Philosophy as Criticism

Brian Davies is Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University, New York, USA. Dr. Mario von der Ruhr is Lecturer in Philosophy at Swansea University. He is an Associate Editor of the journal Philosophical Investigations, and co-editor (with D.Z. Phillips) of the series Claremont Studies in the Philosophy of Religion. Ilham Dilman (1930-2003) was Professor Emeritus and Honorary Fellow, Department of Philosophy, University of Wales Swansea. He was perhaps most well known for his contributions to moral philosophy and psychology, and in particular on the works of Wittgenstein and Freud.

"This is vintage Dilman. This book could give a new vitality to an unexploited genre: philosophical criticism. Of course, philosophers have always critiqued other philosophers, but a volume of systematic criticism by a single philosopher of various philosophical works is rare. The particular strength of this volume is that it provides a concentrated and textured expression of the author's own philosophical stance, while at the same time offering new scrutiny of the philosophers evaluated. Dilman invariably shakes the reader out of any complacent reading of Dennett, Searle, Foot, Davidson and Nozick, sometimes to the point of prompting a radical questioning of their current status." -- Daniele Moyal-Sharrock, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Hertfordshire, UK

• Editorial Preface; Introduction; 1. Dennett's Explanation of Consciousness; 2. John Searle's Defence of Realism; 3. Philippa Foot on Natural Goodness; 4. Donald Davidson I: Human Agency, Action and Intention; 5. Donald Davidson II: A Philosophy of Psychology, The Mental and the Physical; 6. Robert Nozick's Philosophical Meditations; Closing Remarks; Bibliography.