Synopses & Reviews
The most important work by one of America's greatest twentieth-century philosophers,
Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind is both the epitome of Wilfrid Sellars' entire philosophical system and a key document in the history of philosophy. First published in essay form in 1956, it helped bring about a sea change in analytic philosophy. It broke the link, which had bound Russell and Ayer to Locke and Hume--the doctrine of "knowledge by acquaintance." Sellars' attack on the Myth of the Given in
Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind was a decisive move in turning analytic philosophy away from the foundationalist motives of the logical empiricists and raised doubts about the very idea of "epistemology."
With an introduction by Richard Rorty to situate the work within the history of recent philosophy, and with a study guide by Robert Brandom, this publication of Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind makes a difficult but indisputably significant figure in the development of analytic philosophy clear and comprehensible to anyone who would understand that philosophy or its history.
Synopsis
The most important work by one of America's greatest twentieth-century philosophers, < i="">
Synopsis
The most important work by one of America's greatest twentieth-century philosophers, Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mindis both the epitome of Wilfrid Sellars'entire philosophical system and a key document in the history of philosophy. First published in essay form in 1956, it helped bring about a sea change in analytic philosophy. It broke the link, which had bound Russell and Ayer to Lockeand Hume--the doctrine of "knowledge by acquaintance." Sellars' attack on the Myth of the Given in Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mindwas a decisive move in turning analytic philosophy away from thefoundationalist motives of the logical empiricists and raised doubts about the very idea of "epistemology."
With an introduction by Richard Rorty to situate the work within the history of recentphilosophy, and with a study guide by Robert Brandom, this publication of Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mindmakes a difficult but indisputably significant figure in the development of analyticphilosophy clear and comprehensible to anyone who would understand that philosophy or its history.
Synopsis
The most important work by one of America's greatest twentieth-century philosophers, Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind is both the epitome of Wilfrid Sellars' entire philosophical system and a key document in the history of philosophy. First published in essay form in 1956, it helped bring about a sea change in analytic philosophy. It broke the link, which had bound Russell and Ayer to Locke and Hume--the doctrine of "knowledge by acquaintance." Sellars' attack on the Myth of the Given in Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind was a decisive move in turning analytic philosophy away from the foundationalist motives of the logical empiricists and raised doubts about the very idea of "epistemology."
With an introduction by Richard Rorty to situate the work within the history of recent philosophy, and with a study guide by Robert Brandom, this publication of Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind makes a difficult but indisputably significant figure in the development of analytic philosophy clear and comprehensible to anyone who would understand that philosophy or its history.
About the Author
Wilfrid Sellars (1912-1989) graduated from the University of Michigan in 1933. He taught at Iowa, Minnesota, and Yale, and was University Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh from 1963 until his death. His works include Science and Metaphysics (1968) and Science, Perception, and Reality (1963).Richard Rorty was Professor of Comparative Literature at Stanford University and author of the landmark works
Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature;
Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity; and
The Consequences of Pragmatism.Robert B. Brandom is Distinguished Service Professor of Philosophy and Fellow of the Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh.
Distinguished Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh
Table of Contents
Introduction by Richard Rorty
An Ambiguity in Sense-Datum Theories
Another Language?
The Logic of 'Looks'
Explaining Looks
Impressions and Ideas: a Logical Point
Impressions and Ideas: A Historical Point
The Logic of 'Means'
Does Empirical Knowledge Have a Foundation?
Science and Ordinary Usage
Private Episodes: The Problem
Thoughts: The Classical View
Our Rylean Ancestors
Theories and Models
Methodological versus Philosophical Behaviorism
The Logic of Private Episodes: Thoughts
The Logic of Private Episodes: Impressions
Study Guide by Robert Brandom