The Retreat of Reason: A Dilemma in the Philosophy of Life

ISBN-13: 9780199276905 / Angielski / Twarda / 2005 / 500 str.

Ingmar Persson

Opis

The Retreat of Reason brings back to philosophy the ambition of offering a broad vision of the human condition. One of the main original aims of philosophy was to give people guidance about how to live their lives. Ingmar Persson resumes this practical project, which has been largely neglected in contemporary philosophy, but his conclusions are very different from those of the ancient Greeks. They typically argued that a life led in accordance with reason, a rational life, would also be the happiest or most fulfilling. By exploring the irrationality of our attitudes to time, identity, and responsibility, Persson shows that the aim of living rationally conflicts not only with the aim of leading the most fulfilling life, but also with the moral aim of promoting the maximization and just distribution of fulfilment for all. The Retreat of Reason challenges some of our most fundamental ideas about ourselves.

Recenzje

This book has been long in the making and it is no exaggeration to say that it was worth the wait ... hugely impressive ... In scope and ambition, The Retreat of Reason is comparable to modern classics such as Derek Partif's Reasons and Persons and Nagel's The View from Nowhere ... More important still, The Retreat of Reason matches these seminal works in terms of philosophical sophistication and rigour of argument. It is an enlightening as well as a fulfilling read.