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During the middle of the twentieth century, philosophers generally agreed that, by contrast with science, philosophy should offer no substantial thoughts about the general nature of concrete reality. Instead, philosophers offered conceptual truths. It is widely assumed that, since 1970, things have changed greatly.
List of contents
- 1. How Empty is Mainstream Philosophy?
- 2. Promising Examples of Concretely Substantial Philosophy
- 3. Thinkers and What They Can Think About: Empty Issues and Individualistic Powers
- 4. The Origins of Material Individuals: Empty Issues and Sequentialistic Powers
- 5. The Persistence of Material Individuals: Empty Issues and Self-Directed Propensity
- 6. Empty Debates About Material Matters
- 7. Individuals, Properties and Time: A Few Substantial Thoughts and Many Empty Ideas
- 8. What Will Become of Us: Empty Issues and Substantial Speculations
- 9. When Will There Be Some Serious New Substantial Philosophy?
About the author
Peter Unger is a Professor of Philosophy at New York University. He is the author of five previous self-standing books, all currently available from the Oxford University Press: Ignorance: A Case for Scepticism; Philosophical Relativity; Identity, Consciousness and Value; Living High and Letting Die: Our Illusion of Innocence; and All the Power in the World. As well, Oxford has published his Philosophical Papers, a two-volume collection of shorter works previously published elsewhere.
Summary
During the middle of the twentieth century, philosophers generally agreed that, by contrast with science, philosophy should offer no substantial thoughts about the general nature of concrete reality. Instead, philosophers offered conceptual truths. It is widely assumed that, since 1970, things have changed greatly.
Additional text
Please read Peter Unger's Empty Ideas. I imagine an incredible amount of debate not just on this work, but based on this work. Well done Unger for starting a kind of philosophical fire, even if you didn't think it would start just the kind of fire you have imagined!
