One would expect that so successful and controversial a philosophical school as analytic philosophy would have a clear platform of substantive philosophical views. However, this is not so. For at least 30 years, analytic philosophy has consisted in an increasingly loose and variable amalgam of philosophical topics, views and methods. This state of affairs has led some to claim that, despite its professional entrenchment, analytic philosophy is in a state of crisis. Analytic Philosophy: The History of an Illusion argues that this is so, and that the crisis is deeper and more longstanding than is usually recognized. Synthesizing data from early and recent studies on the historical and philosophical foundations of analytic philosophy as well as from canonical primary texts, it argues (1) that analytic philosophy has never involved significant agreement on substantive philosophical views, and thus that it has always been in this state of crisis, (2) that this fact was long hidden by the illusion that analytic philosophy was originally united in the metaphilosophical thesis that philosophy is linguistic analysis, and (3) that both the rise of analytic philosophy under this illusion and the preservation of its privileged status since the illusion's demise have been facilitated by a scientistic 'stance' that minimizes the traditional philosophical duty to examine one's most fundamental assumptions.
Analytic Philosophy
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"There is much to admire in this book. It is beautifully written, and it draws on discoveries from an impressive range of fields. Preston finds instruction in metaphilosophy and the sociology of philosophy as well as in the latest scholarship on the history of early analytic thought. He makes an important contribution simply by bringing work from these disparate fields together...Preston makes a compelling case that analytic philosophy has never been as unified as we usually assume. He also argues convincingly that our failure to see this results from biases that are largely unphilosophical...Preston has not said the last word about the history and the problems of analytic philosophy. But he has made important discoveries about it, some of which are genuinely troubling. Future histories will have to take his discoveries seriously." -Robert Piercy, Philosophy in Review
About the Author
Aaron Preston is Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Malone College (USA). Previously he was at University of Southern California. He has written several articles for journals (e.g. The Monist) and was runner-up for the Metaphysical Society of America Aristotle Prize (2000).
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An Indispensable Read
10 Jan 2008
By John A. Mccumber
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Well documented, detailed, cogent, clear, fascinating, often convincing, and always fun to read. Preston argues that Analytical Philosophy not only has ceased to be a distinctive paradigm--it never was one. Its founding figures (Frege, Russell, and G. E. Moore--the argument can also be made, of course, for Wittgenstein) did not adhere to the conventional views of Analytical Philosophy, and indeed protested against them. Analytical Philosophy is thus a sociological, not a philosophical, phenomenon.
This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand philosophy's contemporary situation--and how to get out of it.
This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand philosophy's contemporary situation--and how to get out of it.
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