An introductory volume to Robert Nozick, one of the dominant philosophical thinkers of the modern age. It is part of a new series, Contemporary Philosophy in Focus. Each volume in the series consists of newly commissioned essays that cover all the major contributions of a pre-eminent philosopher in a systematic and accessible manner. Robert Nozick is one of the most creative and individual philosophical voices of the last 25 years of the 20th century. His most famous book, Anarchy, State and Utopia (1974), presents the classic defence of the libertarian view that only a minimal state is just....

Author of such groundbreaking and influential books as Consciousness Explained and Darwin's Dangerous Idea, Daniel C. Dennett has reached a huge general and professional audience that extends far beyond the confines of academic philosophy. Dennett has made significant contributions to the study of consciousness, the development of the child's mind, cognitive ethnology, explanation in the social sciences, artificial intelligence, and evolutionary theory. This volume is the only truly introductory collection that traces these connections, explores the implications of Dennett's work, and...

This volume appraises the major philosophical contributions of Hilary Putnam (b. 1926) to the theory of meaning, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science and mathematics, and moral theory. Concerned not only with the broad spectrum of problems addressed, it also details the transformations and restructuring his positions have undergone over the years. The analysis constitutes a critical introduction to central issues in contemporary philosophy, including quantum logic, realism, functionalism, the "mind as computer" metaphor, and the fact/value dichotomy.

This volume provides a systematic overview and comprehensive assessment of Bernard Williams s contribution to moral philosophy, a field in which Williams was one of the most influential of contemporary philosophers. The seven essays, which were specially commissioned for this volume, examine his work on moral objectivity, the nature of practical reason, moral emotion, the critique of the morality system, Williams s assessment of the ethical thought of the ancient world, and his later adoption of Nietzsche s method of genealogy. "

Few thinkers have had as much impact on contemporary philosophy as has Alvin Plantinga. The work of this quintessential analytic philosopher has in many respects set the tone for the debate in the fields of modal metaphysics and epistemology and he is arguably the most important philosopher of religion of our time. In this volume, a distinguished team of today's leading philosophers address the central aspects of Plantinga's philosophy - his views on natural theology; his responses to the problem of evil; his contributions to the field of modal metaphysics; the controversial evolutionary...

Stanley Cavell has been one of the most creative and independent of contemporary philosophical voices. At the core of his thought is the view that skepticism is not a theoretical position to be refuted by philosophical theory but is a reflection of the fundamental limits of human knowledge of the self, of others and of the external world that must be accepted. This volume is the first attempt systematically and accessibly to describe and assess the full range of Cavell's work. There are new accounts of Cavell's contribution to the philosophy of mind and language, the theory of action, ethics,...

Alasdair MacIntyre's writings on ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of religion, philosophy of the social sciences and the history of philosophy have established him as one of the philosophical giants of the last fifty years. His best-known book, After Virtue (1981), spurred the profound revival of virtue ethics. Moreover, MacIntyre, unlike so many of his contemporaries, has exerted a deep influence beyond the bounds of academic philosophy. This volume focuses on the major themes of MacIntyre's work with critical expositions of MacIntyre's views on the history of philosophy, the role of...

Written by a distinguished roster of philosophers, this volume includes chapters on truth and meaning; the philosophy of action; radical interpretation; philosophical psychology; knowledge of the external world; other minds and our own minds; and the implications of Davidson's work for literary theory. Donald Davidson has been one of the most influential figures in modern analytic philosophy and has made significant contributions to a wide range of subjects. Embodied in a series of landmark essays stretching over nearly 40 years, his principal work exhibits a unity rare among philosophers...

Thomas Kuhn (1922-1996), the author of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, is probably the best-known and most influential historian and philosopher of science of the last 25 years, and has become something of a cultural icon. His concepts of paradigm, paradigm change and incommensurability have changed our thinking about science. This volume offers an introduction to Kuhn's life and work and considers the implications of his work for philosophy, cognitive psychology, social studies of science and feminism. More than a retrospective on Kuhn, the book explores future developments of...

From Speech Acts to his most recent studies of consciousness, freedom and rationality, John Searle has been a highly influential figure among contemporary philosophers. This systematic introduction to the entire range of Searle's work begins with the theory of speech acts and proceeds with expositions of his writings on intentionality, consciousness and perception, including, as well, a careful presentation of the so-called Chinese Room argument. Barry Smith is a Julian Park Professor of Philosophy, University at Buffalo and Director of the Institute for Formal Ontology and Medical...