Critique of Impure Reason
Horizons of Possibility and Meaning
Paperback | 1 September 2021
At a Glance
884 Pages
22.86 x 15.24 x 4.45
Paperback
RRP $71.50
$53.00
26%OFF
or 4 interest-free payments of $13.25 with
orAims to ship in 7 to 10 business days
Bartlett's Critique of Impure Reason is a tour de force of philosophical analysis. Historic in scale and far-reaching in scope, this important and massive treatise offers a penetrating critical appraisal of concepts that form the basic vocabulary of philosophical problems. This groundbreaking work focuses on reference as the most conceptually basic means in terms of which we may understand the limits beyond which our concepts cease to possess possible meaning. These inevitable and inescapable boundaries of human thought Bartlett calls 'horizons'. Step by logical step, the treatise seeks to show that a recognition of these conceptual horizons brings with it a new and revisionary understanding of a wide range of philosophical problems. The book is as fascinating as it is profound.
Industry Reviews
"I admire its range of philosophical vision." - Nicholas Rescher, Distinguished University Professor, University of Pittsburgh, author of more than 100 books.
"Bartlett's Critique of Impure Reason is an impressive, bold, and ambitious work. Careful scholarship is balanced by original analyses that lead the reader to recognize the limits of meaning, knowledge, and conceptual possibility. The work addresses a host of traditional philosophical problems, among them the nature of space, time, causality, consciousness, the self, other minds, ontology, free will and determinism, and other problems. The book culminates in a fascinating and profound new understanding of relativity physics and quantum theory." - Gerhard Preyer, Professor, Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, author of many books on meaning, semantics, and contextualism in philosophy.
"[This work's] goal is of a unique and difficult species: Dr. Bartlett seeks to develop a formal logical calculus on the basis of transcendental philosophical arguments; in fact, he hopes that this calculus will be the formal expression of the transcendental foundation of knowledge.... I consider Dr. Bartlett's work soundly conceived and executed with great skill." - C. F. von Weizsacker, philosopher and physicist, Director, Max-Planck-Institute, Starnberg, Germany.
"Bartlett has written an American "Prolegomena to All Future Metaphysics." He aims rigorously to eliminate meaningless assertions, reach bedrock, and place philosophy on a firm foundation that will enable it, like science and mathematics, to produce lasting results that generations to come can build on. This is a great book, the fruit of a lifetime of research and reflection, and it deserves serious attention." - Martin X. Moleski, former Professor, Casinius College, Buffalo, New York, studies of scientific method, the presuppositions of thought, and the self-referential nature of epistemology.
"Bartlett has written a book on what might be called the underpinnings of philosophy. It has fascinating depth and breadth, and is all the more striking due to its unifying perspective based on the concepts of reference and self-reference." - Don Perlis, Professor, University of Maryland, author of numerous publications on self-adjusting autonomous systems and philosophical issues concerning self-reference, mind, and consciousness.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
Foreword by Carl Friedrich von Weizsacker
Acknowledgments
Avant-propos: A philosopher's rallying call
Introduction
A note to the reader
A note on conventions
PART I
WHY PHILOSOPHY HAS MADE NO PROGRESS
AND HOW IT CAN
Chapter 1. Philosophical-psychological prelude
Chapter 2. Putting belief in its place: Its psychology and a needed polemic
Chapter 3. Turning away from the linguistic turn: From theory of reference to metalogic of reference
Chapter 4. The stepladder to maximum theoretical generality
PART II
THE METALOGIC OF REFERENCE
A New Approach to Deductive,
Transcendental Philosophy
Chapter 5. Reference, identity, and identification
Chapter 6. Self-referential argumentation and the metalogic of reference
Chapter 7. Possibility theory
Chapter 8. Presupposition logic, reference, and identification
Chapter 9. Transcendental argumentation and the metalogic of reference
Chapter 10. Framework relativity
Chapter 11. The metalogic of meaning
Chapter 12. The problem of putative meaning and the logic of meaninglessness
Chapter 13. Projection
Chapter 14. Horizons
Chapter 15. De-projection
Chapter 16. Self-validation
Chapter 17. Rationality: Rules of admissibility
PART III
PHILOSOPHICAL APPLICATIONS OF THE
METALOGIC OF REFERENCE
Major Problems and Questions of Philosophy
and the Philosophy of Science
Chapter 18. Ontology and the metalogic of reference
Chapter 19. Discovery or invention in general problem-solving, mathematics, and physics
Chapter 20. The conceptually unreachable: "The far side"
Chapter 21. The projections of the external world, things-in-themselves, other minds, realism, and idealism
Chapter 22. The projections of time, space, and space-time
Chapter 23. The projections of causality, determinism, and free will
Chapter 24. Projections of the self and of solipsism
Chapter 25. Non-relational, agentless reference and referential fields
Chapter 26. Relativity physics as seen through the lens of the metalogic of reference
Chapter 27. Quantum theory as seen through the lens of the metalogic of reference
Chapter 28. Epistemological lessons learned from and applicable to relativity physics and quantum theory
PART IV
HORIZONS
Chapter 29. Beyond belief
Chapter 30. Critique of Impure Reason: Its results in retrospect
SUPPLEMENT
The Formal Structure of the Metalogic of Reference
APPENDIX I
The Concept of Horizon in the Work of Other Philosophers
APPENDIX II
Epistemological Intelligence
References
Index
About the author
ISBN: 9780578886466
ISBN-10: 0578886464
Published: 1st September 2021
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number of Pages: 884
Audience: Professional and Scholarly
Publisher: Studies in Theory and Behavior
Dimensions (cm): 22.86 x 15.24 x 4.45
Weight (kg): 1.16
Shipping
Standard Shipping | Express Shipping | |
---|---|---|
Metro postcodes: | $9.99 | $14.95 |
Regional postcodes: | $9.99 | $14.95 |
Rural postcodes: | $9.99 | $14.95 |
How to return your order
At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.
Additional postage charges may be applicable.
Defective items
If there is a problem with any of the items received for your order then the Booktopia Customer Care team is ready to assist you.
For more info please visit our Help Centre.