Is philosophy dead? Some philosophers have declared it to be so, and judging by some of the mental acrobatics now fashionable in postmodernist circles a reasonable person might have to agree. Though recognizing the moribund state of current academic philosophy, Mario Bunge feels that this is a crisis from which the discipline can and will recover. To overcome the impasse Bunge argues that it is necessary to reconstruct philosophy by building a philosophical system that addresses real-world problems of everyday people in a ...
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Is philosophy dead? Some philosophers have declared it to be so, and judging by some of the mental acrobatics now fashionable in postmodernist circles a reasonable person might have to agree. Though recognizing the moribund state of current academic philosophy, Mario Bunge feels that this is a crisis from which the discipline can and will recover. To overcome the impasse Bunge argues that it is necessary to reconstruct philosophy by building a philosophical system that addresses real-world problems of everyday people in a clear, comprehensible fashion. The new system must be exact and compatible with contemporary science and technology. Above all, it should shun purely academic problems. This book offers glimpses of such a system while avoiding technical jargon unfamiliar to the lay reader. It is thus accessible to the average educated reader interested in such perennial philosophical concerns as What is matter?, What is mind?, What is the nature of society?, Are there limits to our knowledge?, What are the criteria for distinguishing genuine science from pseudoscience?, and How should human rights be balanced with moral obligations? These questions will always be of interest to thinking human beings, says Bunge, and philosophy, rather than becoming a fruitless, self-referential academic game, should be the main intellectual tool for exploring and clarifying such all important issues.
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Add this copy of Philosophy in Crisis: the Need for Reconstruction to cart. $16.95, good condition, Sold by HPB-Red rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2001 by Prometheus.
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New. 1573928437. *** FREE UPGRADE to Courier/Priority Shipping Upon Request ***-*** IN STOCK AND IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE FOR SHIPMENT-BRAND NEW, FLAWLESS COPY, NEVER OPENED--245 pages--DESCRIPTION: Recognizing the moribund state of postmodern philosophy, Mario Bunge suggests ways to reconstruct the discipline by building a system that addresses real-world problems, is exact and compatible with contemporary science, and above all, shuns purely academic problems. Perennial philosophical concerns such as What is mind? , What is the nature of society? , Are there limits to our knowledge? , and How should human rights be balanced with moral obligations? will always be of interest to thinking human beings, says Bunge, and philosophy should be the main intellectual tool for exploring and clarifying such all-important issues. --REVIEWS: Library Journal: "The ever-crusading Bunge here argues that "all the philosophical schools are in ruins" including Aristotelianism, Thomism, Kantianism, Hegelianism, dialectical materialism, positivism, pragmatism, phenomenology, and linguistic philosophy. His own solution is a kind of materialism that allows for the emergence of minds and societies as entities with distinct properties. He has long been professor of logic and metaphysics at McGill, and he draws on his many books to lay down much that is sensible and humane. Readers will enjoy some of his attacks on the woollier social sciences and the dafter deconstructionists and metaphysicians. But some will think his definition of "matter" as what is located and "can be in at least two different states" allows him to win too easily, like a man who adds 20 wild cards to a solitaire deck. "Matter" then includes by definition everything except things like the number two and infinity. (Is love material, and don't the friends of Cantor and Goedel who think we need the infinite and must accept the existence of all the numbers have a point? ) Much of Bunge's concern is with locating the social sciences and philosophy in relation to the natural sciences. As in his recent The Sociology-Philosophy Connection (Transaction, 1999), he denounces his opponents as lacking brainpower without giving them much of an argument. This work is flawed, but it is an important book that deserves a place in any substantial academic library." Leslie Armour. Univ. Of Ottawa--with a bonus offer--
