Willard VanOrman Quine has probably been the most influential th American philosopher of the 20 century. His work spans over seven decades, and covers many domains in philosophy. He has made major contributions to the fields of logic and set theory, philosophy of logic and mathematics, philosophy of language, philosophy of science, epistemology and metaphysics. Quine's first work in philosophy was in the field of logic. His major contributions are the two set-theoretic systems NF (1936) and ML (1940). 1 These systems were alternatives to the type theory of Principia Mathematica or Zermelo's...

Like most discussions within the tradition of rights-talk, this study is motivated by the desire to promote the idea that rights are moral assets that people should acquire in the course of their membership within social and political frameworks. However, while most participants in rights-talk concentrate on the safety and protection constraints required for a successful exercising of rights, the present study inquires into the circumstances under which people's rights lose their validity. The author believes that if we want to prevent the erosion of the role of rights within society and to...

This is the first of two volumes containing papers submitted by the invited speakers to the 11th International Congress of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science, held in Cracow in 1999, under the auspices of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science, Division of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science. The invited speakers are the leading researchers and accordingly the book presents the current state of the intellectual discourse in the respective fields.
The papers delivered at the congress were divided into 17 sections. Thus the structure of the volume...

This is the second of two volumes containing papers submitted by the invited speakers to the 11th international Congress of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science, held in Cracow in 1999, under the auspices of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science, Division of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science. The invited speakers are the leading researchers and accordingly the book presents the current state of the intellectual discourse in the respective fields.
The papers delivered at the congress were divided into 17 sections. Thus the structure of the volume...

In The Brain from 25,000 Feet, Mark A. Changizi defends a non-reductionist philosophy and applies it to a variety of problems in the brain sciences. Some of the key questions answered are as follows. Why do we see visual illusions, and why are illusions inevitable for any finite-speed vision machine? Why aren't brains universal learning machines, and what does the riddle of induction and its solution have to do with human learning and innateness? The author tackles such questions as why the brain is folded, and why animals have as many limbs as they do, explaining how these...

By Husserl's own account, he composed the Logical Investigations over a century ago in order to solve two problems: the problem of providing a scientific, self-reflexive account of logical form and method, as a condition of science, and the problem of relating the subjectivity of knowing with the objectivity of the content of knowledge. The project took shape as six distinct investigations into the respective themes of meaning, universals, the logic of parts and wholes, the differences between absurdity and nonsense and between the contents of naming and judging, and, finally, the way knowing...

(Over)Interpreting Wittgenstein will be read by philosophers investigating Wittgenstein and by scholars, interpreters, students, and specialists, in both analytic and continental philosophy. It will intrigue readers interested in issues of interpretation and cultural studies.
This book tells the story - as yet untold - of Wittgenstein interpretation during the past eighty years. It provides different interpretations, chronologies, developments, and controversies. It aims to discover the (socio-cultural rather than psychological) motives and motivations behind the...

Philosophical Dimensions of Logic and Science is a collection of outstanding contributed papers presented at the 11th International Congress of Logic, Methodology, and Philosophy of Science held in Krakow in 1999. The Congress was a follow-up to the series of meetings, initiated once by Alfred Tarski, which aimed to provide an interdisciplinary forum for scientists, philosophers and logicians. The articles selected for publication in the book comply with that idea and innovatively address current issues in logic, metamathematics, philosophy of language, philosophy of science,...

Realism in Action is a selection of essays written by leading representatives in the fields of action theory and philosophy of mind, philosophy of the social sciences and especially the nature of social action, and of epistemology and philosophy of science. Practical reason, reasons and causes in action theory, intending and trying, and folk-psychological explanation are some of the topics discussed by these leading participants. A particular emphasis is laid on trust, commitments and social institutions, on the possibility of grounding social notions in individual social...

On the occasion of bis sixtieth birthday, we dedicate this volume to Jan Wo- leriski-s-our teacher, our colleague, our friend. Both of us are particularly indebted to Jan not only with regards to profes- sional matters, but some private ones as well. Hence, we hope that he forgives us an occasional lapse into fondness and affection. That said, may the list of bis personalmerits remain shrouded in mystery; rather than unveil them, we open here by appraising Jan's presence from a broader perspective. Tonote that Jan was not always a part of our lives would not evoke surprise. However, to...