The Continuum Companion to Epistemology


Book Description

The Continuum Companion to Epistemology offers the definitive guide to a key area of contemporary philosophy. The book covers all the fundamental questions asked by epistemology - areas that have continued to attract interest historically as well as topics that have emerged more recently as active areas of research. Sixteen specially commissioned essays from an international team of experts reveal where important work continues to be done in the area and, most valuably, the exciting new directions the field is taking. The Companion explores issues pertaining to foundationalism, coherentism, infinitism, reliabilism, proper functionalism, evidentialism, skepticism, contextualism, epistemic relativism, intuition and experience. Featuring a series of indispensable research tools, including an A to Z of key terms and concepts, a chronology, a detailed list of resources and a fully annotated bibliography, this is the essential reference tool for anyone working in contemporary epistemology.




Epistemology: Key Concepts in Philosophy


Book Description

Key Concepts in Philosophy is a series of concise, accessible and engaging introductions to the core ideas and topics encountered in the study of philosophy. Specially written to meet the needs of students and those with little prior knowledge of the subject, these books open up a whole range of important, yet often difficult ideas. The series builds to give a solid grounding in philosophy and each book is also ideal as a companion to further study. Epistemology - inquiry into the nature, possibility and scope of human knowledge - has been at the heart of the philosophy from ancient Greek times to the present. Christopher Norris provides a lucid survey and analysis of the issues that have shaped that enterprise and continue to dominate present-day discussion. He also brings out with exceptional clarity the ways in which certain 'technical' issues in epistemology can have a decisive bearing on matters of practical concern. The text highlights continuities and contrasts between early and contemporary approaches, and between the sorts of thinking that have typified the mainstream analytic and the modern 'continental' lines of descent. Norris introduces the main topics of debate, among them arguments for and against adopting a realist position with regard to various fields of knowledge, from mathematics to the physical sciences and history. Philosophy undergraduates will find this an invaluable aid to study, one that goes beyond simple definitions and summaries to open up a new and stimulating range of ideas.




The Continuum Companion to Hume


Book Description

David Hume (1711-1776), philosopher, historian, and essayist, is widely considered to be Britain's greatest philosopher.One of the leading intellectual figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, his major works and central ideas, especially his radical empiricism and his critique of the pretensions of philosophical rationalism, remain hugely influential on contemporary philosophers. This comprehensive and accessible guide to Hume's life and work includes 21 specially commissioned essays, written by a team of leading experts, covering every aspect of Hume's thought. The Companion presents details of Hume's life, historical and philosophical context, a comprehensive overview of all the key themes and topics apparent in his work, including his accounts of causal reasoning, scepticism, the soul and the self, action, reason, free will, miracles, natural religion, politics, human nature, women, economics and history, and an account of his reception and enduring influence. This is an essential reference tool for anyone working in the fields of Hume Studies and Eighteenth-Century Philosophy.




The Continuum Companion to Philosophy of Mind


Book Description

A comprehensive reference guide to current research in Philosophy of Mind, assembled by an international team of leading scholars in the discipline.




The Continuum Companion to Philosophical Logic


Book Description

A single volume reference guide to the latest work and potential future directions in Philosophical Logic, written by an international team of leading scholars.




The Continuum Companion to the Philosophy of Language


Book Description

With chapters written by leading international scholars in the field, this is an authoritative reference guide for researchers working in the Philosophy of Language today.




The Continuum Companion to Pragmatism


Book Description

The Continuum Companion to Pragmatism offers the definitive guide to a key area of contemporary philosophy. The book covers all the fundamental questions asked by pragmatism - areas that have continued to attract interest historically as well as topics that have emerged more recently as active areas of research. Twelve specially commissioned essays from an international team of experts reveal where important work continues to be done in the area and, most valuably, the exciting new directions the field is taking. The Companion explores issues pertaining to aesthetics, economics, education, ethics, history, law, metaphysics, politics, race, religion, science and technology, language, and social theory. Featuring a series of indispensable research tools, including an A to Z of key terms and concepts, a chronology, a detailed list of resources and a fully annotated bibliography, this is the essential reference tool for anyone working in contemporary pragmatism or modern American philosophy more generally.




The Continuum Companion to Plato


Book Description

This comprehensive reference guide includes over 140 entries on every aspect of Plato's thought.




Virtue Epistemology


Book Description

Contemporary epistemology debates have largely been occupied with formulating a definition of knowledge that is immune to any counterexample. To date, no definition has been able to escape unscathed. Moving away from debates about definitions, Virtue Epistemology shows what conditions are essential for knowledge and applies this account to different domains. It proposes that agents must be motivated correctly to acquire knowledge, even in the case of perception. Stephen Napier examines closely the empirical research in cognitive science and moral psychology to build an account of knowledge wherein an agent must perform acts of virtue in order to get knowledge. In so doing, Napier provides answers to two key questions: 'what is knowledge?' and 'how do we get it?'




Rawls, Dewey, and Constructivism


Book Description

Examines problems in Rawls' epistemology, approached from a Deweyan perspective, to argue for a thoroughly constructivist idea of justice and its practical implications for education. >