Human beings are both supremely rational and deeply superstitious, capable of believing just about anything and of questioning just about everything. Indeed, just as our reason demands that we know the truth, our skepticism leads to doubts we can ever really do so. In Walking the Tightrope of Reason, Robert J. Fogelin guides readers through a contradiction that lies at the very heart of philosophical inquiry. Fogelin argues that our rational faculties insist on a purely rational account of the universe, yet at the same time, the inherent limitations of these faculties ensure that we will never fully satisfy that demand. As a result of being driven to this point of paradox, we either comfort ourselves with what Kant called "metaphysical illusions" or adopt a stance of radical skepticism. No middle ground seems possible and, as Fogelin shows, skepticism, even though a healthy dose of it is essential for living a rational life, "has an inherent tendency to become unlimited in its scope, with the result that the edifice of rationality is destroyed." In much Postmodernist thought, for example, skepticism takes the extreme form of absolute relativism, denying the basis for any value distinctions and treating all truth-claims as equally groundless. How reason avoids disgracing itself, walking a fine line between dogmatic belief and self-defeating doubt, is the question Fogelin seeks to answer. Reflecting upon the ancient Greek skeptics as well as such thinkers as Hume, Kant, Wittgenstein, Nietzsche, and Whitman, this book takes readers into--and through--some of philosophy's most troubling paradoxes.

Walking the Tightrope of Reason

Politics & Social Sciences

Fogelin, Robert

Philosophy

Oxford University Press

Human beings are both supremely rational and deeply superstitious, capable of believing just about anything and of questioning just about everything. Indeed, just as our reason demands that we know the truth, our skepticism leads to doubts we can ever really do so. In Walking the Tightrope of Reason, Robert J. Fogelin guides readers through a contradiction that lies at the very heart of philosophical inquiry. Fogelin argues that our rational faculties insist on a purely rational account of the universe, yet at the same time, the inherent limitations of these faculties ensure that we will never fully satisfy that demand. As a result of being driven to this point of paradox, we either comfort ourselves with what Kant called "metaphysical illusions" or adopt a stance of radical skepticism. No middle ground seems possible and, as Fogelin shows, skepticism, even though a healthy dose of it is essential for living a rational life, "has an inherent tendency to become unlimited in its scope, with the result that the edifice of rationality is destroyed." In much Postmodernist thought, for example, skepticism takes the extreme form of absolute relativism, denying the basis for any value distinctions and treating all truth-claims as equally groundless. How reason avoids disgracing itself, walking a fine line between dogmatic belief and self-defeating doubt, is the question Fogelin seeks to answer. Reflecting upon the ancient Greek skeptics as well as such thinkers as Hume, Kant, Wittgenstein, Nietzsche, and Whitman, this book takes readers into--and through--some of philosophy's most troubling paradoxes.

Walking the Tightrope of Reason: The Precarious Life of a Rational Animal

First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Wittgenstein-Arg Philosophers (Arguments of the Philosophers)

Reference

Routledge

George Berkeley is one of the most prominent philosophers of the eighteenth century. His Principles of Human Knowledge has become a focal point in the understanding of empiricist thought and the development of eighteenth century philosophy. This volume introduces and assesses: * Berkeley's life and the background to the Principles * The ideas and text in the Principles * Berkeley's continuing importance to philosophy.

Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to Berkeley and the Principles of Human Knowledge (Routledge Philosophy GuideBooks)

Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Berkeley and the Principles of Human Knowledge

ADVANGEBOOKS - UNDERSTANDING ARGUMENTS: AN INTRODUCTION TO INFORMAL LOGIC, 9E shows readers how to construct arguments in everyday life, using everyday language. In addition, this easy-to-read textbook also devotes three chapters to the formal aspects of logic including forms of argument, as well as propositional, categorical, and quantificational logic. Plus, this edition helps readers apply informal logic to legal, moral, scientific, religious, and philosophical scenarios, too.

Cengage Advantage Books: Understanding Arguments: An Introduction to Informal Logic

Sinnott-Armstrong, Walter

Cengage Learning'

CENGAGE ADVANTAGE BOOKS: UNDERSTANDING ARGUMENTS, CONCISE EDITION, 1E uses everyday life experiences to teach the basics of informal logic. By taking out the non-essential instruction, this edition hones in on the "argument construction" involved in day-to-day life, and how to do it better. Plus, to round out the discussion, CENGAGE ADVANTAGE BOOKS: UNDERSTANDING ARGUMENTS, CONCISE EDITION, 1E includes a three-chapter overview of formal logic as well.

Cengage Advantage Books: Understanding Arguments, Concise Edition

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Fogelin, Robert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Fogelin, Robert

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Fogelin, Robert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Walking the Tightrope of Reason

Walking the Tightrope of Reason: The Precarious Life of a Rational Animal

Wittgenstein-Arg Philosophers (Arguments of the Philosophers)

Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to Berkeley and the Principles of Human Knowledge (Routledge Philosophy GuideBooks)

Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to Berkeley and the Principles of Human Knowledge (Routledge Philosophy GuideBooks)

Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Berkeley and the Principles of Human Knowledge

Cengage Advantage Books: Understanding Arguments: An Introduction to Informal Logic

Cengage Advantage Books: Understanding Arguments, Concise Edition