Philosophical Method

A Very Short Introduction

De: Timothy Williamson

Narrado por: Roger Clark

What are philosophers trying to achieve? How can they succeed? Does philosophy make progress? Is it in competition with science, or doing something completely different, or neither?

Timothy Williamson tackles some of the key questions surrounding philosophy in new and provocative ways, showing how philosophy begins in common sense curiosity, and develops through our capacity to dispute rationally with each other. Discussing philosophy's ability to clarify our thoughts, he explains why such clarification depends on the development of philosophical theories, and how those theories can be tested by imaginative thought experiments, and compared against each other by standards similar to those used in the natural and social sciences. He also shows how logical rigor can be understood as a way of enhancing the explanatory power of philosophical theories. Drawing on the history of philosophy to provide a track record of philosophical thinking's successes and failures, Williamson overturns widely held dogmas about the distinctive nature of philosophy in comparison to the sciences, demystifies its methods, and considers the future of the discipline.

From thought experiments, to deduction, to theories, this very short introduction will cause you to totally rethink what philosophy is.

©2020 Timothy Williamson (P)2020 Tantor

AWESOME

Great book, intelligible and thought-provoking. Very relevant to the world today and the importance of Philosophy in it.

Much needed.

Williamson articulates and defends a way of doing philosophy. You end learning quite a bit of philosophy along the way. Anyone interested in the discipline of philosophy will appreciate the importance of a short book like this one.

Great book. Well read.

I like that it’s read slowly and methodically. The subject can be complex and the reader speaks it with gravitas, which feels comforting.

Excellent what's philosophy intro

The book is entitled Methodology, but I take it to be perhaps the best introduction to anyone who would like to know what philosophy is like now. From common sense, to abduction and epistemic logic, thought experiments and skepticism and much more you get it all. It is written in such a way that non-philosophers can understand it, and philosophers can check their situation. Performance is good, with exception of Leibniz pronunciation.