Böcker i Philosophica-serien

Has any question about the historical past ever been finally answered? Of course there is much disagreement among professional historians about what happened in the past and how to explain it. But this incisive study goes one step further and brings into question the very ability of historians to gather and communicate genuine knowledge about the past.Understanding History applies this general question from the philosophy of history to economic history of American slaveholders. Do we understand the American slaveholders? Has the last word on the subject been said? Both the alleged "e;profitability"e; of slavery and the purported causes of the American Civil War are philosophically analyzed. Traditional narrative history and econometric history are examined and compared, and their different philosophical assumptions made explicit. The problem of justifying historical methodologies is first set in the wider context of the philosophical problem of knowledge, then lucidly explained and resolved along pragmatic lines. The novelty of Gorman's approach lies in its comparison of narrative with econometric history, its analysis of empathetic understanding in terms of cost-benefit analysis, and its elucidation of the metaphysical presuppositions of empiricism. It stands out especially for the clarity, rigor, and simplicity of its arguments.

What is the significance of "higher" education? What is the point of obtaining a degree that includes the study of philosophy? This book argues that university study is a privileged space for self-cultivation but that this space is under threat by both the press of specialization and the "marketing" of undergraduate education.

A leading Polish philosopher of the 20th century, Roman Ingarden is principally renowned in Western culture for his work in aesthetics and the theory of literature. This work demonstrates how Ingarden's thought constitutes a major contribution to the fundamental fields of ontology and metaphysics.

Includes the essays that make a single central claim that human beings can still make sense of their lives and still have a humane morality, even if their worldview is utterly secular and even if they have lost the last vestige of belief in God.

A work that underscores the need to examine history from a philosophical perspective.

Offers an exposition of the theses of Kant, Hegel, and Marx, on the dynamics and the ends of history. This title reasserts the task of the speculative philosophy of history as it had been understood by German philosophy: the articulation and understanding the historical process as a developmental whole.

Offers a collection of essays that examines issues posed by a naturalistic view of the world and explores some of the challenges it confronts. This title covers papers on freedom, Kant, Christianity, Homer, the history of analytic philosophy, the place of humanity in nature, and other topics.

Argues for a conception of metaphysics as the most general or comprehensive method of inquiry. Working from a broadly analytic and naturalist perspective, this title confronts positions that claim metaphysics to be impossible, as advanced in ancient, Kantian, post-Kantian, and contemporary philosophy, showing them to be unsuccessful.

Develops an original theory of the self based on Kierkegaard's writings. By drawing on Kierkegaard's writings, the author develops a metaphysical account of the self that provides an alternative to the idea that there is no such thing as human nature. It also considers several important ways of thinking about self outside of the natural sciences.

A philosophical examination of technology's influence. It explores the relationship between technology and free will. Rejecting the notion of technology as a neutral addition to our lives, it also examines the type and degree of our society's technological dependence.

Doctoral students present and reflect on the work of their philosophical mentors.

Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) is one of the previous century's most important thinkers. The breadth of Husserl's thought is considerable and much remains unexplored. Often regarded as the 'Father of phenomenology', this collection of essays reveals that he is indeed much more than that.