Distinguished scholar and philosopher Tom Rockmore examines one of the great lacunae of contemporary philosophical discussion--idealism. Addressing the widespread confusion about the meaning and use of the term, he surveys and classifies some of its major forms, giving particular attention to Kant. He argues that Kant provides the all-important link between three main types of idealism: those associated with Plato, the new way of ideas, and German idealism. The author also makes a case for the contemporary relevance of at least one strand in the tangled idealist web, a strand most clearly...

Martin Heidegger's impact on contemporary thought is important and controversial. However in France, the influence of this German philosopher is such that contemporary French thought cannot be properly understood without reference to Heidegger and his extraordinary influence.
Tom Rockmore examines the reception of Heidegger's thought in France. He argues that in the period after the Second World War, due to the peculiar nature of the humanist French Philosophical tradition, Heidegger became the master thinker of French philosophy. Perhaps most importantly, he contends that this reception...

Martin Heidegger's impact on contemporary thought is important and controversial. However in France, the influence of this German philosopher is such that contemporary French thought cannot be properly understood without reference to Heidegger and his extraordinary influence.
Tom Rockmore examines the reception of Heidegger's thought in France. He argues that in the period after the Second World War, due to the peculiar nature of the humanist French Philosophical tradition, Heidegger became the master thinker of French philosophy. Perhaps most importantly, he contends that this reception...

Marx After Marxism encourages readers to understand Karl Marx in new ways, unencumbered by political Marxist interpretations that have long dominated the discussions of both Marxists and non-Marxists. This volume gives a broad and accessible account of Marx's philosophy and emphasizes his relationship to Hegel.

Marx After Marxism encourages readers to understand Karl Marx in new ways, unencumbered by political Marxist interpretations that have long dominated the discussions of both Marxists and non-Marxists. This volume gives a broad and accessible account of Marx's philosophy and emphasizes his relationship to Hegel.

In ancient times, the main approaches to metaphysical realism were intuitive. In modern times, foundationalism has replaced intuition as the main strategy to make out metaphysical realist claims to know. In On Foundationalism, Rockmore argues that foundationalism fails in all its known variants. Furthermore, Rockmore argues that Kant plays a crucial role in this regard. Kant's complex position is both foundationalist and anti-foundationalist, committed to metaphysical realism, and also, through its commitment to empirical realism, opposed to metaphysical realism. Before Kant, it made eminent...

In his book On Foundationalism, Tom Rockmore reviewed the efforts to develop a cogent form of foundational realism and concluded that the doctrine is no longer viable and should be abandoned. In On Constructivist Epistemology, Rockmore expounds upon the idea of "constructivism" as introduced at the end of On Foundationalism. On Constructivist Epistemology belongs to an ongoing effort to call attention to the resources of a modern epistemological approach, which is focused in Kant and which is followed up virtually throughout the later debate. Rockmore traces the idea of constructivism and...

The philosophical thought of J. G. Fichte, particularly his later work, is at the very center of a paradigm shift currently underway in the field of German Idealism. Crucial to this reassessment is Fichte's Wissenschaftslehre Nova Methodo of 1796/99, the manuscript at the heart of this collection and an articulation of the philosopher's Wissenshaftslehre, or overall system of philosophy, that Fichte discussed in lectures at the University of Jena. Edited by two of the foremost Fichte scholars in the world, the essays collected here provide a much needed introduction to the major themes of the...

The philosophical thought of J. G. Fichte, particularly his later work, is at the very center of the paradigm shift under way in the field of German idealism. Crucial to this reassessment is Fichte's "Wissenschaftslehre nova methodo" of 1796 to 1799, the manuscript at the heart of this essay colleciton and an articulation of the philosopher's "Wissenschaftslehre, " or overall system of philosophy, which he discussed in lectures at the University of Jena. Coherent, comprehensive, and edited by two of the foremost Fichte scholars in the world, the essays provide a much needed introduction to...

For Martin Heidegger the "fall" of philosophy into metaphysics begins with Plato. Thus, the relationship between the two philosophers is crucial to an understanding of Heidegger--and, perhaps, even to the whole plausibility of postmodern critiques of metaphysics. It is also, as the essays in this volume attest, highly complex, and possibly founded on a questionable understanding of Plato.
As editors Catalin Partenie and Tom Rockmore remark, a simple way to describe Heidegger's reading of Plato might be to say that what began as an attempt to appropriate Plato (and through him a large...