Presidential addresses of one of the largest philosophical societies in the world and the only American philosophical society not devoted to a particular school or philosophical approach. Volume 6 covers the years 1981-1990, including works by Adolf Grunbaum, Alasdair MacIntyre, Donald Davidson, and John Searle among others. The volume containing biographies and photographs of the APA presidents, a list of birthplaces, chronology of the APA, a list of universities and colleges closely associated with each president, and name and subject indices.
The American Philosophical Association (APA) was founded in 1900 topromote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encouragecreative and scholarly activity in philosophy, to facilitate theprofessional work and teaching of philosophers, and to representphilosophy as a discipline. Having grown from a few hundred membersto over 10,000, the American Philosophical Association is one of thelargest philosophical societies in the world and the only Americanphilosophical society not devoted to a particular school or philosophicalapproach. In 1999, in anticipation of its centennial, the APA authorisedphilosopher Richard T Hull to begin collecting and publishing thepresidential addresses delivered over the course of the twentiethcentury.
This companion volume to the ten volumes of the Presidential Addresses of the American Philosophical Association 1901-2000 offers both a retrospective and introspective survey of presidential addresses delivered to the APA during the twentieth century. It documents and analyzes the extraordinary diversity of philosophical thought, as well as the maturation and professionalization of philosophy as a discipline in American academia.The first ten chapters each focus on one decade of the twentieth century, pointing out prominent topics and common themes, and discussing the philosophical schools and movements that informed them. The next nine chapters are topical essays, each centering on a philosophical issue or area. Of special interest is Nicholas Rescher's chapter on the way the possibility of philosophical progress was a frequent matter raised for discussion in presidential addresses.
Our words and ideas refer to objects and properties in the external world; this phenomenon is central to thought, language, communication, and science. But great works of fiction are full of names that don't seem to refer to anything! In this book Kenneth A. Taylor explores the myriad of problems that surround the phenomenon of reference. How can words in language and perturbations in our brains come to stand for external objects? Reference is essential to truth, but which is more basic: reference or truth? How can fictional characters play such an important role in imagination and literature, and how does this use of language connect with more mundane uses? Taylor develops a framework for understanding reference, and the theories that other thinkers-past and present-have developed about it. But Taylor doesn't simply tell us what others thought; the book is full of new ideas and analyses, making for a vital final contribution from a seminal philosopher.
Combining new insights from cognitive science and speech act theory, Unnsteinsson develops a compelling theory of singular reference which avoids well-known puzzles and objections. The theory, called Edenic intentionalism, is grounded in a mechanistic perspective on explanation in cognitive science and a new Gricean account of speaker meaning and speaker reference. Talking About: An Intentionalist Theory of Reference develops an account of the mental state of identity confusion and separates questions about the nature of representational acts and representational states. Unnsteinsson proposes a division of labour, but Edenic intentionalism is strictly a theory of intentional, mind-directed representational acts, taking speech acts as its paradigm case. Talking About: An Intentionalist Theory of Reference argues that mental mechanisms ought to be postulated to explain human cognitive capacities. Pragmatic competence is the capacity to successfully produce utterances with a communicative intention. By examining the characteristic function and malfunction of the mechanism for referential competence, the study shows that confused reference should be understood as a type of malfunction. This is the core thesis of Edenic intentionalism: that the identity confusion disrupts the normal function of the speech act of reference.
This book explores the ethical and psychological dilemmas connected to the lived experiences of love, uniquely proposing an ethical framework that can be applied in loving relationships. The book provides an introduction to the study of ethics, moral psychology, and ancient philosophy. Examining key themes of love, such as unconditional love, romantic love, anger, desperation, and fairness, this book offers the reader a way to exercise and strengthen their personal critical thinking on ethical dilemmas, especially in relation to loving feelings. The author believes that ethics is the heart of love in the same way as logic is the brain of reasoning; we do not need ethics to love but we can love in a much healthier way if we train our ethical skills to love. After laying the theoretical framework for the book, chapters are organized into themes relating to ethical problems and begin with an exemplary piece from Greek and Latin literature. Using these writings as a starting point, Susi Ferrarello discusses whether it is possible to have a sound ethical theory of love, especially in cases relating to justice, despair, and rage, and demonstrates how this framework can be applied in new and established relationships. Filled with case studies throughout, spiritual exercises are listed at the end of chapters to help the reader increase their understanding of love and their ethical choices surrounding emotional dilemmas. This interdisciplinary book is essential reading for undergraduate and graduate students who take classes on ethics, marriage and family therapy, psychology, philosophy, classics, ancient philosophy, and politics, as well as those interested in the ethics of love and emotional decision-making.
This collection of essays by leading American philosophers honors John E. Smith, a major figure in the struggle for the American profession of philosophy to redefine itself and return to its grander traditions.
