Crisis of Philosophy

Michael H. McCarthy is Professor of Philosophy at Vassar College.

"This book ranks among the best studies of the difficulties deeply troubling our culture. It cogently articulates the crisis of philosophy in our time. The reader is promised a resolution at the end of the Introduction, which is enough to keep her or him convinced that the narrative theme of crisis is not going to deconstruct in a dead-end. Then in the final two chapters the reader's efforts are very richly rewarded. The crisis of philosophy, which is fundamentally a cultural crisis, is seen as a challenge — as an invitation to a new and exciting stage of meaning in human history." — Matthew L. Lamb, Boston College

• Preface I   The Crisis of Philosophy A. Autonomous ScienceB. From Classical to Historical ConsciousnessC. The Matrix of Cognitive Meaning—An Orienting MapD. Pure Mathematics and the New LogicE. Foundational InquiryF. Philosophy NaturalizedG. Psychologism and its CriticsII  The Primacy of Logic—A Case Study in Foundational Inquiry A. The Logician's PerspectiveB. The Locus of Epistemic InvarianceC. The Specter of PsychologismD. Principles of Philosophical AnalysisE. The Limits of EmpiricismF. A Common Stock of ThoughtsG. Privacy, Objectivity, and RealismH. The Failure to Discern AlternativesIII The Genesis of Husserl's Phenomenology—From Descriptive Psychology to Transcendental Idealism A. Philosophy in Search of ItselfB. Dual Influences on the Early HusserlC. The Refutation of PsychologismD. The Autonomy of Pure LogicE. The Clarification of Pure LogicF. The Identification and Suspension of the Natural AttitudeIV Wittgenstein's Linguistic Turns A. The Linguistic TurnB. Logic as the Essence of PhilosophyC. Wittgenstein's Theory of SignificationD. Tautologies and Contradictions, Their Unique StatusE. The Nature of PhilosophyF. The Tractatus as an Ethical DeedG. From Meaning to UseH. The Crystalline SphereI. Mathematics Forms a Network of NormsJ. Philosophy as Captive and Escape from CaptivityV  The New Way of Words A. Pure Semiotic and the Formal Mode of SpeechB. Philosophy as Logical SyntaxC. The Pure Theory of Empirically Meaningful LanguagesD. Two Species of PsychologismE. Naturalism without PsychologismF. Linguistic Pluralism and Scientific RealismG. The Linguistic Turn and the Philosophy of LanguageVI The End of Epistemology A. The Crack in TraditionB. Platonic Imagery and Aristotelian PrinciplesC. The New Way of IdeasD. Kant's Transcendental TurnE. A New Concept of Secular ReasonF. Quine's Holistic EmpiricismG. Groundless BeliefH. From Epistemology to HermeneuticsI. After-thoughtsVII The Need for Cognitive Integration A. In Search of Common GroundB. The Priority of the Intentional SubjectC. Personal AppropriationD. The Limits of BehaviorismE. The Risk of PsychologismF. Transcendental MethodG. The Centrality of InsightH. Realms of Meaning and Heuristic StructuresI. Critical Realism: Epistemic Objectivity and the Knowledge of BeingVIII Philosophical and Cultural Conflict A. A History of ConflictB. Dialectical Principles and StrategyC. Cognitional Theory—Positions and Counter PositionsD. A Defense of Critical RealismE. The Critical Appropriation of TraditionF. The Love of WisdomNotes Index