerning philosophical method. In the first part of The Crisis of Method Baz argues that what has come to be known as the philosophical 'method of cases' rests on substantive assumptions about language acquisition and use. In the second part of the book Baz challenges those assumptions, both philosophically and empirically, and presents and motivates a broadly pragmatist conception of language on which the method of cases as commonly practiced by both 'armchair' and 'experimental' philosophers is fundamentally misguided-more fundamentally misguided than even its staunchest critics have hitherto recognized.

Throughout much of the twentieth century, the relationship between analytic and continental philosophy has been one of disinterest, caution or hostility. Recent debates in philosophy have highlighted some of the similarities between the two approaches and even envisaged a post-continental and post-analytic philosophy. Opening with a history of key encounters between philosophers of opposing camps since the late nineteenth century - from Frege and Husserl to Derrida and Searle - the book goes on to explore in detail the main methodological differences between the two approaches. This covers a very wide range of topics, from issues of style and clarity of exposition to formal methods arising from logic and probability theory. The final section of this book presents a balanced critique of the two schools' approaches to key issues such as time, truth, subjectivity, mind and body, language and meaning, and ethics. "Analytic versus Continental" is the first sustained analysis of both approaches to philosophy, examining the limits and possibilities of each. It provides a clear overview of a much-disputed history and, in highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of both traditions, also offers future directions for both continental and analytic philosophy.

For senior/graduate-level courses in Analytic Philosophy, Contemporary Philosophy, Philosophy of Language, Epistemology. This anthology includes some of the most influential readings in 20th century analytic philosophy.

This volume of new essays explores the relationship between the thought of Wittgenstein and the key figures of phenomenology: Husserl, Heidegger, Levinas, Merleau-Ponty and Sartre. It is the first book to provide an overview of how Wittgenstein’s philosophy in its different phases, including his own so-called phenomenological phase, relates to the variety of phenomenological approaches developed in continental Europe. In so doing, the volume seeks to throw light on both sides of the comparison, and to clarify more broadly the relations between analytic and phenomenological philosophy. However, rather than treating the interpretation of either phenomenological philosophy or Wittgenstein as an already settled issue, several chapters in the volume examine and question received views regarding them, and develop alternatives to such views. Wittgenstein and Phenomenology will be of interest to scholars working in philosophical methodology and metaphilosophy, the philosophy of mind, philosophy of language and logic, and ethics.

Philosophical Methodology is a book addressed to the entire philosophical community. It develops a novel account of the structure and goals of inquiry, offers the first systematic discussion of philosophical data, and assesses extant philosophical methods. Introducing a new method for doing philosophy, it positions theorists to better understand their topics while also revealing how philosophy can continue to make progress in answering its foremost questions.

This volume draws connections between Wittgenstein's philosophy and the work of Saul Kripke, especially his Naming and Necessity. Saul Kripke is regarded as one of the foremost representatives of contemporary analytic philosophy. His most important contributions include the strict distinction between metaphysical and epistemological questions, the introduction of the notions of contingent a priori truth and necessary a posteriori truth, and original accounts of names, descriptions, identity, necessity, and realism. The chapters in this book elucidate the relevant connections between Kripke’s work and Wittgenstein, specifically concerning the standard meter, contingent apriori, and rule-following. The contributions shed light on how Kripke’s philosophical outlook was influenced by Wittgenstein, and how mainstream analytic philosophy and Wittgensteinian philosophy can fruitfully engage with one another. Engaging Kripke with Wittgenstein will be of interest to philosophers working on Wittgenstein, Kripke, and the history of analytic philosophy.

In this volume, Baz offers a wide-ranging discussion of Wittgenstein’s remarks on aspect-perception, with special focus on Wittgenstein’s method. Baz starts out with an interpretation of Wittgenstein’s remarks on aspects and continues with attempts to characterize and defend Wittgenstein’s approach to the understanding and dissolution of philosophical difficulties. Baz ends with attempts to articulate—under the inspiration of Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology—certain dissatisfactions, both with Wittgenstein’s remarks on aspect perception, and with his philosophical approach more generally. On the way, Baz explores connections between Wittgenstein’s remarks on aspects and Kant’s aesthetics. He examines ways in which the remarks on aspects may be brought to bear on contemporary philosophical work on perception. He discusses some of the implications of Wittgenstein’s work on aspect perception for issues in moral philosophy and the philosophy of action.

How do you do philosophy? Do you believe according to the evidence? Make inferences? Or conduct a scientific-based thought experiment? Methods in Analytic Philosophy: A Contemporary Reader introduces the core methods at the centre of analytic philosophy today. From armchair conceptual analysis and the role of scientific evidence, to the resurgence of interest in the nature of rational intuitions, it brings together the readings responsible for the recent explosion of methodological work in philosophy. This up-to-date and easy to navigate reader features influential texts from ten core topics including formal methods, argumentation, thought experiments and analytic feminism. Allowing students to better understand the tools, strategies and methods discussed in the readings, each section is clearly introduced by a scholar in that field. Providing the background to each of the texts, they explain the text's significance for the wider debate and include a summary of key points, study questions and an annotated list of further reading. By reflecting on what philosophy is and how it should be done across a range of subject areas, Methods in Analytic Philosophy: A Contemporary Reader acquaints students with the best techniques of philosophical reasoning.