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The Resource Walking the tightrope of reason : the precarious life of a rational animal, Robert Fogelin, (electronic book)

Walking the tightrope of reason : the precarious life of a rational animal, Robert Fogelin, (electronic book)

Creator
Summary
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
Language
eng
Work
Instance
Label
Walking the tightrope of reason : the precarious life of a rational animal
Title
Walking the tightrope of reason
Title remainder
the precarious life of a rational animal
Statement of responsibility
Robert Fogelin
Creator
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
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
Cataloging source
CaPaEBR
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Fogelin, Robert J
Dewey number
128/.33
Index
index present
LC call number
BC177
LC item number
.F64 2003eb
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
  • standards specifications
  • bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Reason
  • Skepticism
  • Metaphysics
Label
Walking the tightrope of reason : the precarious life of a rational animal, Robert Fogelin, (electronic book)
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [189]-194) and index
Carrier category
online resource
Carrier category code
  • cr
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Color
multicolored
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Control code
ebr10085318
Dimensions
19 cm.
Dimensions
unknown
Extent
xii, 203 p.
Form of item
electronic
Media category
computer
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • c
Original version note
Original electronic resource.
Reproduction note
Electronic resource.
Specific material designation
remote
Label
Walking the tightrope of reason : the precarious life of a rational animal, Robert Fogelin, (electronic book)
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [189]-194) and index
Carrier category
online resource
Carrier category code
  • cr
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Color
multicolored
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Control code
ebr10085318
Dimensions
19 cm.
Dimensions
unknown
Extent
xii, 203 p.
Form of item
electronic
Media category
computer
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • c
Original version note
Original electronic resource.
Reproduction note
Electronic resource.
Specific material designation
remote

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