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Overview"Human beings are both supremely rational and deeply superstitious, capable of believing just about anything and of questioning just about everything. Indeed, just as our reason demands that we know the truth, our skepticism leads to doubts we can ever really do so. In Walking the Tightrope of Reason, Robert J. Fogelin guides readers through a contradiction that lies at the very heart of philosophical inquiry. Fogelin argues that our rational faculties insist on a purely rational account of the universe, yet at the same time, the inherent limitations of these faculties ensure that we will never fully satisfy that demand. As a result of being driven to this point of paradox, we either comfort ourselves with what Kant called ""metaphysical illusions"" or adopt a stance of radical skepticism. No middle ground seems possible and, as Fogelin shows, skepticism, even though a healthy dose of it is essential for living a rational life, ""has an inherent tendency to become unlimited in its scope, with the result that the edifice of rationality is destroyed."" In much Postmodernist thought, for example, skepticism takes the extreme form of absolute relativism, denying the basis for any value distinctions and treating all truth-claims as equally groundless. How reason avoids disgracing itself, walking a fine line between dogmatic belief and self-defeating doubt, is the question Fogelin seeks to answer. Reflecting upon the ancient Greek skeptics as well as such thinkers as Hume, Kant, Wittgenstein, Nietzsche, and Whitman, this book takes readers into--and through--some of philosophy's most troubling paradoxes." Full Product DetailsAuthor: Robert Fogelin (Professor of Philosophy and Sherman Fairchild Professor in the Humanities, Professor of Philosophy and Sherman Fairchild Professor in the Humanities, Dartmouth College)Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc Dimensions: Width: 12.30cm , Height: 1.70cm , Length: 17.80cm Weight: 0.215kg ISBN: 9780195177541ISBN 10: 0195177541 Pages: 218 Publication Date: 06 January 2005 Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate , Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: To order  Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us. Table of ContentsReviewsFew have described better than Robert Fogelin the peculiar poise that reasoning requires. --San Francisco Chronicle An insightful examination of the precarious character of our intellectual lives. --New York Law Journal An intellectual pleasure for those who like their philosophy cool and combative. --Publishers Weekly A rare book that makes philosophy matter for ordinary people in everyday life. --Booklist Few have described better than Robert Fogelin the peculiar poise that reasoning requires. --San Francisco Chronicle<br> An insightful examination of the precarious character of our intellectual lives. --New York Law Journal<br> An intellectual pleasure for those who like their philosophy cool and combative. --Publishers Weekly<br> A rare book that makes philosophy matter for ordinary people in everyday life. --Booklist<br> Few have described better than Robert Fogelin the peculiar poise that reasoning requires. --San Francisco Chronicle An insightful examination of the precarious character of our intellectual lives. --New York Law Journal An intellectual pleasure for those who like their philosophy cool and combative. --Publishers Weekly A rare book that makes philosophy matter for ordinary people in everyday life. --Booklist An insightful examination of the precarious character of our intellectual lives. --New York Law Journal Few have described better than Robert Fogelin the peculiar poise that reasoning requires. --Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Chronicle A rare book that makes philosophy matter for ordinary people in everyday life. --Booklist An admirably clear, concise, provocative approach to avoiding pitfalls 'inherent in the rational enterprise....' An intellectual pleasure for those who like their philosophy cool and combative. --Publishers Weekly A model of clarity...a genuine pleasure to read.... Most welcome. --Mind An insightful examination of the precarious character of our intellectual lives. -New York Law Journal Few have described better than Robert Fogelin the peculiar poise that reasoning requires. -Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Chronicle A rare book that makes philosophy matter for ordinary people in everyday life. -Booklist An admirably clear, concise, provocative approach to avoiding pitfalls 'inherent in the rational enterprise...' An intellectual pleasure for those who like their philosophy cool and combative. -Publishers Weekly Author InformationRobert Fogelin is Professor of Philosophy and Sherman Fairchild Professor in the Humanities at Dartmouth College. His many books include Pyrrhonian Reflections, Wittgenstein and Hume's Skepticism. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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