Exploring what great philosophers have written about the nature of knowledge and about how we know what we know, this is a concise and accessible introduction to the field of epistemology.
Epistemology: The Key Thinkers tells the story of how epistemological thinking has developed over the centuries, through the work of the finest thinkers on the topic. Chapters by leading contemporary scholars guide readers through the ideas of key philosophers, beginning with Plato and Aristotle, through Descartes and the British empiricists, to such twentieth-century thinkers such as Wittgenstein, Quine, Goldman, and beyond. The final chapter looks to the future, highlighting some of the very latest debates that energise philosophical writing today about knowledge.
Each chapter ends with a guide to further reading, encouraging students to explore the key writings for themselves, making Epistemology: The Key Thinkers a perfect guide for study, revision, and reference.
Exploring what great philosophers have written about the nature of knowledge and about how we know what we know, this is a concise and accessible introduction to the field of epistemology.
Epistemology: The Key Thinkers tells the story of how epistemological thinking has developed over the centuries, through the work of the finest thinkers on the topic. Chapters by leading contemporary scholars guide readers through the ideas of key philosophers, beginning with Plato and Aristotle, through Descartes and the British empiricists, to such twentieth-century thinkers such as Wittgenstein, Quine, Goldman, and beyond. The final chapter looks to the future, highlighting some of the very latest debates that energise philosophical writing today about knowledge.
Each chapter ends with a guide to further reading, encouraging students to explore the key writings for themselves, making Epistemology: The Key Thinkers a perfect guide for study, revision, and reference.
Notes on Contributors 1. Epistemology's Past Here and Now, Stephen Hetherington 2. Plato's Epistemology, Nicholas D. Smith 3. Aristotle on Knowledge, Robert Bolton and Alan Code 4. Ancient Scepticism, Gisela Striker 5. The Epistemology of Descartes, Desmond M. Clarke 6. Locke, Berkeley, Hume: Epistemology, P. J. E. Kail 7. Kant and Kantian Epistemology, Melissa McBay Merritt and Markos Valaris 8. American Pragmatism: Fallibilism and Cognitive Progress, Christopher Hookway 9. Wittgenstein on Knowledge, Paul Snowdon 10. Quine, Goldman and Two Ways of Naturalizing Epistemology, Ram Neta 11. In Gettier's Wake, John Turri 12. Epistemology's Future Here and Now, Stephen Hetherington Index
From Plato, through Descartes to W.V. Quine and Edmund Gettier, this concise introduction and reference guide explores the history of thinking about 'knowledge'.
Stephen Hetherington is Professor of Philosophy at the University of New South Wales, in Sydney, Australia. He has written several books, including Good Knowledge, Bad Knowledge (Oxford University Press, 2001), Self-Knowledge (Broadview, 2007), and How To Know (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011). He has edited two books, including Epistemology Futures (Oxford University Press, 2006).
In this accessible collection of essays, contemporary philosophers
discuss some highlights of epistemology in the Western
philosophical tradition … [It] will be extremely valuable for those
seeking a better understanding of primary source material … [A]
worthwhile contribution to the literature, especially for
nonspecialists. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division
undergraduates; graduate students.
*CHOICE*
‘There has long been a serious need for a systematic look at the
history of epistemology. This volume, written by experts on the
various figures who have done so much to shape epistemology as it
now is, will go a long way toward filling that gap. It should be
essential reading for epistemologists and historians alike.'
*Baron Reed, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Northwestern
University, USA*
‘The best history of philosophy is the wellspring of insightful
metaphilosophy. This volume is a prime example of both. As these
essays so vividly show, the history of epistemology may be a
singularly bountiful supply of metaphilosophical insights, for the
sharpness of its main problems and the complexity in its most
seductive failures.'
*Claudio de Almeida, Professor of Philosophy, Pontifical Catholic
University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Brazil*
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